'No idea about yellow powder on Sugumar'

 

A police personnel testified in the Coroner’s Court today that he did not know what was the yellow powder applied on the face of the death in custody victim C Sugumar, nor who had applied it and for what reason.

The witness, Muhamad Sabqi Md Saleh, said he first saw the yellow powder on the deceased’s face when his colleague Khalid Nordin turned Sugumar’s body over to apply cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

At the time, he said, Sugumar was already subdued and lying on the ground with his belly down and face turned to the left.

The security guard was still struggling to resist arrest but was held down by police officer Ahmad Lotfi Abd Rahim and about eight members of the public, he said.

Khalid, who was driving the police car that Muhamad Sabqi was in and testified later today, also told the inquest that he was clueless about the yellow powder.

The incident took place on Jan 23, 2013, and ended with Sugumar dead and still in his handcuffs at the very spot he was arrested.

The yellow powder, reportedly turmeric, was applied by a police officer described as ‘short, bald and with a potbelly’, according to eyewitness T Panirselvam (left), who was speaking to the media soon after the incident. However, the reason for this is still unknown.

He also told Malaysiakini that Sugumar had been beaten by the police and the crowd.

Today is the first day of a three-day coroner’s inquest at the Shah Alam Court Complex, with deputy public prosecutor Noor Husnita Mohd Radzi assisting the inquest and lawyers Eric Paulsen and Michelle Yesudas holding a watching brief on behalf of Sugumar’s family.

Muhamad Sabqi told the coroner today that Ahmad Lotfi - who is also the officer-in-charge of police station (OCS) at Batu 14, Hulu Langat - had arrived earlier on a motorcycle after receiving his call for backup and then chased down Sugumar on foot.

When he caught up with Ahmad Lotfi, he said, he was instructed to handcuff Sugumar. When done, Ahmad Lotfi handed him another handcuff and then told him to apply the second pair of handcuffs, which he carried out.

“It is because the suspect was aggressive,” he told Shah Alam coroner Rozi Bainon when lawyer Paulsen asked him why Sugumar was restrained with two pairs of handcuffs.

He added that it is not normal procedure to handcuff a person twice at the same time.

Under repeated questioning by the deputy public prosecutor, Muhamad Sabqi testified that he did not see anyone beat Sugumar.

Instead, he saw Sugumar being held down by his arms and shoulders. Members of the public also pulled his Sugumar’s arms up to help with the handcuffing.

To a question from Paulsen during cross-examination however, Muhamad Sabqi said he would not have seen what happened to Sugumar before he arrived.

‘My view was obstructed’

“I didn’t see the suspect during the arrest because I had just got out of my car and my view was obstructed by the members of the public,” the 26-year old cop explained, when Noor Husnita asked him for the reason.

Muhamad Sabqi added that although he could see Ahmad Lotfi arriving on the scene, he only caught glimpses of him chasing Sugumar and could not see how he ended up lying on the ground.

After applying the first pair of handcuffs, Muhamad Sabqi said Sugumar was still struggling, but by the time the second pair of handcuffs was applied, he looked tired and exhausted.

“I asked the public to leave. Cpl Khalid lifted the suspect (to bring him to the patrol car) but he (Sugumar) didn’t move.

“Cpl Khalid asked me to call the ambulance,” he said, adding that Khalid immediately turned Sugumar over to apply CPR while the handcuffs were still on.

It was also at this time that he realised that Ahmad Lotfi had already left the scene.

The ambulance was contacted at 6.45pm on, and arrived from the Pekan Batu 14 Health Clinic after about an hour.

However, in his testimony later, Khalid disputed this and said no ambulance had arrived despite a call being made.

Instead, other police personnel in the area set up a cordon and a forensics team arrived to examine the scene at about 9pm or 9.30pm.

Sugumar was eventually taken to Serdang Hospital at about 11.30pm on a police Land Rover.

Khalid also explained that he did not give Sugumar CPR, but was pressing on his chest and patting on his cheeks in an attempt to wake him up.

Earlier today, both Muhamad Sabqi and a laksa stall operato, Mohamad Johan Che Man, testified that Sugumar was behaving “aggressively” that day.

Johan said although he didn’t know Sugumar, he recognised him because the deceased was often seen near his stall.

“He looked normal on normal days, but on Jan 23 he looked aggressive...

“He was holding a metal hammer and hitting an electrical pole with it, while shouting at passers-by,” he said, adding that he then proceeded to call the police.

Muhamad Sabqi, who received the report of a man running amok at 6.05pm from his station, arrived at the scene to see Sugumar beating a burger stall at Taman Desa Raya.

“We called Batu 14 station for backup, because the suspect was aggressive,” he said.

The inquest resumes with Khalid’s cross-examination tomorrow, while Ahmad Lotfi is also expected to testify tomorrow.

Police probing woman in road rage video

 

VIDEO l 2.32 min

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar has confirmed that police are investigating a woman captured in a video berating an elderly man following a fender bender involving both their cars.

“We will investigate her for road bullying.

“I, myself, have just watched the footage.

