Thursday, 27 November 2014
ISIS stones 2 ‘gay men’ to death in Syria: observer
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group stoned two men to death in Syria Tuesday after claiming they were gay, a monitor said, in the militant organization’s first executions for alleged homosexuality.
“The ISIS today stoned to death a man that it said was gay,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding that the victim was around 20 years old.
He was killed in Mayadeen in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, near the border with Iraq.
The Britain-based Observatory said ISIS claimed it found videos on his mobile phone showing him “practicing indecent acts with males.”
In a separate incident on Tuesday, an 18-year-old was also stoned to death in Deir Ezzor city after the group said he was gay, the Observatory said.
Activists on social media said that the dead men were opponents of ISIS and that the group had used the allegation as a pretext to kill them.
The United Nations said this month the ISIS had carried out several executions by stoning of women in Syria it accused of adultery.
The militants proclaimed a “caliphate” in June after seizing swathes of Iraq and Syria.
Activists say ISIS carries out regular public executions -- often beheadings -- in areas it controls.
Bangladesh 'Hajj critic' AL Siddique is arrested
A senior Bangladeshi politician who criticised the annual Hajj pilgrimage made by Muslims to Mecca has been arrested in Dhaka.
Abdul Latif Siddique was denied bail and sent to jail on charges of insulting Islam.
Mr Siddique returned from India on Sunday after a long trip abroad.
Calls for his arrest came after he told a gathering in New York in September that he was "dead against the Hajj". He was subsequently sacked as a minister.
His comments triggered an angry reaction among hard line Islamist parties, who staged protests.
They and other opposition political parties demanded the former telecommunication minister's immediate arrest.
'An apostate'
Television footage from the US showed Mr Siddique telling a Bangladeshi expatriate audience in New York that he opposed the Hajj, and that the Prophet Mohammed had established it partly for commercial reasons.
Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30195714
EXCLUSIVE - From Naked and Afraid to battling ISIS: Former US Marine who starred in reality show weeks ago has joined foreign legion battling extremists
- Joshua Bell appeared in third season of Naked and Afraid in September
- Ex Marine suffered fever and sickness and left show after just five days
- Now 28-year-old has joined group fighting ISIS in Syrian city of Kobane
- He is among large number of foreigners fighting with The Lions Of Rojava
- Britons Jamie Read and James Hughes are also fighting with pro-Kurds
- Group led by Jordan Matson, who made headlines as one of first Americans to join the Kurdish People's Protection Unit (YPG)
A former U.S. Marine has joined a growing foreign legion of Western fighters battling ISIS on the frontline just weeks after he starred in a survival reality TV show.
Photos have emerged on social media that apparently show Joshua Bell, 28, who appeared in the third season of Naked and Afraid, a reality survival show produced by the Discovery Channel. In 'Nicaragua Nightmare', Bell alongside his fellow contestant, Amanda Leigh, had to survive 21 days in the Central American jungle.
The episode was aired in early September 2014 and saw Bell suffering with fever and sickness while helping a female fellow contestant make a bikini out of small strips of duct-tape. Just two months later, on November 10, Bell arrived on the frontline in the besieged city of Kobane
Bell is among the latest foreign volunteers - many of them ex-US, British and Canadian military - to join a group called The Lions Of Rojava, who have been mounting a brave counter attack against Islamic State terrorists in northern Syria over the past few months.
The Lions Of Rojava act as a foreign legion for the Kurdish People's Protection Unit (YPG) - a group that has been mounting a brave resistance against ISIS in Kobane for more that two months.
Bell was a contestant on Naked and Afraid on September 7. In the show, both contestants are strangers and have to work together to survive unassisted in a hostile environment.
In each episode, contestants have to strip naked and meet each other in a tough environment, normally in the middle of a thick jungle or a remote island. The two survivalists have to find clean water, food and build a weather proof shelter.
Read more:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2849877/EXCLUSIVE-Naked-Afraid-battling-ISIS-Former-Marine-starred-reality-weeks-ago-joined-foreign-legion-battling-extremists.html
White Paper to combat Islamic State threat passed by Parliament
Parliament today approved the White Paper on combating the threat posed by Islamic State, with a promise to enact a new law to help prevent such threats in future, Bernama reported.Winding up the debate on the motion this evening, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamid said that the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act would stress on prevention, in addition to eradication of the existing threat.
"I also want to give an assurance that the government will not follow the laws of other nations to create an anti-terrorism act, although in reality six nations have drawn up such an act," he said.
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia then approved the motion which was tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, after receiving more ayes than nays.
According to Bernama, six Members of Parliament, three each from the Barisan Nasional (BN) and three from the opposition, debated the motion on the White Paper which explained the danger the Islamic State posed and the level of threat to national security.
The prime minister had informed Parliament that the new law to eradicate the involvement of Malaysians in militancy and terrorism, would be tabled at the next Dewan Rakyat sitting.
In stressing that Malaysia is committed to tackle the threat of terrorism with the international community, Najib said such cooperation will contribute to strenghtening national security.
"The involvement of Malaysians in militant activities in the name of Islam have tarnished the country's image and affected the purity of Islam.
"All citizens, regardless of race, religion and political leanings have to reject extreme ideologies and have confidence that the wasatiyyah or moderation concept is the best way to ensure the nation's peace and harmony," he said.
The motion received the thumbs up from opposition MPs as well, led by opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR-Permatang Pauh).
The defacto PKR chief said the new law must be firm in helping the government to tackle the problems of terrorism, and not be used for political gain.
He also urged the government to explain militant activities more closely, especially on Islamic State.
As of November 13 this year, 39 Malaysians have been identified to be part of Isis in Syria and Iraq while another 40 has been arrested by the police, including those who had just returned from Syria.
Although 19 has been released due to lack of evidence, the government has imposed restrictions on them travelling overseas and they are currently being monitored by the police.
The Malaysians fighting alongside Isis forces in the Middle East were influenced to take up the struggle via social media, intelligence sources had said previously.
