Khalid Samad: Siri penjelasan Zuhdi calar imej PAS

Muslims Hack Off Christian Man's Head After Forcing Him to Deny Jesus Christ and Salute Mohammed as 'Messenger of God'

A Christian man in Syria recently had his head brutally hacked off by Islamic militants after being forced to deny his faith and salute Mohammed as "the messenger of God".

The incident was caught on video for the world to see and broadcast as a warning to "everyone like him".

In the video that was posted to YouTube with translated captions, the helpless Christian man is surrounded by armed militants wearing masks and he is heard reciting as instructed: "There is no God but God and I testify that Mohammed is the messenger of God."

An apparent leader in the group of militants is then heard instructing the group: "No one will shoot him now, do you understand? He will not be killed by shooting because it is merciful for him."

"He will be beheaded because he is Kaffir, non-Muslim, sided [with] the government and was not praying at all. Everyone like him will have the same end, beheading," said the militant.

A militant armed with a machete then grabs the defenseless man by the hair and begins to cut his head from his body as the group cries "Allahu Akbar…there is no God but God."

The 2014 report from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom highlights Syria among several countries where being a Christian can be extremely hazardous due to terrorist and extremist Muslim threats.

[WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO, click here]


"Extremist groups and terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida and ISIL, also are perpetrating egregious religious freedom violations. They espouse violence and the creation of an Islamic state with no space for diversity, and have carried out religiously-motivated attacks and massacres against Alwaite, Shi'a, and Christian civilians," explained the document in highlighting conditions in Syria.

"NGO's report that several different anti-regime opposition groups have established Shari'ah courts in areas they control. Recently ISIL, a terrorist organization not aligned with the internationally-recognized opposition, announced that the approximately 3,000 Christians in Raqqa province must either face death, convert to Islam, or be treated as dhimmis (non-Muslim citizens of an Islamic state) who must pay a tax for their 'protection' and obey serious restrictions on their religious practices," it continued.

The report further noted that Bishop Boulos Yazigi of the Greek Orthodox Church and Bishop John Ibrahim of the Assyrian Orthodox Church are still missing since they were kidnapped by unknown assailants in the Northern province of Aleppo in April 2013.

Some 13 nuns and three workers from a Greek Orthodox monastery in the Christian village of Maaloula, who were kidnapped by the al-Nustra Front in late November 2013, were finally freed on March 9, 2014.

Al-Nusra took over Maaloula in September 2013 and their fighters reportedly attacked Christian homes killing at least a dozen people, and burning down a church. Those who remained were forced to convert to Islam according to the report.

Isil militants execute dozens from Yazidi minority

Fears mount for thousands from minority groups fleeing insurgent onslaught amid retreat by Kurdish forces

Baghdad: Militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) executed dozens of people from Iraq’s Yazidi minority who refused to embrace Islam, witnesses said.

Witnesses told a news agency that 67 young men were shot dead by the militants in the northern town of Sinjar, which the militants stormed on Sunday, driving off hundreds of families who had been residing in the area.

The men had been detained by the Isil militants since Sunday, witnesses added.

The Kurdish Bas News Agency reported that 88 Yazidis had been executed.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people, many of them from Iraq’s Yazidi and Turkmen minorities, are in dire need of help after fleeing the militant takeover of Sinjar, rights activists said on Monday.

According to the UN, up to 200,000 people fled the northern town when the Isil militants moved in and Kurdish peshmerga troops retreated on Sunday.

Many were Yazidis, a small community that follows a 4,000-year-old faith and has been repeatedly targeted by militants who call them “devil-worshippers” because of their unique beliefs and practices.

Sinjar was the main hub of the Yazidis in Iraq but the town of 300,000 fell to the Isil, which took the main northern city of Mosul on June 10 and this weekend secured much of its hinterland.

“What Daash [the Arabic acronym by which Isil is known] has done against the Yazidis in Sinjar is ethnic cleansing,” said Khodhr Domli, a Yazidi rights activist based in the Kurdish city of Dohuk.

“There are still thousands of people heading to Dohuk but thousands are also trapped in the Sinjar mountains,” he told AFP.

“There are old people among them, children. They have no food nor water, some have died already.”

“We last we had contact with them was last night [Sunday] but this morning we have not been able to make contact,” Domli said. “They face a double threat: nature and Daash.”

As Kurdish fighters struggled to hold back the onslaught of the militants on Iraq’s north, some 40,000 Yazidis fled the northern towns of Sinjar and Zumar, said Jawhar Ali Begg, a spokesperson for the community.

“Thousands of Yazidi people have been killed,” he said. The militant group gave the Yazidis, who follow an ancient religion with links to Zoroastrianism, an ultimatum to convert to Islam, pay a tax or face death, Begg added.

The United Nations said last month that more than 500,000 people have been displaced by the violence since June, bringing the total this year to 1.4 million, including more than 230,000 Syrian refugees.

Sinjar was also home to hundreds of families from the Turkmen Shiite minority who had fled to the nearby city of Tal Afar in the early days of the militant offensive nearly two months ago.

Ali Al Bayati, a Turkmen rights activist, said he was receiving very alarming reports about the people who had been forced back on the road on Sunday.