“She was so fierce, hitting there and here,” Khalid (right) said of the video that has gone viral since being uploaded on Facebook yesterday.

The video, said to be taken in Kuantan, received over 20,000 shares in the social networking site, and was also uploaded on video sharing site YouTube, getting a further 69,400 views.

In the video, the woman can be seen screaming at an elderly man, calling him “stupid” and banging the bonnet of his car with a steering lock after he allegedly hit the back of her car, despite his repeated pleas that it was unintentional.

Elderly man forgives woman

Meanwhile, Kuantuan police said that the man, 67, declined to lodge a complaint against the woman despite police advise.

"When giving his statement on the incident, the man said that (the woman) grabbed his shirt collar and hit his car with a steering lock.

"The investigating officer advised him to lodge a police report on this but the man declined as he has forgiven her," the report by Kuantan police sighted by Malaysiakini reads.

The man said he was unharmed and his car was not damaged. He was issued a summon for rear-ending the woman's car.

Netizens were less forgiving, condemning the woman’s action, who also allegedly made disparaging remarks against the man’s race.

Some resorted to doxing -  tracing the identity of the person they believed was the woman in the video and displaying the details online.

Meanwhile in Kuala Lumpur, Khalid said the woman should have made a police report and not threatened the elderly citizen.

“If an accident really happened, make a police report, do not take your own actions,” Khalid said.

“Her actions can be considered as those of a road bully and we will take action against her,” he added.

Khalid said that police will take action based on the video recording itself.

“Regardless of whether he makes a police report, we will investigate because we have watched the video,” he said.

Before that, he distributed Hari Raya cookies to top-ranking police officers to be distributed to about 5,000 police officers who will be on duty during the Raya festivities.

Road rage woman says sorry, seeks empathy

 

 VIDEO l 2.32 min

Siti Fairrah Asyikin Kamaruddin, the woman caught verbally abusing an elderly man and hitting his car with a steering lock after a fender bender in a viral video, has apologised for her actions.

Apologising on TV3 tonight, the woman who goes by the nickname Kiki also told Star Online that she had apologised to the man immediately after the incident.

"I couldn't think at the time. It was at the spur of the moment. It was a huge mistake on my part.

"After the incident, we went to the police station in Kuantan and settled things amicably. I calmed down and immediately apologised to the man.

"I even met his wife and hugged her. The uncle accepted my apology and told me not to do that anymore," she is quoted as saying.

She, however, denied posting any apologies on her Facebook account, as she had deactivated her account on Tuesday.

As such, she said the account has been "hacked".

Earlier, it was reported that she had apologised on Facebook, and urged all to remove the video for the sake of her "future children".

There was also a sceen capture of a text message she allegedly received from police calling her in to give her statement on the Kuantan incident.

“Give me strength. I will face this. Ramadan teaches us to not speak ill of our brethren,” she wrote in the caption.

The posts come after netizens flooded her Facebook page with criticism and exposed her identity.

 There was also a post saying that her company Kerja Kahwin Sdn Bhd has nothing to do with the action, and that she only made reference to the man’s race as she was once cheated of money by a Chinese person.

Telco jumps in

When told that a simple ‘I am sorry’ is insufficient for what she did, Kiki said: “Sir, if you were in my place, you’d know that sometimes you can’t control your anger. Sorry.”

Meanwhile, telecommunications company Digi Telecommunications has jumped on the bandwagon by offering to pay for damages sustained by both parties.

This is as part of its #30haribaik campaign, which encourages good deeds during Ramadan.

“Things might have gotten out of hand but we saw a really patient uncle who showed us the value of empathy.

“”Uncle, if you're reading this, please let us know in the comments below. We'd love to pay for the repairs of your car.

“To the one who was upset, we know it was a tough situation but if you could find it in your heart to forgive, we'll fix yours too,” Digi posted on its Facebook page.

Gastropub The Beer Factory also got in on the action by offering the first 25 Peugeot drivers who flash their car key free beer.

Peugeot, meanwhile said that its vehicles do not require steering locks.

"Peugeot vehicles come with many safety and security features such as transponder immobilizer security, deadlocking and so on - making steering wheel locks rather... redundant!" it quipped on Facebook.

Antwerp rally calls for 'slaughter of Jews'

Protest attended by some 500 people comes amid wave of anti-Semitic demonstrations against Israeli military operation.

A woman wrapped in a Palestinian flag gestures on July 13, 2014 in Paris, during a demonstration against Israel and in support of residents in the Gaza Strip, during Operation Protective Edge. Photo by AFP

 

Dozens of men at an anti-Israel demonstration in Antwerp shouted slogans about slaughtering Jews.

Approximately 500 people attended Saturday’s protest in the capital of Belgium’s Flemish region, where one of the speakers used a loudspeaker to chant a call in Arabic that means “slaughter the Jews.”

The demonstration against Israel’s assault on Hamas in Gaza happened amid a wave of anti-Semitic attacks in Western Europe that coincided with the Israeli actions, and one day before a similar demonstration in Paris escalated into what European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor called an “attempted lynch” outside a local synagogue.