Some, like former Kedah PAS Youth information chief Lotfi Ariffin who was killed in Syria, had not only posted about his activities with the militants on Facebook, but had issued call-to-action messages, too.
To date, five Malaysians have been killed in action in the Middle East. – November 26, 2014.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/white-paper-to-combat-islamic-state-threat-passed-by-parliament#sthash.vyaWpQL6.dpuf
Banned from Sabah, Ambiga speaks at Negara-Ku forum via Skype
Prominent lawyer Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan addressed about 150 people at the Negara-Ku nationwide roadshow to "reclaim Malaysia" in Kota Kinabalu through Skype last night, despite being banned from entering Sabah.Event moderator Gerald Joseph said Ambiga, who is also the movement’s patron, spoke to the crowd for about 20 minutes from Kuala Lumpur.
She also took questions from the floor which lasted another 40 minutes.
Gerald said yesterday's event only showed that the prohibition to stop Ambiga from addressing the people's legitimate concerns was not effective.
"You can stop the messenger… but not the message," Gerald told The Malaysian Insider.
He said some among the crowd criticised the Sabah government and immigration authorities for stopping Ambiga from entering state, as she was not a threat to national security and public order.
Tan Sri Simon Sipaun, a former Human Rights Commissioner, said the authorities owed Malaysians an explanation for banning Ambiga from entering the state to participate in a legitimate activity.
"As a Malaysian, her right to freedom of movement and expression has been unreasonably restricted," said Sipaun, who also spoke at the forum.
Other speakers were Star party chief and Bingkor assemblyman Datuk Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan and Negara-Ku chairman Zaid Kamaruddin.
The event in Sabah is part of Negara-Ku's programme to return the nation to rationality, allow for open and civil discussion, moderation and harmony.
The roadshow began two weeks ago in Malacca, and covered six other states: Perak, Johor, Negri Sembilan, Penang, Sabah and Kuala Lumpur.
Endorsed by over 60 civil society groups, the movement's patrons are Ambiga, national laureate Datuk A. Samad Said and Sipaun.
Gerald said the organisers decided to resort to Skype after Ambiga was notified on November 14 that she had been banned from entering the state.
A letter from the Sabah Immigration Department had been sent to Ambiga in response to her inquiry to them on November 11, informing them of her intention to visit Sabah on November 25 for a programme with Negara-Ku.
“I had written to them because I don’t want to fly all the way there just to be told I’m not allowed in. It was just a formality, to confirm there was no restriction.
“But then they wrote back and said they had rejected my application – even though I wasn’t even applying for their permission to enter Sabah,” she said.
The civil lawyer said that under section 67 of the Immigration Act, she was entitled as to enter Sabah as the trip was for engaging in a legitimate, non-partisan community activity.
The Sabah immigration department did not provide any reason for barring Ambiga from the state.
Sarawak immigration authorities had also stopped her from entering the state during the April state election in 2011 but her legal challenge fizzled out as she filed the suit in Kuala Lumpur.
The Federal Court ruled she should have started her case in Kuching as there were two high courts (Malaya and Sabah and Sarawak) of equal jurisdiction.
Ambiga, when contacted today, said she was pleased to be able to speak to the enthusiastic crowd and to interact with those present.
"All such bans are no longer working due to technological advancements," she said, adding that she would be filing for a judicial review in Kuching through a lawyer there.
She has 90 days from November 14 to do so. – November 26, 2014.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/banned-from-sabah-ambiga-speaks-at-negara-ku-forum-via-skype#sthash.9bs3HUZE.dpuf
Don’t be too tolerant with non-Muslims, warns Umno Youth delegate
An Umno Youth delegate today called on party members to rise up in response to non-Muslims who were growing bolder in challenging Malay sensitivities, adding that being too tolerant with them would see the end of Islam.Negri Sembilan Umno Youth information chief Shamsul Amri Mohd Kamal told delegates at the party's assembly that they must not fear defending their religion, and anyone who called them extreme for doing so should face police action.
"Before, they did not dare disturb us, they did not dare criticise us, but now they dare to challenge us with all sorts of issues that shake our patience and tolerance," he said when debating the policy speech.
"Rise up, my race, rise up, my friends, realise that our patience and tolerance has its limits. Let us not risk it all, including our beloved Islam, just because we are too diplomatic and tolerant."
As examples of how Islam was being challenged, he brought up the "I want to touch a dog" event, the Court of Appeal decision that favoured Muslim transgenders and the custody tussle between a Muslim convert and his Hindu wife.
Shamsul Amri said such incidents could cause confusion among Muslims and weaken the position of Islam in Malaysia.
"We must be more professional in this issue and we need to defend our religion. And whoever tries to condemn us as extreme should face immediate action.
"Why is it that when people insult our religion, we delay (action)? But when we criticise other (religions), they arrest us so quickly, without even waiting 24 hours?"
Shamsul Amri proposed that in their efforts to defend Islam, the Shariah Court's position be strengthened so that any decision it made could not be overruled by the civil court.
He asked why the Shariah Court was of lower standing than the Federal Constitution itself, given that the Quran and Hadith (prophetic traditions) were the "core laws" for Muslims.
He said they should also defend Section 66 of the Negri Sembilan Shariah Criminal Enactment, which makes it an offence for Muslim males to dress and behave as women.
The Court of Appeal had ruled on November 7 that the section violated the constitution, rendering similar laws enacted by the states and the Federal Territory null and void.
"I urge everyone to take this issue seriously, otherwise more transgendered men will emerge. I'm scared tomorrow we will find women among Umno Youths. This will create a dangerous situation." – November 26, 2014.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dont-be-too-tolerant-with-non-muslims-warns-umno-youth-delegate#sthash.zoUzXeqN.dpuf
On pendatangs, ‘social contract’ and Goebbels lies
The Chinese Malaysian community has been branded as anti-Malay and ungrateful for not supporting the BN in the last general election. Vernacular schools have been threatened with closure. The non-Malays are often termed ‘pendatang’ and are reminded they have to be grateful for being given an opportunity to live in Malaysia.