“Out of the 500 Turkmen Shiite families who had to flee, about 100 or more were able to reach a cement factory located about 15 kilometres outside Sinjar,” he said.

“They are still there and have nothing. They need help,” he said.

Bayati said that a larger group fleeing the raids was intercepted by Isil militants, who executed many of the men.

“The terrorists took the women as slaves and are now holding a large group at Tal Afar airport.”

The UN on Sunday expressed “grave concerns for the physical safety of these civilians” who fled Sinjar.

There was no information immediately available on the fate of the displaced from Iraq’s federal government or the autonomous Kurdish government.

What sets the Yazidis apart

The Yazidi minority faces a struggle for survival in Iraq after their bastion Sinjar was taken over by Isil militants on Sunday, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee. The existence of the small Kurdish-speaking community on its ancestral land is now critically endangered. Here are a few facts about the Yazidis:

The largest community is in Iraq — 600,000 people according to the highest Yazidi estimates, but barely 100,000 according to others — while a few thousand are also found in Syria, Turkey, Armenia and Georgia. They are mostly impoverished farmers and herders.

They follow a faith born in Mesopotamia more than 4,000 years ago. It is rooted in Zoroastrianism but has over time blended in elements of Islam and Christianity. Yazidis pray to God three times a day facing the sun and worship his seven angels — the most important of those angels being Melek Taus, or peacock angel.

Yazidis discourage marriage outside the community and even across their caste system. Their unique beliefs and practices — some are known to refrain from eating lettuce and wearing the colour blue — have often been misconstrued as satanic. Muslims consider the peacock a demon figure and refer to Yazidis as devil-worshippers.

As non-Arab and non-Muslim Iraqis, they have long been one of the country’s most vulnerable minorities. Persecution under Saddam Hussain forced thousands of families to flee the country. Germany is home to the largest community abroad, with an estimated 40,000.

Massive truck bombs almost entirely destroyed two small Yazidi villages in northern Iraq on August 14, 2007. More than 400 people died in the explosions, the single deadliest attack since the 2003 US-led invasion.
— AFP

Racism will flourish if leaders do nothing, say civil society, lawyers

Malaysians are getting bolder in displaying religious and racial hatred as the Barisan Nasional-led government has failed to act against extremists, says former Bar Council chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan.

She said condoning such acts were now a licence for others to make disparaging remarks.

"People think they can do this now because others are have done it and have gotten away with it."

Ambiga (pic, left) was responding to calls to punish Kelvin Yip and Shahul Hamid Seeni Mohd who had made derogatory remarks that offended Muslims and Hindus.

Yip had posted a profane comment on his Facebook on the volume of the early morning azan, or the Muslim call to prayer.

On the other hand, Shahul was seen in a viral video telling Muslims to boycott curry powder made by "Hindu companies" such as Alagappa's and Baba's.

"If you go to the Alagappa's factory near Permatang Pauh, you will see a statue (goddess) at the entrance, and the tongue is out. Why is the tongue out? Because the goddess must taste all the curry powder before they sell it," Shahul said during a "halal and haram" forum.

Both men have apologised for their comments. But, there are calls to charge them with sedition or under the Penal Code.

Ambiga said the Sedition Act should not be used against those uttering insensitive remarks on race and religion, unless they are harmful.

"We should all condemn it in the strongest terms and that should be the end of it. To gun for them to face prosecution is not, in my view, a proportionate response."

She called on Malaysians to stop extremists from setting the tone for the country.

"I also believe that people who are in a position to mould public opinion like the Uztaz (Shahul Hamid) should be more responsible."

She said the fault lies squarely with the leadership as they allowed this to happen when they did not act against those who had encouraged racial and religious hatred.

Ambiga, who is a patron of Negara-Ku, said leaders must set the example and show that such comments were unacceptable.

"We are now witnessing unbridled racism that we have allowed, and now we want to punish them."

Lawyers for Liberty executive director Eric Paulsen (pic, left) said comments by Yip and Shahul were petty and “we should just relax and chill”.

"Instead of asking the state to punish, we must engage this people for making insensitive and ridiculous statements."

Civil rights lawyer Syahredzan Johan said Yip and Shahul Hamid were reflections of a generation who were not given the opportunity to experience different religions and cultures.

"Our education system had divided us as some went to national, vernacular and private schools."

Syahredzan, a member of the Malaysian Bar Council, said he agreed with a proposal by the National Unity Consultative Council that those who utter such insensitive remarks be referred to a tribunal, instead of dragging the police and the public prosecutor into this.

"We should be more tolerant and forgiving in order to make Malaysia a better place to live and work."

Law expert: Sultan needs to call state polls in S'gor

 

Constitutional expert Prof Abdul Aziz Bari said today it will be difficult for Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah to appoint a new menteri besar for the state on grounds that incumbent Khalid Ibrahim has been accused of integrity issues by his own party members.

Aziz (left) said the sultan risks being accused of “favouring” one of the conflicting parties if he chooses to exercise his discretion to appoint a new government, and thus a state election would be the best way to resolve the problem.

“It is just difficult for the sultan to appoint a new menteri besar in this scenario. It is difficult to see who is having majority support in the House.

“Even PKR seems to be divided, given that the Azmin (Ali) faction has yet to give their support (to Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail),” the law professor added.