The Belgian League Against Anti-Semitism filed a complaint for incitement to violence against participants and organizers of the Antwerp demonstration, dozens of whom were recorded making the calls.

“International politics cannot serve as a pretext for incitement to anti-Semitic hatred,” the organization’s president, Joel Rubinfeld, said in a statement.

It also condemned the presence at the demonstration of three local politicians: Karim Bachar of the Flemish Socialist Party; Ikrame Kastit of the Flemish Green Party; and Mohamed Chebaa of Labor.

The protesters also called out “Jews, remember Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning,” referencing a seventh-century slaughter against Jews in Saudi Arabia.

Earlier this month, the same call was heard at a demonstration in The Hague in favor of the ISIS Sunni militia in Syria and Iraq. The protest was held six days before Israel launched its military operation in Gaza.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center in a letter to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte protested that the demonstration was allowed to take place.

“Unless Jihadism in your country is totally quashed, Dutch returnees from their Syrian baptism of fire and Jihadist websites at home will menace Jewish, Muslim and all other citizens of the Netherlands,” wrote Shimon Samuels, the center’s international relations director.

In Paris, approximately 200 Jews were besieged on Sunday inside the synagogue by dozens of young men who confronted police and Jewish guards outside in what turned into a street brawl before police reinforcements dispersed the crowd.

The CRIF umbrella group of Jewish organizations and communities appealed to French President Francois Hollande to temporarily ban “pro-Hamas protests” for fear they would escalate into similar attacks.

India: Dalit Women gang raped by Muslims, commit suicide

“July 16, 2014 (Agencies) Lucknow: A Dalit Muslim woman was gang raped by suspected Muslim perpetrators, when a politics of Dalit-Muslim unity is gradually worsening the situation of Dailts in Uttar Pradesh by their greedy Muslim counterparts. A massive outrage broke-out in Uttar Pradesh Hathras district post a 22-year-old gang-rape victim, who was set afire after raping, succumbed to her injuries. Furious people of the district staged protests and burnt the buses, trucks and other vehicles passing by the roads. They were expressing their fury as police hadn’t taken any steps against the accused and they were still roaming freely.”

“Uttar Pradesh Police said that on July 12, five men visited the victim at her husband’s home in Etawah and told her that her brother had sent them to fetch her. She was to accompany them to her parents’ home in Purvi Naurangabad near Sikander Rao in Hathras, they said. The unsuspecting woman went with the five men, who were later joined by two others.

Telling about the tragedy, victim’s father said that his daughter was set on fire after being gang-raped. He further revealed that he somehow doused the fire and rushed her to the hospital, where doctors told him that his daughter was 90 percent burnt and had very less chances of surviving. The sources have confirmed that Mahila Police Station in-charge also went to the hospital to record victim’s statement in which she disclosed the names of the accused.

However, the police didn’t show any haste in arresting the accused. However, police lackluster approach in the case has irked the people of the district and they have begun expressing emotions violently on the roads. They were present at the roads along with the dead body of the victim.

Local people jammed the Etah-Aligarh highway, and the mob set vehicles on fire. Demonstrators also pelted stones at policemen, who resorted to lathicharge to quell the crowd. Police and personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary from Aligarh, Hathras and Agra districts were rushed to the spot.

The woman’s relatives said she was under depression, as the police, whom the family had approached on Sunday, had taken no immediate action.”

“Hathras Violence ater Gang Rape victim succumbs to burn injuries .”

Read more about National DailyIndia: Dalit Women gang raped by Muslims, commit suicide » National Daily on:
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“Hathras SP Dipika Tiwari told a media that the victim, before dying, had recorded a statement in front of police.

At last an FIR has been registered against Zeeshan, Tullan, Vakeel, Taufeeq and some unidentified men, under Sections 376 (rape), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the IPC. Police is investigating the cause behind this rape of a Dalit woman, led by some Muslim perpetrators with an apparently jilted motivation.

Mohit Gupta, Aligarh SSP, who is also DIG in-charge, Hathras, said, “We had already arrested two people, and on the demand of the victim’s family, we conducted the post-mortem examination at night. But some anti-social elements tried to exploit the situation.”

Hathras DM Shamim Ahmed said there was no delay in lodging an FIR. He said his administration planned to lodge an FIR against the miscreants responsible for disturbing the law and order situation.

The district administration later convinced the victim’s kin to cremate her. The victim’s brother told a media, “She was my only sister. And her last rites were performed without the usual rituals.”

Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party-led Uttar Pradesh government hasn’t made any remarks on the issue so far.

A lead to riot situation may be vitiated, if staunch action can not be taken to reveal the truth behind the truth of gang rape of a Dalit woman and also to punish the Muslim perpetrators already arrested and to be arrested in the related case under proper law and order. Communal tension is prevailing out of situation around Hathras and adjacent places. Protesting Hindu Dalits are being gradually disillusioned by the fake call of Dalit-Muslim unity automatized by both Samajwadi (read Namajwadi) Party and Bahujan Samaj Party.”

Only Malay-Muslims can save Malaysia’s pluralism

By Wong Chin Huat

Traditionally, pluralism in Malaysia is advocated by the ethno-religious minorities and only tolerated by the majority.