I have personally perused thousands of original pre-Merdeka documents and during the negotiations for Merdeka. Tunku Abdul Rahman and Abdul Razak Hussein, who led the Alliance party to make representations before the Reid constitutional commission, never used the words ‘pendatang’ or ‘social contract’. Social contract is a non-existent word and was probably created along the way by conniving politicians to maintain the racial divide in the country.
It must also be remembered that pre-independence vernacular schools included the Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan known as Malay schools. It was only after independence that these ‘Malay schools’ were converted into Sekolah Kebangsaan and the Chinese and Tamil schools were maintained irresponsibly by the government as vernacular schools with limited funds and discriminated a against.
I can vouch that Indians and Chinese were not liabilities to the then-Malaya, but were instead an asset to Malaya as the Malayan economy 10 years before and after independence was dependent on both the Indian and Chinese communities.
The Indians were almost 80 percent of the labour workforce in the plantations industry which contributed almost 70 percent of the export income; whereas the Chinese contributed to a further 29 percent income in the Malayan revenue in the form of tin exports.
The British ruling government, together with the then-Malay rulers and politicians, recognised the contributions of these two communities and understood the need to maintain and settle these communities in Malaya permanently in order that Malaya could sustain itself economically. Had the Indians and Chinese left in 1957, I can personally say Malaya would have been bankrupted instantly. I say these based on the documentary evidence I have seen and possess.
The government leaders and the people at large have to understand that after 57 years of Merdeka and being born in Malaysia as a fourth generation Indian, I am entitled to be treated as an equal citizen.
I and millions of Indians and Chinese have settled in Malaysia for more than 100 years and I wonder how long more would government leaders deceive themselves that we are ‘pendatangs’, conveniently forgetting the large influx of Indonesians into Malaya in the 1920s and the recent migrant Indonesian, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis who are given citizenship and enjoy the status of bumiputra whereas we remain second class citizens. The continuous lies and distortions of historical facts have to end. The people will not fall for the ‘Joseph Goebbels lies theory’.
Declassify documents pertaining to Merdeka
It is time for the government to declassify all documents pertaining to Merdeka and let the entire Malaysian community see for themselves what was originally intended and agreed on by our forefathers and how Tunku Abdul Rahman went against his own promises to work on a multi-racial basis before the Reid constitutional commission, and then months later colluded with the British government to short change the non-Malays by rewriting the constitution to suit his agenda.
Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia urges leaders like Khairy Jamaluddin to stop reminding the non-Malays of “our promises” but to look into history and see for themselves how the constitution had been manipulated and crucial provisions guaranteeing fundamental rights of citizens conveniently ignored and diluted to protect a particular race and religion.
The rhetoric of Malay Supremacy has to end with a modern all-encompassing society where the wealth of this nation should be shared by all citizens. Only then would Malaysia progress and society live in peace and harmony.
P WAYTHAMOORTHY is chairperson, Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia.
Minister: MMC to probe doctors' 'negligence'
"After investigation, if a definite case of negligence is found by the peers then action can be taken to warn, suspend, or de-register the doctor," he added.
Subramaniam was responding to a query by Malaysiakini if the ministry is probing the case of teenager G Tinasha, whose parents claimed had died due to the negligence by Assunta Hospital's medical staff.
The parents have since filed two police reports against the private hospital located in Petaling Jaya.They lodged the second report two days ago after failing to obtain their 14-year-old daughter's medical report.
Tinasha's uncle I Ramesh said the hospital told the family that the report is being withheld because of the media blitz.
Assunta Hospital chief executive officer Peter TL Leong later told Malaysiakini that the family must follow proper channels to obtain the report.
However, Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) had dismissed the hospital's explanation, saying the parents were entitled to the report.
Assunta denies allegation
Meanwhile, Subramaniam said the conduct of the hospital fell under the Private Hospitals Act.
"And any omissions or irregularities found will be dealt with by the provisions of the Act," he added.On the issue of compensation, the minister said such claims will have to go through the judicial process.
Assunta Hospital has denied that its medical staff was negligent in treating Tinasha.
According to Leong, his staff had followed procedure.
He also accused the teenager's parents of refusing to agree to an amicable solution.
'Non-Malays must remember their promise'
In his speech during the wing's general assembly today, he said the Malays had sacrificed in allowing the non-Malays to become citizens when the nation achieved independence.
In return, the non-Malays were prepared to accept the special position of the Malays, the Malay language as the national language and the sovereignty of Malay rulers.
"But why are there are those who still do not respect this agreement."If the Malays can accept, and not raise the citizenship (of non-Malays) and acknowledge that we would not shut down vernacular schools, why are there those (non-Malays) who don't hold to that original promise now.
"Why are there calls to abolish the special position of the Malays, the sovereignty of Malay rulers being questioned and there are those who cannot understand the national language," he added.
Khairy said the Malays were not asking the other races to make concessions, but rather to just uphold what was agreed before.
He also highlighted that Umno used to host a number of youths in prominent positions, including Rais Yatim who was the Negeri Sembilan menteri besar at the age of 36, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who was Petronas chairperson at 35, and Abdul Razak Hussein who was deputy prime minister at the age of 35.
Now, however, Khairy said that he is the only minister below the age of 40, and even that was a recent development."I want you and many more of my peers to join me. It is only then that there is transformation.
"It is not that we are greedy in wanting positions or status, but we cannot deny that the generational and demographic shift is happening right in front of our eyes," he said.
Enact anti-discrimination act
On another matter, Khairy also highlighted the socio-economic concerns affecting Malays, such as lower income and drug addiction.
He proposed several measures, which include:
- Ensure that states replace Malay reserve land that have been degazetted and create a Malay Land Trust Council with the involvement of all states to protect and develop it.
- Increase the promotion period for housing reserved for bumiputera buyers by three months from the current six-month period, during which the government can find bumiputera buyers or sell it directly to government-linked companies.