“The better way is to let the people decide through an election in the state.”

Khalid appears to be 'losing his grip by the day'

Aziz said the people in Selangor desperately needed someone “in charge” and Khalid appeared to be “losing his grip by the day”.

“It is the sultan’s duty to end this stalemate and this can only be done by him allowing the people to decide,” he added.

Aziz said the sultan could either ask Khalid to produce a letter requesting for a state assembly dissolution or, if Khalid remained adamant, the sultan could dissolve the House on his own.

“It is incumbent on the sultan to make the constitutional process work,” he said.

Aziz explained that it is not arbitrary for the sultan to dissolve the state assembly without a request from the menteri besar.

“It is true that in an ordinary situation, the sultan needs a request before he can dissolve the House. But if the sitting government refuses to do so and the situation gets worse, the sultan must act to save the state from deteriorating into further confusion and uncertainty,” he said.

“As of now the only way to have a government that commands the majority is through a general election.”

Aziz said that Khalid, the only person who could make a request for the dissolution of the state assembly, did not seem to be ready to do it, and this would lead to further problems in Selangor.

“Here comes the duty of the sultan to remove the clog. Admittedly, it is drastic and unprecedented. But this seems the only way.

“One needs to remember the Perak crisis of 2009, where the refusal to dissolve the House eventually dragged the palace into the mud as it denied the rakyat a say on the critical matter,” he added.

Pressured on 'racist' issues, AG fingers police

 

Umno Youth and Malay rights NGOs are barking up the wrong tree, Attorney-General (AG) Abdul Gani Patail said today in response to mounting pressure for him to charge more Malaysians who make callous remarks on sensitive race and religion issues.

Yesterday, Sinar Harian printed on its front page in bold red and white type, ‘AG, do not sleep’, to highlight Umno Youth leaders picking a fight with Gani over what they said was selective prosecution.

The debate was kicked off by Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, who complained in a Facebook posting last Friday that charging road rage perpetrator Siti Fairrah Ashykin Kamaruddin, or Kiki, without also hauling others to court may have a racial ring to it.

Khairy was commenting on a youth, Kelvin Yip, who on Facebook had angrily complained of the volume of morning prayer recitals in his vicinity during the Hari Raya celebrations, but has so far not been hauled up by the police. Umno Youth then jumped on the issue.

However, after calling the AG repeatedly, Sinar Harian said that it only received a curt response from the man himself.

Police have begun probe on Yip

“You are better off asking the police... I don’t want to answer anything,” Gani is quoted as saying by the Malay daily today.

In a related development, Kuala Lumpur police chief Tajudin Md Isa said police have began their investigation on Yip for his Facebook posting on Hari Raya prayers and called for calm.

The pressure continues to mount as more NGOs and Umno Youth members voiced out their frustrations in multiple Sinar Harian and Utusan Malaysia reports today, including a police report against Kelvin Yip being made in Malacca.

“This is not play-acting. We are not doing it for fun but to show that we are really furious as Malays,” Malacca Umno Youth vice-chairperson Rohaizam Bakar is quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia in a news report quots Umno supreme council member Mohd Puad Zarkashi (right) as saying that it was time for Gani to go because he is incompetent. Puad said this was his personal opinion.

Puad also questioned why the case against DAP Sri Delima assemblyperson RSN Rayer was dropped.

“Why no new charges brought against Rayer for repeating his insult during a speech (outside the state assembly)? Because of that, for me Abdul Gani is incompetent and his time is up,” Mohd Puad told Utusan.

Others who voiced out in the Malay press asking Gani to take a harder stance included leaders from the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim), Permim, Pekida and the Penang Malay Congress.

Tell that to the Chinese and Indians

Even in modern times we had people like Dr Sun Yat-sen, Leon Trotsky, Vladimir Lenin, Ruhollah Khomeini, Fidel Castro and his brother, Raúl, all heroes of the revolution, who ran away and went into exile to continue their struggle instead of staying in their own country and face arrest. Only when it was safe did all these people return to their country.

NO HOLDS BARRRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

RPK seems to be so involved in Malaysian politics. When he was in Malaysia, he was well respected for his open comments. But then he absconded to UK for fear of being arrested under ISA. The best thing for him to do would be to thank God that he has been given a second life to lead and mind his own affairs. It does not look right when someone who has no guts to face the music in his own country, runs to another country and starts preaching. In my opinion, he should stay out of Malaysian politics as he doesn’t belong here. I doubt many people would be bothered by his comments these days anyway.

Chandrah Na · Honolulu University of Arts & Science

************************************************

Dear Chandrah Na, thank you so much for your valuable advise. I certainly take it in the spirit of the good faith and noble intentions that it was intended. I would, however, like to reciprocate and offer you some of my own advice.

You need to be very careful with what you say because not everyone is as magnanimous as I am. Sometimes my magnanimity even amazes me myself and I wonder how I can have such a big heart unmatched by those others of my station in life.

I mean, in spite of my breeding and my standing in society, I still waste my valuable time to read what you say and give you my reply when thousands of others may find you unworthy of even the time of day, as if you are mere dog shit on the sole of their shoe.