For pluralism to survive and thrive, this pattern must change: the main task of defending pluralism must lie with the Malay-Muslims.

The disappearing minorities’ ‘veto power’

Minorities – non-Malays, non-Muslims and/or non-Bumiputeras – should accept this cruel reality that their defence for pluralism may not matter much for the future of a plural Malaysia.

In other words, they do not have any “veto power” even on changes that affect their socio-cultural life. In the early years, when the minorities put their feet down on matters concerning their communal autonomy or interests, the majority-dominated state used to take note and make compromises, to avoid an outright sense of alienation.

The erosion of minority rights was meant to be done gradually and “cosily” in a tango fashion: two steps forward, then one step back.

In Malaysia’s political lingo, slow changes through such encroachment-negotiation-retreat cycles are priced as “mutual respect”, “tolerance” and “power sharing”.

The minorities’ protection from the majority’s encroachment actually has two sources. The first is their rights formally guaranteed by the Federal Constitution. The second is the informal negotiation power through the security, electoral or economic threats they pose.

The unreliable constitutional guardians: Parliament and judiciary

The constitutional safeguards then hinges on two institutions: Parliament and the judiciary.

Amendment of the Federal Constitution through Parliament is meant to be difficult with a two-thirds threshold but this safeguard is more imagined that real.

When the ruling coalition enjoyed a two-thirds majority, and its parliamentarians voted like sheep, then anything could be possible.

In 1966, supported by all Bornean MPs, except eight from Sarawak National Party (SNAP) and Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP), Parliament abused its emergency power to amend the Sarawak constitution so that Sarawak’s defiant Chief Minister Stephen Kalong Ningkan could be replaced with someone subservient to Kuala Lumpur.

And if the ruling coalition loses its two-thirds majority, it may be restored with malapportionment and gerrymandering in constituency redelineation, which requires only a simple majority in the house for approval.

Worse, the Federal Constitution has loopholes, such as relieving itself from an inclusive decision requiring a super majority. One of them is Article 76A, which hardliners in Umno and PAS hope to use to unilaterally transfer part of the criminal justice power from Putrajaya to Kelantan, completely bypassing Sabah and Sarawak in their utter disregard for the Malaysian Agreement 1963.

Meanwhile, as a guardian of our Constitutional rights, the judiciary is only as good as per the calibre of judges. A case in point is the “Allah” ban, where the Catholic Church was denied even the leave from the Federal Court to challenge the Appellate Court’s judgment.

Much more problematic is the Court of Appeal judge Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali’s attempt to misinterpret Article 3(1) which states that “Islam is the religion of the federation but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in any part of the federation” as the limit of our fundamental liberties.

Evoking the banner of “social contract”, he claimed that the intention of “in peace and harmony” in Article 3(1) was to “protect the sanctity of Islam” and to “insulate” it against any threat.

And how do you know if there is “peace and harmony”? That the Muslims are not angry. To justify the Allah ban, Apandi’s co-panellist, judge Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim cited the arson attacks on churches and mosques in January 2010 after its overturning by the High Court on the last day of 2009.

If our courts are packed with judges like Apandi and Aziz, so what if all the top lawyers or even all constitutional experts in the world hold a different opinion on the secular nature of and fundamental rights in our Constitution?

What do you with judges who read laws the way they like, or a police chief who decides what court order to follow?

Over my dead body?

The late Karpal Singh was respected for his principled defence of secularism, underlined by his iconic quote: “an Islamic state over my dead body”.

Many secularists, pluralists and liberals would love to have more Karpal Singhs. But to really defend (or subvert) any political order with life, you need not one, tens or hundreds – but thousands or tens of thousands – of the committed.

Now, how many of those who cheer for Karpal dare to make the same pledge?

With the eruption of the Communist insurgency in 1948, the prospect of a full-scale inter-ethnic civil war was real for both the British and Umno elite if millions of Chinese remained disenfranchised.

That was why Umno had to agree reluctantly to a more liberal citizenship regime for the non-Malays even though it was still ideologically opposed to multiculturalism.

Neither the peninsula non-Malays nor the Borneans pose any security threat to Umno’s party state today.

After 1969, the peninsula non-Malays’ main coping mechanisms for Malay ultra-nationalism have been opposition-voting or migration.

While many non-Malays, especially Chinese, like to believe Malaysia will suffer economic catastrophe with continuing brain drain and capital flight, the likes of Ridhuan Tee would only welcome migration as the minorities’ “D-I-Y ethnic cleansing”.

And one must never mistake Malaysia’s new ultra-nationalists like Isma for Taliban or Boko Haram. They are not against economic development and all things foreign.

In fact, they reject the non-Malays only as insubordinate citizens, not as taxpayers. They may welcome new immigrants – even from mainland China – as long as these immigrants concentrate on making money and do not want any political right.

With her rich natural resources, Malaysia may actually flourish for a while with an influx of cheap foreign workers and foreign capital.

In Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain, foreign workers make up 40% to 80% of the population and keep their economy running but will never get citizenship to threaten the ruling class.