- Enact an Anti-Discrimination Act to stop workplace discrimination, particularly racially biased hiring practices.
- Companies that are only bumiputera-status on paper should be blacklisted. A certification agency should be formed in cooperation with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to ensure this.
"I think their bills are excessive. Can we have a spontaneous motion?" he said, to loud cheers from the delegates."Never mind if there is competition, but Astro is a monopoly. If we want to watch the best football team in the world, Manchester United, we have to use Astro. If we want to watch the worst team in the world, Chelsea, you have to watch Astro.
"So I propose that we bring forward a motion from the youths - it is bad enough that it is a monopoly, don't burden the people with high fees. Don't raise the fees any more.
"We're finished, Astro Awani is not going to carry news about Umno Youth any more," he said, before continuing to read his prepared speech.
Astro Awani is the a news channel that Astro produces and broadcasts to subscribers of its satellite television service and online.
As a means to reduce debt, Khairy noted that the second largest debt comes from hire purchase, and proposed that the government waive taxes or excise duty on vehicles for eligible youths.
These
would allow youths earning less than RM4,000 a month to purchase their
first vehicle without paying the taxes or duties, provided that the
vehicle is moderately priced and locally assembled."Before anyone says they have heard of this idea before, or 'isn't this the opposition's idea?' I would like to clarify that it is unlike the opposition's populist policy, which is tax deductions for all vehicle buyers that will add to the government's debt, increase traffic congestion, pollute the environment and only serve to give a discount to the rich.
"Umno Youth's proposal is based only on the youths, and it doesn't involve all vehicle buyers," he said.
'Unjust if bumiputera need not repay PTPTN loans'
“This is downright unfair, unjust and goes against everything the country stands for. Race should never be a consideration at all,” said its leader, C Sivarraajh.
He added that the NGOs should not look at loan repayments in a racial manner as it is a backwards process that does not contribute to the country’s future.
“We
are trying to slowly erase race as a consideration for scholarships and
study loans and this proposal by 58 Malay NGOs is simply very
regressive.”Sivarraajh (left) also said the only acceptable criterion for exemption is competency, where students with first class honours are exempted from repayment.
“This will motivate students to score better results. It should be enjoyed by all, regardless of race.
“Does the colour of your skin stop you from getting first class honours?” he questioned in a statement yesterday.
He added that instead of looking at race based issues like this, the focus should be on defaulters.
“A more pressing issue is the high number of students, irrespective of race, who avoid repaying their loans, which can deprive others.”
On Sunday, during the National Unity Convention, a coalition of Malay rights NGOs, led by Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali, urged the government to consider allowing only bumiputera students be exempted from repaying the study loan.
According to news reports, the 58 NGOs agreed on a ‘National Unity Memorandum’ to be sent to the government, the Agong and the Council of Rulers.
KJ shows proof Malay institutions questioned
In a fiery speech winding up the Umno Youth general assembly today, he accused online media portals of unfairly portraying his policy speech earlier today as racist.
As a result, he said had been receiving brickbats including claims no one is questioning the position of bumiputeras, the national language, and the monarchy, and Umno is afraid of its own shadow or fear-mongering to win votes.
The
youth and sports minister whipped out his phone to read out a post by a
Twitter user, which purportedly said, "What is the contribution of the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong that they are accorded such an honour?"At least (the late DAP chairperson) Karpal Singh had contributed to the country."
Khairy continued, "why the commotion? When the road in Penang was renamed after Karpal Singh, no one made a fuss out of it."
In contrast, he said DBKL was only changing "meaningless" road names to those of Agongs, who had been heads of state to all Malaysians, but drew the offending social media responses.
Major roads to be renamed
Effective today, eight major roads around Kuala Lumpur were renamed after past and present Agongs, including Jalan Duta, Lebuhraya Mahameru, and a part of Jalan Ipoh.
On Facebook, a public service announcement by a BN official page was greeted with criticism, cynicism and ridicule by netizens.
Among them, some c
omplained that the name changes would be confusing because road users are already familiar with the existing names.Others said other problems like traffic jams on the roads, should be resolved first.
As for his statements on the social contract, which he stressed that it also benefits non-Malays, he said he had seen responses that include ‘I didn’t sign any social contract’ and ‘I don’t agree with any social contract’.
On the online media coverage, Khairy said he is angry and disappointed at the reporting.
He said his statement that vernacular schools should be recognised, and that Umno should be a ‘shield’ to other races - who should be accepted as fellow citizens - were all not reported.
“My (policy) speech was portrayed as racist. Before the general assembly has even finished, our assembly is said to be racist.
“In
my policy speech, I said that Malays no longer question the right of
non-Malays, so we asked and urged for non-Malays to respect Malay
rights. That became a headline, and that is supposedly racist.“The Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, came out with a statement saying KJ (Khairy Jamaluddin) is racist.”
He said all these are part of an agenda by ‘Umno-hating’ media to disparage the party as racist, and urged members to uphold the dignity of their race and religion.
“I have said that if people disparage other races, other religions, we will stand up. Because we are a noble race, if people disparage other religions, we rise, we defend them.
“But when the time comes for us to defend our own race and religion, don’t call us ‘racists’. No way!” he shouted.
Credit in BM proposal
Meanwhile, during debates at the Umno Youth general assembly earlier today, Pahang Umno Youth delegate Mohd Sahar Abdullah proposed that the award of the SPM certificate should need a credit in the Malay language instead of the current requirement of just a pass.
“This
is what we call a Malaysian citizen. This is what we call a citizen of
the Malay Federated Territories. What is the use of becoming a Malaysian
but can’t speak Malay,” he said.The appeal was also made directly to the party deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the education minister and was in the audience.
“Tan Sri, help me out. I wish to propose that the conditions for passing SPM not only require a pass (in Malay), but needs to be raised to a credit - with the minimum grade of C.”
Earlier today in his policy speech, Khairy had urged vernacular schools to do more to ensure Malay-language proficiency amongst its students.