I say be careful because Muslims might get very offended with what you say and you never know what an angry Muslim is capable of. They might feel you are insulting Prophet Muhammad who ran away from Mekah instead of staying put so that his enemies can kill him.

Together with Abu Bakar, Muhammad sneaked away in the middle of the night and hid in a cave while his enemies went all over looking for him. And then, when the coast was clear, he escaped to Yathrib, now called Medina, and stayed there for ten years until he managed to build a huge army and return to Mekah to occupy it.

The Christians, too, might get offended with what you say. The night the Romans came to arrest Jesus his 12 disciples all ran away and abandoned him. In fact, one Roman soldier recognised Peter, the man who Jesus said his church would be built upon. The Roman then asked Peter whether he was one of the machai of Jesus and Peter replied, “Who, me? A kunchu of Jesus? No way man!”

So the Christians might think you are saying that the 12 disciples are cowards for running away and for not daring to surrender to the Roman and also die on the cross like Jesus. I mean, the Christians read the books written by these people who abandoned Jesus and ran away every Sunday and they might feel very offended by your allegation.

The other people who might take offense are Malaysians of Chinese and Indian descent. From 1850 to 1920 their ancestors also ran way from China, India and Ceylon because life was very difficult in those countries.

No doubt they were economic and not political immigrants or refugees but they, too, were cowards who could not endure the hard life in their own country. Many died of starvation so they ran away from their own country to settle in British Malaya that was booming because of tin and rubber.

Today, about one million descendants of those people who ran away from China, India and Ceylon to come to British Malaya have themselves run away to other countries such as Canada, America, Australia, New Zealand, England and so on. Some even ran away to non-English speaking countries such as France, Germany, etc.

Of course, they ran away from Malaysia because they can earn better salaries in these other countries and, therefore, enjoy a better life compared to life in Malaysia. In a way they are not loyal Malaysians because they would rather migrate for a better life instead of suffering in their own country.

On top of that, many of these Chinese and Indians who abandoned Malaysia, the country of their birth, have joined ABU, SABM, Bersih, and so on, to protest against the Malaysian government. Since, as you say, they have already run away, why are they so kaypoh about what is happening in Malaysia?

As you have rightly pointed out, they should “stay out of Malaysian politics, as they do not belong here.” Just stay quietly in your new adopted country and jangan sibuk sangat about Malaysia. So I support your spirit of if you do not live in Malaysia then stay the fuck out of Malaysian politics, especially those Chinese and Indian Malaysians living overseas whose ancestors ran away from their own country.

If you were to study the last 500 years history of Europe you will know that many French ran away to England and many English ran away to France because of politics. If not they would have been killed in their own countries.

Even in modern times we had people like Dr Sun Yat-sen, Leon Trotsky, Vladimir Lenin, Ruhollah Khomeini, Fidel Castro and his brother, Raúl, all heroes of the revolution, who ran away and went into exile to continue their struggle instead of staying in their own country and face arrest. Only when it was safe did all these people return to their country.

As I said, Chandrah Na, I am open to criticism because I was raised in a very different manner than, say, you. But not many people are as civilised as I am and they will certainly be very offended by what they might view as your insult. So be very careful lest they take what you say the wrong way.

Oh, and do reply because I really do not mind engaging you in an intelligent and intellectual discourse. I do not want people to interpret your silence as a coward who runs away from a debate because he did not know his history and is not able to respond to what I have said.

Till we talk again, take care and do read up a bit on history if you can find the time.

Oh, and one more thing. You said I should thank God. Which of your many Gods should I be thanking? Or should I thank the whole lot of them?

Pakatan ready to face snap polls, says Anwar

(The Star) – Pakatan Rakyat is ready to face the electorate in snap polls in the event one is called,
said opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pic).

In a statement on Tuesday, Anwar said that while there were no objective reasons for such an election, he was confident that the people would vote in the opposition pact again.

Anwar said he was confident that the leadership crisis plaguing Selangor could be resolved amicably in the “true Pakatan spirit” either through a smooth transition, vote of no-confidence or even, snap elections.

In the May 8 General Elections last year, Pakatan won 44 state seats in Selangor with Barisan Nasional winning the remainder 12 seats.

Pakatan is currently facing a tough test as the Selangor Mentri Besar crisis plays out.

While PKR have officially backed Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to take over the Mentri Besar’s post currently held by Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, PAS’ senior leaders have publicly said that they do not see any need for Khalid to be replaced.

Khalid has previously said that he will not step down although he does not have the backing of his party.

The issue is seen as a litmus test for Pakatan, with some even predicting the split up of the opposition pact.

Anwar said that the Pakatan leadership had an understanding as to whose call it was to appoint the Mentri Besar, just as they had respected the right of other parties to make that decision in other states.

“That understanding must be adhered to,” said Anwar.

Anwar also said that Pakatan would not break up over the Mentri Besar issue but it can and will break up if its component parties compromise on core principles of integrity, transparency and accountability in government.

“It was on these principles that Pakatan Rakyat was formed to provide an alternative choice of government for the people,” he said.

He added that Pakatan was built on commitment and conviction and it was this strength that had propelled the coalition partners to fight side-by-side in the last elections.

Anwar said the coalition must therefore consolidate this strength to remain together and resist all attempts to break it apart.