Electoral decline of minority voters

The non-Malays used to be able to threaten the BN with protest votes up until 2008 but now more.

Then, BN set its electoral goal at a two-thirds majority and it had no choice but to please enough of the peninsula non-Malays, who made up a majority in some 25% of all parliamentary constituencies and a sizeable minority in some 15% other constituencies.

After 2013, a two-thirds majority is simply unrealistic a goal and Umno aims now minimally for a simple majority, or 112 seats if the Parliament does not get expanded.

In the 13th general election, Umno and its de facto proxy Perkasa in Pasir Mas won 27% of national votes in the peninsula and 73 seats out of 107 contested. In the peninsula alone, Umno was only 39 seats short of a simple majority.

With a tiny addition of 2.37% more national votes, Sabah and Labuan then contributed another 15 seats in a clean sweep for Umno, closing its gap from a simple majority to only 24 seats.

If the only other Muslim-dominant BN party, Sarawak’s Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) is added in, which won 14 more seats with another 2.10% of national votes, the Muslim core of BN now has 102 seats – 10 seats short of a simple majority – with about 32% of votes.

In the peninsula, Umno could have taken eight more seats if it could win 2,000 more votes each.

This electoral demographic explains two important developments post-GE13.

First, Isma and Perkasa growing from strength to strength in the midst of controversies from the “Allah” ban to the hudud proposal, so that Muslims can feel more under siege.

Second, the intense behind-the-scene lobbying of Pakatan Rakyat parties to support the expansion of Parliament, so that there can be more seats for under-siege Muslims.

What about the Borneans? Don’t they hold enough votes to keep Umno sensible?

Unfortunately, most Borneans have this wishful thinking that South China Sea is wide enough to save them from the Malayan disease of communalism. Hence, they seek only exemption for Sabah and Sarawak, rather than a solution for Malaysia.

This explains why Bornean politicians like Tan Sri James Masing can still appear as great heroes by only “taking the authorities to task” in Sarawak without changing anything for Borneans in the peninsula.

Selling pluralism to Malay-Muslims

I hope this article has by now convinced you that pluralism has no future if it depends on the defence by the ethno-religious minorities, who have no trump card as they once did.

Pluralism must be a majority’s cause to stand a chance to triumph.

And pluralism cannot be sold to the majority in universal and colour-blind lingos like equality, fairness, human rights or humanism.

Why? Multiculturalism, multiparty democracy and secularism are simply seen as illegitimate colonial legacies that only disadvantage the majority.

Pluralism can only be sold to Malay-Muslims instrumentally: pluralism will benefit Malay-Muslims.

But how will multiculturalism, democracy and secularism benefit Malay-Muslims?

The answer to this “marketing” question perhaps is the key which may liberate us from our 1946 prison.

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

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/opinion/wong-chin-huat/article/only-malay-muslims-can-save-malaysias-pluralism#sthash.meYFkmFF.dpuf

Malaysians not ready for hudud, survey finds

A majority of Malaysians are not ready for Islamic penal code, or hudud, to be implemented in the country, a survey by Merdeka Center for Opinion Research has found.

The survey, carried out among Peninsula Malaysia voters, saw 58% of Malays, 59% Chinese and 61% Indians agreeing that Malaysia was not yet prepared for the law.

"The survey found that only 25% of the total respondents and 30% of Malay respondents believe that the country is ready for hudud laws implementation at this time," Merdeka Center said in its release today.

The survey was conducted between April 12 and April 21, 2014, involving 1,009 registered voters comprising 60% Malay, 31% Chinese and 9% Indian respondents interviewed by telephone.

They were selected on the basis of random stratified sampling along ethnicity, gender and state of residence.

The interviews were carried out in the preferred language of the respondents.

However, the survey found that there was high support for hudud (53%) and only 3% were not in favour of the Islamic law.

The support was especially high among Malay voters. A whopping 71% of Malays were all for hudud law as opposed to only 20 who were against it.

Conversely, 65% and 69% of Chinese and Indians respectively were against the implementation of hudud law. Only 26% from both ethnic groups supported it.

"Among Malay respondents, the survey found high support for hudud and yet at the same time a low level of readiness to see it implemented," Merdeka Center said.

“In our opinion, this possibly reflects their desire to conform to established norms about the primacy of the shariah laws at a personal level but at the same time indicates hesitation to see it fully implemented publicly.”

It also noted that Malay voters under the age of 30 years registered the highest level of support at 83% compared to other older age groups – a result consistent with the think tank’s earlier findings in a 2011 study of Muslim youth sentiments on hudud.

The Merdeka Center survey also found that only 56% understood what hudud is about as opposed to 43% who did not.

It showed that those with a higher household income had a better understanding of hudud (62% of those who earned RM5,000 and above understand versus 39% who did not).

Also, just half of those polled (51%) believe that hudud law would not be fairly implemented while only 32% believe otherwise.

The hudud debate came about after Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob revealed that the state intended to table a private member's bill to allow the implementation of hudud.

The bill would enable the Kelantan Shariah Penal Code II, which was passed in 1993 by the state assembly, to be enforced.