Respect and engage
IN Parliament on Monday, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Wan Jaafar had reportedly brushed aside Kuching MP Chong Chien Jien’s queries about secessionist activities in Sabah and Sarawak.
The Minister was supposed to have said that the number of such people consist of frustrated ex-politicians and is small and insignificant.
He backed this up by saying his “intelligence” (meaning sources) told him so.
Ah, the famous; “I know better than you because I have all the information” argument.
It is such an irritating argument because they never actually tell us anything about their “superior” knowledge and intelligence so there is no way of verifying its validity.
Be that as it may let us put aside that galling old tactic so favoured by those in power for a moment.
The Minister also says that there will be efforts made by the Government to try to extradite those calling for secession from overseas.
From his remarks, it appears that the country where these secessionists are operating from is Britain.
I presume that if the Government is successful (which I doubt as Britain generally does not extradite people for political reasons), then they will be punished using one of the myriad laws we have for such purposes.
Let me make myself crystal clear at this point; I do not want to see a break up of Malaysia.
I do not want to see any state going off on their own.
This is not based on any legal obligation, it is purely emotional.
I will be sad to see this odd amalgam of states, each with its own distinct dialect, culture and personality drift apart.
But I also think that being dismissive and high-handed is not the way to keep us together.
Actually it can be totally counterproductive.
The fact of the matter is that there are those calling for the secession of Sabah and Sarawak.
Whether they are small or big, what has to happen is that there must be engagement; not brushing them aside and not punishing them.
Look, Sabahans and Sarawakians have grievances.
On record, there has been much unhappiness regarding issues such as Project IC; the sense that their wealth goes mainly to the peninsula; the fear that the extremism blooming in the West is going to infect their cherished culture of acceptance and openness; and the list goes on.
Groups and individuals who are unhappy with the way things are, who think that the Malaysia Agreement has not been respected, must be engaged.
If they are deemed illegal and driven underground, this makes civil discussions difficult, if not impossible.
Worse, it will convince some that they have a case because why would you try to shut up a group with differing views unless it is because you can’t provide convincing counter arguments?
These grievances must be discussed openly and solutions must be found and if mistakes have been made in the past, then they must be admitted to and apologies tendered coupled with clear efforts at rectifying said mistakes.
This will require honesty and also humility.
Anything less is simply not good enough.
If one goes into this waving one’s big bad law, threatening people who disagree with you and acting in a generally arrogant manner, one will only be making things worse.
Zahid, Bung bail out Najib over IS blunder
Zahid Hamidi and Bung Mokhtar tell off PAS in efforts to neutralise taunts aimed at the PM over his statement on IS in June.
FMT
KUALA LUMPUR: Home Affairs Minister Zahid Hamidi and MP for Kinabatangan Bung Mokhtar both rushed to the defence of Prime Minister Najib Razak to deflect taunts by PAS over the PM’s unfortunate statements regarding Islamic State in June this year.
Things came to a head during the tabling of the white paper on IS when MP for Tumpat Kamaruddin Jaafar starting the ball rolling by reminding the House of Najib’s call to Umno members to emulate the IS spirit.
The PAS MP then rubbed salt into the wound by exclaiming that by contrast, his party’s president Hadi Awang had instead cautioned his members that they were forbidden to support IS in any way.
It was at this point that Bung Mokhtar swooped in, retorting, “The PAS president’s son-in-law Zaharuddin has publicly praised IS on social media – he was happy, excited when IS captured some towns in Iraq. Check on social media if you want.”
He also remarked sarcastically how PAS’ president was saying one thing, and his son in-law, quite another.
This silenced Kamaruddin sufficiently, giving ample time for Zahid to bring the matter up later in defence of his boss.
In his speech at the close of the session on the IS White Paper, Zahid said, “He (Najib) may have made the statement but one has to examine the context it was made in, the full sentence, not just part of it.
“He talked about ‘the spirit’…please understand the real meaning,” Zahid rebutted.
KUALA LUMPUR: Home Affairs Minister Zahid Hamidi and MP for Kinabatangan Bung Mokhtar both rushed to the defence of Prime Minister Najib Razak to deflect taunts by PAS over the PM’s unfortunate statements regarding Islamic State in June this year.
Things came to a head during the tabling of the white paper on IS when MP for Tumpat Kamaruddin Jaafar starting the ball rolling by reminding the House of Najib’s call to Umno members to emulate the IS spirit.
The PAS MP then rubbed salt into the wound by exclaiming that by contrast, his party’s president Hadi Awang had instead cautioned his members that they were forbidden to support IS in any way.
It was at this point that Bung Mokhtar swooped in, retorting, “The PAS president’s son-in-law Zaharuddin has publicly praised IS on social media – he was happy, excited when IS captured some towns in Iraq. Check on social media if you want.”
He also remarked sarcastically how PAS’ president was saying one thing, and his son in-law, quite another.
This silenced Kamaruddin sufficiently, giving ample time for Zahid to bring the matter up later in defence of his boss.
In his speech at the close of the session on the IS White Paper, Zahid said, “He (Najib) may have made the statement but one has to examine the context it was made in, the full sentence, not just part of it.
“He talked about ‘the spirit’…please understand the real meaning,” Zahid rebutted.
Ibrahim Ali sues Chun Wai on ‘Bible burning’ issue
Ibrahim claims that he only advised the students concerned and/or their parents in January last year to burn copies of the Bible they received.
FMT
KUALA LUMPUR: Perkasa President Ibrahim Ali has issued a letter of demand dated Monday to Wong Chun Wai of the Star.
The letter of demand, issued by Messrs. Adnan Sharida & Associates on Ibrahim’s behalf, is on a “mind-boggling spin” published in the Star on November 2.
The letter demands that Wong, within 14 days, undertakes to not publish further articles of the nature complained about; provide a written statement retracting the article and/or statements in the article; and pay damages in the amount of RM 500,000 “for baseless defamatory allegations”.
In the event of failure to comply with the demands within the stipulated time, the letter warns that Ibrahim will initiate proceedings against Wong for injunctive relief and damages without further reference.