“Each member party of the coalition must therefore respect collective decisions made after consultation. Failure to respect and honour this principle of adherence may warrant some difficult decisions to be made,” he said.

Anwar also added that they were equally concerned at the divisive and racist tone by some minor Pakatan leaders that “completely violated” the core values of the coalition.

“We believe the appropriate disciplinary action should be directed against such members,” he said.

He said that any tough decisions made will be in the best interests of the rakyat and for the sake of the rakyat.

“Whether or not we lose support for the stand we take, we will be forever committed to the goal of a just, corruption-free and truly democratic Malaysia,” he said.

Southeast Asia Supplying Jihadists to Middle East?

Growing trickle crosses borders to help found the Caliphate

By Asia Sentinel,

Southeast Asian governments with large Muslim populations are concerned that the nascent Islamic State of Iraq and Sham, better known by its initials ISIS, or its Islamic rival the al-Nusrah Front, are recruiting a trickle of young for battle and raising funds throughout the region.

“Basically we have had them going to Syria since late 2012,” said Sidney Jones, the director of the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis. “Mostly their purpose was to provide humanitarian aid, but it has started to metamorphose into joining the fighting. Asians have gone into the main camps, fighting in Syria and Iraq.”

In Indonesia, Malaysia and to a lesser extent the Philippines, networks are growing involving dozens, perhaps hundreds of people where support for ISIS, including fundraising oath-taking, takes place, Jones said. But so far the numbers making their way to the battle front remain small and the governments are trying to block social media from exhorting the young to join. Malaysia is actively using its Securities and Special Measures Act, its successor to the infamous Internal Security Act, to arrest and hold potential terrorists. In April and May, officials arrested 11 people who were accused of fundraising for ISIS.

Possibly 100 to 150 young fighters have made their way to Syria or Iraq from Indonesia since the attempt to overthrow the Bashir regime in Damascus, authorities think, although they have the names of only 56. There are perhaps 30 to 50 from Malaysia, Jones said, far from the 11,000 to 12,000 fighters that other organizations believe have made their way from Europe and Australia. Southeast Asians mostly don’t speak Arabic, creating a language barrier, while Australians and Europeans tend to be from expatriate Arab families. The young also tend to find themselves more isolated and alienated in western societies unlike in Asia, where they are more connected to their families and to society.

A story in the Straits Times of Singapore put the number of Malaysians in Syria at 100. The Syrian permanent representative to the United Nations reported in June that 15 had been killed in Syria after joining jihadist outfits. But that can’t be confirmed and it’s thought to be exaggerated and Malaysian authorities haven’t been able to find the names of any of them.

“Despite what we are seeing in some corners of the local media, there is unlikely to be an exodus of Filipino Muslims leaving their homeland to take up the cause of ISIS outside of the Philippines,” said Matt Williams, with Pacific Strategies & Assessments n Manila. “The Abu Sayyaf, who once maintained links with Al Qaeda, are now criminally motivated and lack the fanatical ideology that drives organizations like JI or ISIS. The greater concern is that the recent wave of ISIS success may spark renewed ideological zeal in the coming generation of Abu Sayyaf members and a return to a terrorism agenda. At present, Muslim extremism in the Philippines is about clan warfare, insurgency and criminal enterprise as opposed to global terrorism.”

Malaysia awakened to the problem with a bang on May 26, when a quiet 26-year-old former factory worker named Ahmad Tarmimi Maliki drove an SUV filled with tons of explosives into the headquarters of Iraq’s special weapons and attack team in al-Anbar Province, killing himself and 25 Iraqi soldiers. ISIS, with its scrupulous attention to furthering its exploits via social media, featured his photograph on its official website with the title, “Mujahidin Malaysia Syahid Dalam Operasi Martyrdom” (Malaysian Muhahidin Martyrdom Operation).

Indonesia’s first recorded death was in November of last year, when Syrian rebel forces of the al-Izz Brigade said Riza Fardi, a 2006 graduate of radical Indonesian imam Abu Bakar Bashir, had been shot and killed by Syrian forces. Like Ahmad Tarmimi, he has since been called a martyr and his bloody body has been displayed on social media across the region.

The Jakarta Globe in mid-July reported that Indonesians who joined the fighting across the Middle East have since returned to establish ISIS branches in Jakarta and West Nusa Tenggara. Indonesia has carried on a ruthless and largely effective campaign to rid the country of radical Islamists for years, killing many of them.

Nonetheless, as with Tarmimi and Reza Farmi, Jones said in a Skype interview, ISIS has shown uncommon dexterity with social media to raise funds and seek recruits. Indonesia has responded by attempting to block YouTube videos featuring calls to local Muslims to sign up and by threatening to designate anybody who declares allegiance to ISIS as stateless, suspending their passports. Communications and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring said earlier this week that the videos were uploaded late last month.

“We will immediately follow up on the result … concerning the ISIS videos,” Tifatul told reporters. “We will immediately block the videos.”

The concern on the part of Southeast Asian leaders is that the young, as they did during the Afghan War against the then-Soviet Union, would come back to take on their own governments. Many of them came back from Afghanistan battle-hardened to take on the Suharto government and successive governments in both Indonesia and the Philippines. But, Jones said, the young going to the Middle East are heeding the call to establish a Muslim kingdom across the region, not to fight their own governments.