Ahmad's announcement closely followed the statement by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom that Putrajaya would back the state's move to implement hudud.

This caused a rift between PAS and its Pakatan Rakyat allies, in particular DAP. DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke had even suggested that PAS leave the PR coalition if it was intent on implementing hudud in Kelantan.

Deputy Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Mohamad Amar Nik Abdullah added fuel to the fire after he said that the state government did not need the blessings of PKR and DAP to implement hudud.

However in May, following protests and severe criticism, PAS decided it would postpone the tabling of the bill to allow sufficient time for a joint Putrajaya and Kelantan government technical committee to study the implementation of the Kelantan Shariah Penal Code II.

‘Gender discrimination against human rights’

Discrimination against Dr.Wan Azizah Ismail is against basic human rights and unconstitutional, says Wanita MCA chief

PETALING JAYA: The selection of a menteri besar should be based on experience, ability and commitment to lead the people and not based on gender, Wanita MCA chief Heng Seai Kie said today.

Heng said denying Kajang assemblywoman Dr.Wan Azizah Ismail the chance to be appointed as the menteri besar is against basic human rights and unconstitutional.

“Worse still, making gender and biological nature as an excuse to discriminate against Wan Azizah is also biased and unacceptable,” she said in a statement today.

Heng said the more pressing issue would be Wan Azizah’s ability to lead Selangor rather than using her gender as an obstacle to hinder woman from moving forward.

The MCA leader was commenting on Umno legal adviser Hafarizam Harun’s statement that a woman could not become a menteri besar because she would face many obstacles in accompanying the Sultan when she had “uzur syarie” (menstruation).

DAP Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching also urged Hafarizam to retract his remarks and apologise.

“The statement not only discriminates Wan Azizah but all women. Does he have any respect for his own mother and the mother of his children?” she asked.

MIC Federal Territory State Women Leader, Kogilam Suppiah said it was a derogatory, insensitive and discriminating remark on a woman in this modern age.

Kogilam said the silly statement only reflected the poor quality and sexist mindset of political leaders in the country.

“If she has already reached menopause, what other illogical and absurd reasons will Hafarizam come up with to justify his statement that she cannot hold the position of menteri besar?

“Is Hafarizam aware that we now have a high number of woman leaders in the world, including Chancellor Angela Merkel (Germany), Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt (Denmark), President Dilmaro Rousseff (Brazil), President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (Argentina)?” she asked.

Khairy disagrees with hike in driving school fees

(The Rakyat Post) – Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had told Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai that he disagreed with any hike in driving school fees.

He said the hike would burden consumers who were struggling to make ends meet.

“The hike will cause the youth hardship. By raising the fees, it could also cause the number of youths driving without licence to increase, and we don’t want that.”

He said this at a press conference after presenting 150 orphans, aged 2 to 18, from Kuala Lumpur, one complete set of Raya clothes, either a Baju Melayu or Baju Kurung sponsored by Jakel.

The Umno Youth chief said the gift of Baju Raya was part of the wing’s effort to help out the “urban poor” that existed in cities and which was a phenomenon that could not be fully eradicated.

Commenting on Umno Youth’s proposal to charge an entry fee for Singapore cars, he said the Youth wing was waiting for a cabinet paper by the Transport Ministry before it made any decision.

“I have told Liow of our decision and we will wait for the cabinet paper before saying anything else,” he said.

Umno Youth proposed the government impose a fee on Singapore cars entering Malaysia in a bid to counter Singapore’s decision to increase the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) and Goods Vehicle Permit (GVP) permit fee for vehicles entering the country.

Pakatan Rakyat will become a Brazil in 2014 World Cup in 14GE if it fails to stay true to the PR Common Policy Programme and falls into the Umno/BN trap to destroy it with the hudud ploy

By Lim Kit Siang,

The independent pollster Merdeka Centre has found that nearly three in five Malaysians think the country is not prepared to implement the controversial hudud Islamic penal law.

Its survey on hudud in April found that a total of 59 per cent of the Malaysians polled shared this sentiment, with 58 per cent of Malays believing so while 59 per cent of Chinese and 61 per cent of Indians gave the same response.

Just 25 per cent of respondents — and 30 per cent of Malays — believed that Malaysia is ready to introduce hudud now.

Just over half of Malaysians also said they believed that hudud will not be implemented fairly with the judiciary and law enforcement currently in place. Only 32 per cent felt it would be implemented fairly.

Only 56 per cent of Malaysians polled said they understand the law, with only 14 per cent understanding it “a great deal”.
Those who did not understand it included 62 per cent of Chinese and 49 per cent of Indians polled.

I think a more rigorous poll is needed for the result to be more credible, but whatever the flaws of the survey, what is indisputable is that for the first time in the nation’s history, Malaysia will be divided down the middle if hudud laws are implemented – as reflected by the rather conservative findings of Merdeka Centre that 59 per cent of Malaysians polled think the country is not prepared to implement the hudud law, with just 25 per cent believed that Malaysia is ready to introduce hudud now; over half of Malaysians who believed that hudud will not be implemented fairly with the judiciary and law enforcement currently in place as compared to 32 per cent who felt it would be implemented fairly; and 56 cent of Malaysians who said they don’t understand hudud, with only 14 per cent understanding it “a great deal”.