Briefly, the letter claims that the “burn Bibles” remarks attributed to Ibrahim was directed at Malay students of SMK Jelutong in Penang who had allegedly received the Bible with the word Allah and Jawi script.
The letter concedes that Ibrahim only advised the students concerned and/or their parents in January last year to burn such copies of the Bible.
The letter also points out that the Attorney General has since cleared Ibrahim of committing any offence related to his remarks on burning Bibles.
KUALA LUMPUR: Perkasa President Ibrahim Ali has issued a letter of demand dated Monday to Wong Chun Wai of the Star.
The letter of demand, issued by Messrs. Adnan Sharida & Associates on Ibrahim’s behalf, is on a “mind-boggling spin” published in the Star on November 2.
The letter demands that Wong, within 14 days, undertakes to not publish further articles of the nature complained about; provide a written statement retracting the article and/or statements in the article; and pay damages in the amount of RM 500,000 “for baseless defamatory allegations”.
In the event of failure to comply with the demands within the stipulated time, the letter warns that Ibrahim will initiate proceedings against Wong for injunctive relief and damages without further reference.
Briefly, the letter claims that the “burn Bibles” remarks attributed to Ibrahim was directed at Malay students of SMK Jelutong in Penang who had allegedly received the Bible with the word Allah and Jawi script.
The letter concedes that Ibrahim only advised the students concerned and/or their parents in January last year to burn such copies of the Bible.
The letter also points out that the Attorney General has since cleared Ibrahim of committing any offence related to his remarks on burning Bibles.
Opposition leader queries Wan Azizah’s absence
Kajang Assemblywoman alleged that Opposition Leader skipped Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meetings.
FMT
SHAH ALAM: Selangor opposition leader, Shamsudin Lias, was wondering what Kajang assemblywoman Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was doing abroad when the State Assembly was in session and her constituency has been hit by flash floods.
“She has missed two days of the Assembly sitting,” said Shamsudin who is Sungai Burong Assemblyman.
Wan Azizah, however, made it to the State Assembly in the evening on Wednesday. She explained that she had informed the House that she would be absent.
“I gave notice of my absence,” she said. “I did not skip the Assembly sessions deliberately.”
The PKR president, in turn, alleged that Shamsudin skipped Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meetings.
Earlier, when debating Selangor’s Budget 2015, Wan Azizah called for the formation of a committee chaired by Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali to tackle the perennial floods in the state.
SHAH ALAM: Selangor opposition leader, Shamsudin Lias, was wondering what Kajang assemblywoman Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was doing abroad when the State Assembly was in session and her constituency has been hit by flash floods.
“She has missed two days of the Assembly sitting,” said Shamsudin who is Sungai Burong Assemblyman.
Wan Azizah, however, made it to the State Assembly in the evening on Wednesday. She explained that she had informed the House that she would be absent.
“I gave notice of my absence,” she said. “I did not skip the Assembly sessions deliberately.”
The PKR president, in turn, alleged that Shamsudin skipped Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meetings.
Earlier, when debating Selangor’s Budget 2015, Wan Azizah called for the formation of a committee chaired by Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali to tackle the perennial floods in the state.
Mahathir may turn up at Umno General Assembly
It almost became a certainty that Mahathir would turn up after Umno Deputy President Muhyiddin Yassin made a very presidential and prime ministerial speech on Tuesday.
FMT
KUALA LUMPUR: The political grapevine has it that former Umno President and Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, may grace the Umno General Assembly on Thursday after all with his presence. It’s not because Umno President Najib Abdul Razak sent emissaries to plead with the “wily old man”. In fact, Mahathir did reportedly tell these emissaries that he doesn’t see any point in attending the meet if his words and advice don’t carry any respect.
The atmosphere is expected to be “electric”, for want of a better term. It’s not known how many more Umno general assemblies that Mahathir, pushing 90, can attend.
Earlier, there had been intense speculation that Mahathir may skip this year’s meet to express his displeasure with Najib over his failure to provide firm leadership and a lack of sense of direction.
“Mahathir has been particularly upset that the country has degenerated into extreme levels of polarisation and Najib, like the Emperor Nero, fiddles while Rome burns,” said an insider who requested anonymity.
The turnaround in Mahathir’s stance on the Umno meet this year was first read when he failed to turn up at the Perkasa convention on Sunday, said other Umno insiders close to the former party leader. He had been expected to deliver the keynote address at the NGO’s meet.
It almost became a certainty that Mahathir would turn up after Umno Deputy President Muhyiddin Yassin stepped up on Tuesday and made a very presidential and prime ministerial speech at the Wanita, Youth and Puteri general assemblies when he took the bull by the horns, according to the insiders.
“Mahathir could not have said it better than what Muhyiddin did,” conceded another insider. “The tipping point came when Muhyiddin said in English, ‘if change doesn’t come, we have to engineer the change’.”
“The battle lines have been drawn. Now, it’s up to Najib. Either he shapes up, or ships out.”
Muhyiddin, he pointed out, struck terror in the hearts of the warlords including in Selangor and gave hope to those left out in the political cloud. “There’s a sense of excitement in the air, as if something is at last happening, that something big will happen soon.”
The bottomline is that the country can no longer afford to be in a sense of draft. Najib’s pre-occupation with the big picture is not bringing the people, especially the young, any closer to the ruling party.
KUALA LUMPUR: The political grapevine has it that former Umno President and Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, may grace the Umno General Assembly on Thursday after all with his presence. It’s not because Umno President Najib Abdul Razak sent emissaries to plead with the “wily old man”. In fact, Mahathir did reportedly tell these emissaries that he doesn’t see any point in attending the meet if his words and advice don’t carry any respect.
The atmosphere is expected to be “electric”, for want of a better term. It’s not known how many more Umno general assemblies that Mahathir, pushing 90, can attend.
Earlier, there had been intense speculation that Mahathir may skip this year’s meet to express his displeasure with Najib over his failure to provide firm leadership and a lack of sense of direction.