Thus the battle for Syria, Jones said, carries special resonance with young Muslims because of a prediction, contained in the hadith, or sayings by the Prophet Mohamad not contained in the Quran that Greater Syria, or Sham, is where the battle for control of the world will begin at the end of time, and that Islam will be victorious. ISIS’s ambition is to re-establish a caliphate across much of the Middle East, an ambition that has filled the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the oil rich states with dread. It is opposed by Iran, whose Shia government is in bitter conflict with majority Sunnis who make up most of the Islamic world.

The Sunni roots of ISIS raise further concerns when the young who aren’t martyred in the Middle East return home, Jones said. There are tiny Shia minorities in Indonesia and Malaysia, where authorities already prohibit them from practicing their faith. Whether the Sunnis will attack the minority Shias is a growing danger.

There is a bitter split, however, between ISIS, which emerged from the al-Qaeda insurgency in Iraq led by the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, according to a report by Jones’ Institute for Policy Analysis, and the al-Nusrah Front. The two have squabbled over leadership of the effort to bring down Syrian head Bashir Ahmad. That has spilled out into Indonesia, where. In 2006, it became the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi became its leader in 2010. In 2013, al-Baghdadi announced that the al-Nusrah Front was ISI’s front in Syria and that the two groups would henceforth work together as the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS), which he would head.

The al-Nusrah Front wanted no part of this, especially when members were ordered to swear allegiance to al-Baghdadi, and the split became deep and dangerous. At that point, al-Nusrah associated itself more explicitly with Osama bin Laden’s designated successor, Aiman az-Zawaheri.

“So far, Jones said, “we no evidence that the ISIS central command is providing funds or trainers throughout Southeast Asia, but the real concern is that it could be imminent. There is persistent discussion on social media about ISIS personnel coming to Indonesia, but we don’t think we have seen any yet.”

Pakatan tidak akan berkompromi pada prinsip-prinsip dasar

KENYATAAN MEDIA
5 OGOS 2014

Pakatan tidak akan berkompromi pada prinsip-prinsip dasar

Banyak telah diperkatakan semenjak beberapa minggu lalu akan kemungkinan pecahnya Pakatan Rakyat akibat pergeseran di antara PKR dan PAS berkenaan dengan pilihan calon Menteri Besar Selangor.

Ingin saya menegaskan bahawa Pakatan Rakyat tidak akan berpecah semata-mata kerana pilihan calon Menteri Besar. Sebaliknya, PR boleh dan akan hanya berpecah sekiranya ada parti komponennya yang sanggup berkompromi dalam prinsip-prinsip dasar seperti kewibawaan, ketelusan dan kebertanggungjawaban di dalam pengurusan kerajaan.

Atas prinsip-prinsip inilah Pakatan Rakyat dizahirkan sebagai sebuah kerajaan alternatif untuk rakyat. Prinsip-prinsip ini juga telah dicabuli oleh kerajaan BN ketika ianya berkuasa pada lima dekad yang lalu.

Keputusan PRU ke-12 pada 8 Mac 2008 telah menunjukkan dengan jelas bahawa perjuangan PR yang berpaksikan di atas prinsip-prinsip ini telah diterima baik oleh rakyat yang rata-ratanya mengharapkan sebuah kerajaan yang bersih, berprinsip dan bersungguh-sungguh dalam membela kepentingan rakyat.

Dalam usaha murni ini, gabungan Pakatan bersama dengan semua yang menyokong usaha ini telah bersama-sama menggembleng tenaga pada PRU ke-13 dalam menghadapi cabaran amat hebat untuk terus memberikan harapan kepada rakyat Malaysia. Usaha kita tidak sia-sia, kerana kita telah memenangi jiwa dan minda majoriti pengundi Malaysia walaupun kita dihalang daripada membentuk sebuah kerajaan.

Perkara penting yang perlu difahami adalah sebuah pakatan pembangkang yang kuat telah berjaya menekan kerajaan untuk menjadi lebih bertanggungjawab dan mengekang sebahagian daripada keborosan mereka. Bagaimanapun, perjuangan untuk sebuah kerajaan yang benar-benar bersih dan telus masih perlu diteruskan.

Kekuatan ini tidak boleh dibina atas dasar keinginan dan impian semata, lebih bahaya lagi sekiraya kekuatan ini dilandaskan dengan perasaan curiga, dendam dan irihati. Ianya perlu dibina atas iltizam dan kenyakinan, dan inilah kekuatan yang telah mendorong rakan kongsi PR untuk berjuang bersama-sama pada PRU 13 yang lalu.

Justeru, kita perlu menyatukan kekuatan ini untuk terus kekal bersama dan terus menolak sebarang percubaan untuk memecahbelahkan kita. Setiap parti di dalam gabungan ini wajib menghormati sebarang keputusan yang dicapai selepas rundingan bersama. Kegagalan untuk menghormati dan menunaikan kewajipan ini bakal memaksa kita membuat beberapa keputusan yang sukar.
Persefahaman akan hak lantikan MB Selangor telahpun wujud di kalangan pimpinan PR, sepertimana PKR juga telah bersetuju akan hak parti-parti lain dalam membuat keputusan yang sama di negeri-negeri lain. Persefahaman ini wajib dipatuhi.