It will the greatest disaster for nearly six decades of nation-building and the biggest mockery of Vision 2020 of a united developed nation status for Malaysia in 2020 if hudud is implemented, creating irreconcilable and multiple divisions and conflicts, like Muslims vs non-Muslims, liberal Malays/Muslims vs conservative Malays/Muslims, Sabah/Sarawak vs Putrajaya/ Peninsular Malaysia, etc.

The immediate outcome of the implementation of hudud will be the break-up of Malaysia, for it is inconceivable that Sarawak and Sabah, which formed Malaysia in 1963 on the specific understanding that Malaysia shall be a secular state with Islam as the official religion of the Federation, can agree to any such fundamental violation of the constitutional compact in the 1963 Malaysia Agreement.

But well before the end-game of a break-up of Malaysia because of flagrant violation of basic constitutional guarantees in the 1957 Merdeka Constitution and the 1963, there will be a string of other casualties.

For instance, I dare predict that Pakatan Rakyat will become a Brazil in 2014 World Cup in 14GE if it fails to stay true to the PR Common Policy Programme and falls into the Umno/BN trap to destroy it with the hudud ploy

In the past three-and-a-half months, UMNO/BN had mounted a conspiracy to break up Pakatan Rakyat with the hudud ploy, with the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom making the first move in Parliament on March 27, declaring that the Barisan Nasional Federal Government was prepared to help the Kelantan State Government to implement hudud law, even suggesting that PAS move a private member’s bill in Parliament on the matter.

That started off the revival of the hudud controversy, plunging the three Pakatan Rakyat component parties of DAP, PAS and PKR to the second crisis of survival to engulf Pakatan Rakyat in the six-year history of the alternative coalition.
The first crisis faced by Pakatan Rakyat was in September 2011 which nearly led to its break-up and demise was also over the hudud controversy.

It was only when Pakatan Rakyat leaders from PAS, PKR and DAP finally reaffirmed the common policy programme proclaimed earlier by PKR, PAS and DAP leaders in the formation of PR as PR’s common priority agenda that PR was saved from an early demise.

If PR had broken up over the hudud controversy in September 2011, then the historic result of the 13th General Elections last May which saw PR winning 52 per cent of electoral vote and reducing the Najib federal administration into a minority government, with PR winning 89 Parliamentary seats and 229 state assembly seats (excluding Sarawak) would not have been achieved.

If hudud had been a hot controversial issue in the 13th General Elections, the Barisan Nasional would have regained its two-thirds parliamentary majority to redelineate electoral constituencies at will while Pakatan Rakyat might have lost Selangor apart from Kedah, and Johor would have reverted to become an invincible Barisan Nasional “fixed deposit” state instead of becoming a ‘front-line state for UBAH’ after May last year.

It was with these political insights that the deep UMNO plot to use the hudud issue to foment dissension and cause a break-up of Pakatan Rakyat must be understood – and thus the extraordinary proposal by Jamil Khir in Parliament on March 27 that the Federal Government was prepared to help the Kelantan State Government to implement hudud, even suggesting that PAS MPs present a private member’s bill on the issue, must be understood in this perspective.

Jamil’s statement in Parliament was completely at odds with the Barisan Nasional official position on hudud, as only on Sept. 25, 2011, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak publicly stated that the Federal Government will not enforce hudud law in Malaysia.

The Star in a report headlined “Najib: No hudud in Malaysia” quoted Najib as saying at the launch of the Tanjong Tualang 1Malaysia Carnival in Perak that although hudud was accepted in Islam, its implementation must be based on reality.

He said: “The aim of an administration according to Islam is based on the maqasid syariah principle, which among others, entails protecting religion, life, morals and property.”

The Prime Minister said under current laws, the principle and objective of maqasid syariah could be championed.
He said there were already elements of hudud in the system “minus the extreme part”.

But in a matter of 30 months, less than 12 months after the 13GE, Najib’s statement of “No hudud in Malaysia” had been replaced with Jamil Khir’s pronouncement in Parliament that the Barisan Nasional federal government was prepared to help the PAS Kelantan State Government to implement hudud laws, even suggesting a Private Member’s Bill in Parliament for the purpose.

Was this drastic change in Barisan Nasional federal government policy on hudud made with the consultation and agreement of leaders and ministers from the other Barisan Nasional component parties, or is this solely the “personal view” of Jamil?

Unfortunately, instead of taking a stand on principle that any change of Barisan Nasional federal government policy whether on hudud or any other important national matter should only be made with the consultation and agreement of all BN parties, MCA and Gerakan decided to play politics by orchestrating a prolonged campaign of vilification against the DAP on the hudud question – though serving the same purpose of the mischievous UMNO plot to foment dissension and break-up of PR.

The MCA/Gerakan contention that Jamil’s March 27 statement in Parliament was only his “personal view” loses total credibility when Najib announced in Alor Setar on April 24 that the Barisan Nasional federal government had never rejected hudud.