“Mahathir has been particularly upset that the country has degenerated into extreme levels of polarisation and Najib, like the Emperor Nero, fiddles while Rome burns,” said an insider who requested anonymity.
The turnaround in Mahathir’s stance on the Umno meet this year was first read when he failed to turn up at the Perkasa convention on Sunday, said other Umno insiders close to the former party leader. He had been expected to deliver the keynote address at the NGO’s meet.
It almost became a certainty that Mahathir would turn up after Umno Deputy President Muhyiddin Yassin stepped up on Tuesday and made a very presidential and prime ministerial speech at the Wanita, Youth and Puteri general assemblies when he took the bull by the horns, according to the insiders.
“Mahathir could not have said it better than what Muhyiddin did,” conceded another insider. “The tipping point came when Muhyiddin said in English, ‘if change doesn’t come, we have to engineer the change’.”
“The battle lines have been drawn. Now, it’s up to Najib. Either he shapes up, or ships out.”
Muhyiddin, he pointed out, struck terror in the hearts of the warlords including in Selangor and gave hope to those left out in the political cloud. “There’s a sense of excitement in the air, as if something is at last happening, that something big will happen soon.”
The bottomline is that the country can no longer afford to be in a sense of draft. Najib’s pre-occupation with the big picture is not bringing the people, especially the young, any closer to the ruling party.
A badly needed message of hope
Khairy has set Umno Youth on a bold new path, but we'll have to wait and see whether he'll be true to his message of moderation.
FMT
Khairy Jamaluddin and Muyhiddin Yassin have hit the nail on the head. The speech the Deputy Prime Minister gave on Tuesday and the speech given by the Umno Youth chief coincide on several key points, not the least of which is the emphasis on the need for the party to go down – or rather go back – to the grassroots. They called for an end to useless rhetoric in favour of letting actions speak for the party.
Khairy’s unsurprisingly progressive speech reflects his move towards the middle ground, defensive of the enshrined rights of the Malays but recognizing that Malaysia belongs to both the natives and the immigrants who took up citizenship and, of course, their descendants. And citizenship, he sort of tells us, carries with it a responsibility: citizens are obliged to uplift one another.
The speech looks toward building the youth as a palpable moving force in the Malaysian polity, and takes a brutally honest look at why the Malays have not uplifted themselves despite the wealth of affirmation action programmes dealt out by the government.
Dose of reality
Khairy toes the government line on several points. Nevertheless, his speech is the dose of reality the assembly has been needing for a long time.
Any article claiming to sum up the speech has to view it in the context of its totality, which is a call to national unity. Yes, there was the usual chest-thumping over the need for Malay rights to be respected, the usual spiel about how much the Malays have sacrificed for non-Malays to become citizens of Malaysia, but all this was framed within a call to unity, boldly articulated: “We no longer bring up the matter of the citizenship rights that were accorded, and we accept the fact that our non-Bumiputera friends are people of this country as citizens. My country, your country, our country!”
While it may not be technically true (in fact, it may be an outright lie, but we’ll write it off as over-exaggeration) that there are no Malay voices questioning the citizenship rights of the non-Malays, for this kind of message to come out of an Umno general assembly is nearly unprecedented, to the point of being novel for it’s rarity. Though Khairy did harp a little on non-Malays not respecting the privileges of the Malays, it was nonetheless uplifting to hear an Umno leader acknowledge that this country also belongs to the non-Malays who know no home other than Malaysia. It was a step forward, and one that we could stand to see a lot more often.
His remarks on vernacular education also concurred with some of the opinions previously expressed in FMT columns, largely in regard to vernacular schools needing to do their part in fostering national unity. As previously noted in our columns, vernacular school students lack fluency in Bahasa, a grave oversight as it is the national language and thus the link between Malaysians of different cultural backgrounds.
Khairy’s blunt acknowledgement of the failure of Umno to uplift the Malays was also not disappointing as he did not fall into the familiar rhetoric of Chinese-bashing so common at Umno’s annual assemblies. Noting that there had been “lots of rhetoric” on the issue, he asked where the results were. A good question indeed. He pointed out that this extended beyond education and economy, all the way to social ills that plague newspaper headlines.
But the pertinent question is how Khairy intends to move forward with the issues. This is where his agenda and Muyhiddin’s truly converge – a reinvention of what the party needs to do to remain relevant. Both Muyhiddin and Khairy acknowledged in their speeches that rhetoric was not getting Umno anywhere and the party must return to the grassroots to discover what’s happening on the ground. Observe Khairy’s exhortation to action:
“I want to give all of you a task; a KPI. Please identify how many Malay professionals you have in your division; please count how many Malay contractors receive government contracts in your division; please count how many young Malays enter university in your division; find out how many young Malays are plagued by social ills in your division. Umno Youth will form a special secretariat at the central level to assist with the monitoring and the implementation of the Malay agenda at the grassroots level and introduce a Compliance Scorecard for this purpose. We always have plans but don’t do so well with implementation.”
In essence, Khairy is directing Umno Youth to set foot on the ground and reconnect with the Malay struggle. The struggles of a community change over time, and with the impending implementation of the GST, the removal of the fuel subsidy, the rising cost of living, the inability to afford housing, there is no more pertinent time to redefine what is the struggle of the modern Malay in Malaysia’s troubled socio-economic situation.
But now, we remove the rose-tinted glasses and try to look beyond the speech and at the politics behind it.
We must note that Khairy did mention to reporters that he had to change his speech once the deputy party president finished his at the joint Pemuda, Wanita and Puteri assembly launch as it touched on many topics that he himself intended to address. The political implications of that remark are interesting indeed, especially when you consider that Muyhiddin essentially declared himself Mahathir’s man in his speech last night, which challenged some of the party president’s policies and decisions.