Kita yakin bahawa isu MB Selangor ini akan diselesaikan dengan baik sesuai dengan semangat Pakatan Rakyat, samada diselesaikan melalui proses peralihan yang lancar, undi tidak percaya mahupun pilihanraya. Namun begitu, tidak ada sebarang keperluan untuk mengadakan pilihanraya kerana Barisan hanya ada 12 kerusi di kalangan 56 kerusi DUN dan PRU-13 hanya diadakan kira-kira 15 bulan yang lalu.

Walaubagaimanapun, sekiranya pilihanraya terpaksa dilakukan, Pakatan telah bersedia untuk menghadapi para pengundi dan berkeyakinan penuh bahawa rakyat Selangor akan sekali lagi menyokong kita.

Kita juga bimbang akan nada perkauman dan perpecahan yang disuarakan oleh segelintir pimpinan kecil Pakatan yang jelasnya mencabuli nilai-nilai asas PR. Kami berpendapat bahawa tindakan disiplin yang sewajarnya perlu diambil ke atas golongan ini.
Rakyat perlu diyakinkan bahawa sekiranya beberapa keputusan sukar perlu dibuat, ianya akan dibuat hanya setelah mengambilkira kepentingan rakyat dan dibuat untuk maslahah atau kepentingan rakyat. Samada kita hilang sokongan akibat pendirian yang kita ambil, kita akan terus beristiqamah dan komited dengan matlamat untuk membentuk Malaysia yang lebih adil, bebas korupsi dan benar-benar demokratik.

Jaminan kita adalah bahawa kita tidak akan sesekali menyimpang daripada nilai-nilai asas dan kita akan terus memastikan kepentingan rakyat tetap didahulukan.

Kita yakin dan percaya bahawa peristiwa ini akan terus mematangkan dan memperkasakan kita. Rakyat telah menaruh kepercayaan kepada kita dan kita wajib memastikan kita wajar dipercayai dan kepercayaan rakyat jangan kita khianati.
Walau apapun yang bakal berlaku, Pakatan, bersandarkan tekad rakyat, akan terus bertahan! Insya Allah!

ANWAR IBRAHIM

On authorities’ alleged selective prosecution – Lim Chee Wee

Recent attempts to question the authorities’ purported inaction over cases involving non-Muslims’ alleged disrespect for Islam will only heighten racial tension. This is most irresponsible and unnecessary at a time when we can do with more goodwill among the different races.

On Sunday, Mingguan Malaysia in a column by Awang Selamat and Federal Territory Umno Youth chief, Mohd Razlan Muhammad Rafii had suggested that the authorities practiced selective prosecution by not acting against those who had insulted Islam. The argument was that Islamic preacher Shahul Hamid was swiftly picked up for questioning after a video of him insulting Hindus went viral on social media. Meanwhile, two individuals who had made disparaging remarks about Islam are still on the loose.

Such comments raise two issues: firstly, prosecutorial discretion and secondly, what is the solution to interfaith differences. It is a universally accepted practice and policy that not all suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution. The dominant consideration is whether it is in the public interest to prosecute and another consideration is whether there are mitigating circumstances such as admission of guilt/apology. Sometimes, prosecutorial discretion is perceived to result in double standard prosecution.

Neither Mingguan Malaysia nor Mohd Razlan provided empirical evidence to back its argument about rise in anti-Islam behaviour and how Singapore was swift in managing interfaith differences. Such emotive generalisation does not serve to improve the discourse. Perhaps, they have forgotten that Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee were charged last year under the Sedition Act for insulting the Muslims.

On the second point about solution to interfaith differences, it is time for us to move beyond prosecution and punishment. We must start debating the role of education, understanding, engagement, mediation and civil law remedy in resolving interfaith differences. – August 8, 2014.

*Lim Chee Wee is the co-president of Centre For A Better Tomorrow.

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

Harmony bill needs study, not ready this year, says minister

The Malaysian Insider

The National Harmony Bill, among the laws being proposed to replace the Sedition Act 1948, may not be ready this year as it needs more scrutiny before it can be tabled in Parliament, said a minister.

"We need to really consider...(it) is better to have something that is really useful to the people, something that will help (to unite) the people instead of causing more break ups among the people. You see that what is happening now is provocation through the social media," Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Nancy Shukri (pic), was quoted as saying by Bernama.

The bill is among two other bills proposed to replace the Sedition Act 1948. They are the Racial and Religious Hate Crimes Bill, which outlaws hate speech, and the National Harmony and Reconciliation Commission Bill, which sets out the scope of the body which will hear discrimination disputes before they go to court.

The three bills have been submitted to Nancy by the National Unity Consultative Council's Policies to Promote National Harmony and Legislation Committee.

Some quarters have voiced reservations about the bill while calling for Sedition Act to be maintained.

Last month, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he wanted certain elements in the Sedition Act to be incorporated.

"Racial, religious and cultural issues should be comprehensively covered in the National Harmony Act," said Zahid.

Nancy said it was difficult to set a time frame for the completion of the bill's draft, adding that the Attorney-General's Chamber was still studying feedback from  various parties, and working with the National Unity Department. – August 5, 2014.