The third ploy in the UMNO/BN conspiracy to entrap and divide Pakatan Rakyat on the hudud issue was the motion by the Umno Selangor Assemblyman for Sungai Air Tawar Kamarol Zaki Abdul Malik in the Selangor State Assembly in June to push for the implementation of hudud.

But this UMNO motion in Selangor Asembly had to be hastily withdrawn when it was accepted by the Selangor Assembly Speaker Hannah Yeoh and UMNO learnt that the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat State Assembly members from DAP, PKR and PAS were united on the issue and had decided in a pre-council meeting to vote against the UMNO Selangor motion on hudud in keeping with the PR Common Policy Framework that justice, freedom and good governance and not hudud were the common PR agenda priorities.

In these circumstances, leaders of Pakatan Rakyat parties, whether DAP, PAS or PKR should be vigilant so as not to fall victim to the UMNO plot to foment dissension and cause break-up of PR, as we must always be mindful of what should the common policy priorities of PR as agreed by the PR leaders when the PR was formed after the 2008 general elections.

UMNO/BN parties, especially UMNO, MCA and Gerakan, should stop “playing with fire” to try to destabilize and divide the Pakatan Rakyat with the hudud ploy and instead should focus on national issues as the common top priorities whether of Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat – how to ensure that Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or political beliefs can live in peace and harmony to fully develop our human, economic, educational, environmental and national resources and potentials, in a framework of justice, freedom and good governance where there is no corruption, cronyism and all forms of abuses of power.

'Harmony Bills must be consistent'

The Star
by MAZWIN NIK ANIS

KUALA LUMPUR: The proposed National Harmony Bills must not compromise “the letter and spirit” of the Federal Constitution, including the position of the Malays and bumiputra, said Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin.

He said Umno Youth had identified four areas that must not be affected by the Bills and they would submit a memorandum to a committee in the party that was tasked to ensure the new laws would be in sync with its position.

The new Bills, he said, must also punish those who insult Malay Rulers as well as any race and religion professed in the country.

“We want the Bills to be consistent with the Federal Constitution particularly Articles 3, 152, 153 and 181,” he said after chairing the movement’s exco meeting.

Khairy said the new laws must also ensure that affirmative action or the Government’s agenda to empower the Malays and bumiputra were not deemed discriminatory practices.

The movement also wants the Bills to ensure there would be no discrimination towards any citizen based on one’s religion, ethnic background, birthplace or sex as stated under Article 8 of the Constitution.

“However, the issue of discrimination must stop at that. There must be no further inclusion,” he said in reference to attempts to include a clause in the new law to state that there would be no discrimination against any person based on sexual orientation.

Khairy said the meeting also supported Johor Umno Youth’s call for a fee to be imposed on Singapore-registered vehicles, saying that it was time the Government earned some revenue from such vehicles that were on Malaysian roads.

“We need to start imposing such fees and make sure those with unpaid traffic summonses cannot enter Malaysia.

“We have been very generous but unfortunately, such treatment has not been reciprocated. We were hoping that Singapore would lower fees on foreign vehicles but they raised it instead,” he said, adding that the matter would be raised in Cabinet today.

Singapore had recently announced that foreign vehicles were to pay S$35 (RM89) a day to enter the island republic. This was up from S$20 (RM51) previously.

Insisting that the proposal was not “tit-for-tat”, Khairy dispelled concerns that the move would deter Singaporeans from visiting Malaysia, hence affecting tourism and businesses.

“I don’t see why Singaporeans will stop visiting just because of the few ringgit that we impose on them,” he added.

Government To Impose Entry Permit Charge On Singapore Vehicles Entering Johor

JOHOR BAHARU, July 16 (Bernama) -- The government has agreed to impose the vehicle entry permit (VEP) charge soon on Singapore vehicles entering Johor, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Announcing this Wednesday, he said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Wahid Omar, who oversees the Economic Planning Unit, had been informed of the decision.

"I ask that the state government notify the Road Transport Department on when the move can be implemented," he said in his speech before the breaking of fast with Johor residents at the Persada International Convention Centre, here, today.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said the government would announce the effective enforcement date of the VEP charge soon.

"We will decide on the rates to be imposed. Part of the fee collection will be shared with the Johor government," he said.

Earlier, the prime minister attended a briefing on Johor's development to obtain information, especially on the plans and implementation of the pledges made during the 13th general election.

Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi who was met after the briefing, said the ministry was fine-tuning the proposed VEP charge.

However, he said, the VEP charge would not be applicable at the border checkpoints in the northern part of the peninsula.

"We are taking a bilateral approach only between Malaysia and Singapore because only Singapore is imposing a VEP charge on Malaysian vehicles and not the other countries," said Abdul Aziz.

Khaled recently said the Johor government suggested a VEP charge of RM20, with RM5 going to the state government for road maintenance, for Singapore vehicles entering Malaysia through the Johor Causeway and the Second Link.

Singapore had earlier announced an increased VEP charge of $35 from $20 now on foreign vehicles entering the island republic effective this Aug 1.