Police shoots teenager dead

The Sun Daily
by Charles Ramendran

PETALING JAYA: A suspected teenage robber was shot dead by police when he confronted them with a parang following a chase in Taman Medan here today.

The 19-year-old teenager who was driving a stolen car had earlier made a robbery attempt on a man on Jalan PJS1/2 at about 4.30am.

He sped off empty handed with an accomplice on seeing several passer-by coming to the victim's aid.

Police were alerted and were on the lookout for the suspects when two detectives on patrols spotted the suspect's car at Jalan PJS3/1.

On realising the police were on their trail, the suspects pulled over, jumped out of their vehicle and fled on foot.

Selangor police CID chief SAC Datuk Mohd Adnan Abdullah said a policeman managed to catch up with a suspect but the teenager whipped out a parang and repeatedly swung it at him.

He said on seeing the policeman was in danger, his colleague pulled out his pistol and fired a gunshot which hit the suspect in his abdomen.

The suspect died on the spot minutes later and a hunt for his accomplice who managed to escape is ongoing. It is learnt that the suspect's accomplice was arrested by police just weeks ago for an undisclosed offence and was freed on bail.

Checks by police showed that the suspect's vehicle, a Toyota Alphard was fitted with false registration plates and was reported stolen in Puchong last week.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that dissatisfied family members of the suspect who showed up at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre mortuary to claim his body had accused the police of high-handedness in handling the case.

They claimed that the suspect was a good person but mingled with bad company and that the police should not have opened gunfire to kill but only disarm the suspect.

11 Appointed To Education Advisory Council For 2014-2016

PUTRAJAYA, Aug 5 (Bernama) -- Eleven people prominent in various fields have been appointed as members of the National Education Advisory Council (MPPK) for 2014-2016, effective Aug 1.

They are Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Pro-Chancellor and former director-general of education Tan Sri Dr Abdul Rahman Arshad, who will also chair the council; National Council of Professors chairman Tan Sri Dr Zakri Abdul Hamid; National Population and Family Development Board chairman Tan Sri Napsiah Omar; Islamic Dakwah Foundation of Malaysia president Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki; Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan; Gazprom Marketing & Trading Pte Ltd (Singapore) Asia Pacific managing director Datuk Mohammad Medan Abdullah.

Universiti Tun Abdul Razak founder Datuk Hassan Harun; Universiti Malaysia Sabah vice-chancellor Datuk Prof Dr Mohd Harun Abdullah; Institute of the Malay World and Civilisation of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) principal research fellow Datuk Prof Dr Teo Kok Seong; UKM Institute of Ethnic Studies principal research fellow Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria and Sekolah Menengah Sri KDU principal Datin Ong Guan Siew or better known as Datin A.K. Chan.

Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin handed them their letters of appointment in Putrajaya, Tuesday.

At the event, Muhyiddin said the roles of MPPK would be standardised, which also saw the increase in the number of its members to 11 from nine previously, in line with the merger of Education Ministry and the Higher Education Ministry.

He said the council would play a role in providing advice on matters concerning national education, right from pre-school to tertiary level, compared to only up to secondary level previously.

"It is hoped that these new MPPK members, with their various backgrounds and expertise, will be able to give their professional opinions and advice in education-related matters to assist the ministry in ensuring success of the National Education Blueprint (PPPM) 2013-2025 and the National Higher Education Strategic Plan (PSPTN)," he said.

The deputy prime minister said the importance of the setting up of the council was stipulated under the Education Act 1961 and was further emphasized under Section 10 of the Education Act 1996 (Act 550).

He said he would personally chair the council's meeting for at least twice a year to listen to their views and advice concerning national education, especially on the implementation of PPPM and PSPTN, as well as on the continuity of education from primary, secondary and up to tertiary level.

"We practise quite an open concept. Although we have certain policies which we implement upon Cabinet approval and based on the law, we always remain open because education is a very dynamic process and it changes everytime," he said.

Muhyiddin said the ministry had also carried out review on PSPTN, which would be renamed as the Malaysian Higher Education Blueprint 2015-2025 and scheduled to be launched at the end of this year.

The deputy prime minister also expressed appreciation to former members of the council led by Tan Sri Dr Wan Mohd Zahid Mohd Noordin, who he described as having made a huge contribution when they submitted the memorandum for a review on the national education and the setting up a committee that came out with the PPPM.

Meanwhile, Abdul Rahman described his appointment as a huge challenge since various problems and issues in the education sector need to be addressed.

Abdul Rahman, who is also Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Pro-Chancellor, said this would include the effort to put a balance in the distribution of aid to schools in urban and rural areas across the country.

"I see this as a huge challenge and may take some time, but I also see the council comprises people prominent in various fields.

"We will try to improve and give our level best (to the effort)," he told reporters after receiving his letter of appointment from Muhyiddin.

Abdul Rahman said the scope of their duties was huge as they must look into educational issues from the pre-school level up to higher education level and the continuity at each level.

The former director-general of Education also said that among the issues that should be given extra attention were school curriculum and trainings for teachers.

"Education must have several objectives, including developing national economy, social and humanitarian, as well as spiritual and responsibility. So, this must be given more emphasis," he said.