Power shift
So what is Khairy’s game here? Is he sensing the tilting power shift in Umno and aligning himself with Mahathir? Or perhaps he truly did intend to address those topics all along, a departure from the party line he’s firmly toed during his tenure. Either way, he has to be cognizant of the implications of Muyhiddin’s speech, which sent Najib scrambling to Parliament instead of making his presence felt at the assembly. Khairy also knows better than anyone that standing in the way of Mahathir never bodes well, as seen during his fall from grace once former prime minister Abdullah Badawi was ousted from the post.
Either way, we must remind Khairy to be a man of his word. He has set Umno Youth down a bold new path, and deviating from it will earn him the scorn of constituents who have bought into the new politics he has been selling. In truth, Khairy has a lot of political capital among the youth – a support base that will mature into voters – and he must work to keep that support base intact should he wish to ascend to the prime minister’s seat. The image of the moderate and the actions to support that image are increasingly important to Khairy’s ability to appeal across the board, and a failure to uphold that image would be tantamount to political suicide.
After all, the fall of Najib’s credibility is largely seen in his failure to uphold his word and promises to the electorate, and he now stands on the brink of being deposed, with Mahathir’s machinery closing in fast. Najib’s quest for popularity, which he has carried on at the expense of showing the guts to take the issues by the horns, plays a big part in why his message of wasatiyyah is discounted as merely hot air to be blown at world leaders while the situation at home grows progressively worse.
But for now, we’ll give Khairy the benefit of the doubt and hold him to his word that he intends to lead with a message of “hope instead of destruction”. Do not doubt that there are many eyes watching the charismatic leader, and under that spotlight only he will determine if he is indeed our hope for sane governance.
Khairy Jamaluddin and Muyhiddin Yassin have hit the nail on the head. The speech the Deputy Prime Minister gave on Tuesday and the speech given by the Umno Youth chief coincide on several key points, not the least of which is the emphasis on the need for the party to go down – or rather go back – to the grassroots. They called for an end to useless rhetoric in favour of letting actions speak for the party.
Khairy’s unsurprisingly progressive speech reflects his move towards the middle ground, defensive of the enshrined rights of the Malays but recognizing that Malaysia belongs to both the natives and the immigrants who took up citizenship and, of course, their descendants. And citizenship, he sort of tells us, carries with it a responsibility: citizens are obliged to uplift one another.
The speech looks toward building the youth as a palpable moving force in the Malaysian polity, and takes a brutally honest look at why the Malays have not uplifted themselves despite the wealth of affirmation action programmes dealt out by the government.
Dose of reality
Khairy toes the government line on several points. Nevertheless, his speech is the dose of reality the assembly has been needing for a long time.
Any article claiming to sum up the speech has to view it in the context of its totality, which is a call to national unity. Yes, there was the usual chest-thumping over the need for Malay rights to be respected, the usual spiel about how much the Malays have sacrificed for non-Malays to become citizens of Malaysia, but all this was framed within a call to unity, boldly articulated: “We no longer bring up the matter of the citizenship rights that were accorded, and we accept the fact that our non-Bumiputera friends are people of this country as citizens. My country, your country, our country!”
While it may not be technically true (in fact, it may be an outright lie, but we’ll write it off as over-exaggeration) that there are no Malay voices questioning the citizenship rights of the non-Malays, for this kind of message to come out of an Umno general assembly is nearly unprecedented, to the point of being novel for it’s rarity. Though Khairy did harp a little on non-Malays not respecting the privileges of the Malays, it was nonetheless uplifting to hear an Umno leader acknowledge that this country also belongs to the non-Malays who know no home other than Malaysia. It was a step forward, and one that we could stand to see a lot more often.
His remarks on vernacular education also concurred with some of the opinions previously expressed in FMT columns, largely in regard to vernacular schools needing to do their part in fostering national unity. As previously noted in our columns, vernacular school students lack fluency in Bahasa, a grave oversight as it is the national language and thus the link between Malaysians of different cultural backgrounds.
Khairy’s blunt acknowledgement of the failure of Umno to uplift the Malays was also not disappointing as he did not fall into the familiar rhetoric of Chinese-bashing so common at Umno’s annual assemblies. Noting that there had been “lots of rhetoric” on the issue, he asked where the results were. A good question indeed. He pointed out that this extended beyond education and economy, all the way to social ills that plague newspaper headlines.
But the pertinent question is how Khairy intends to move forward with the issues. This is where his agenda and Muyhiddin’s truly converge – a reinvention of what the party needs to do to remain relevant. Both Muyhiddin and Khairy acknowledged in their speeches that rhetoric was not getting Umno anywhere and the party must return to the grassroots to discover what’s happening on the ground. Observe Khairy’s exhortation to action:
“I want to give all of you a task; a KPI. Please identify how many Malay professionals you have in your division; please count how many Malay contractors receive government contracts in your division; please count how many young Malays enter university in your division; find out how many young Malays are plagued by social ills in your division. Umno Youth will form a special secretariat at the central level to assist with the monitoring and the implementation of the Malay agenda at the grassroots level and introduce a Compliance Scorecard for this purpose. We always have plans but don’t do so well with implementation.”
In essence, Khairy is directing Umno Youth to set foot on the ground and reconnect with the Malay struggle. The struggles of a community change over time, and with the impending implementation of the GST, the removal of the fuel subsidy, the rising cost of living, the inability to afford housing, there is no more pertinent time to redefine what is the struggle of the modern Malay in Malaysia’s troubled socio-economic situation.
But now, we remove the rose-tinted glasses and try to look beyond the speech and at the politics behind it.
We must note that Khairy did mention to reporters that he had to change his speech once the deputy party president finished his at the joint Pemuda, Wanita and Puteri assembly launch as it touched on many topics that he himself intended to address. The political implications of that remark are interesting indeed, especially when you consider that Muyhiddin essentially declared himself Mahathir’s man in his speech last night, which challenged some of the party president’s policies and decisions.
Power shift
So what is Khairy’s game here? Is he sensing the tilting power shift in Umno and aligning himself with Mahathir? Or perhaps he truly did intend to address those topics all along, a departure from the party line he’s firmly toed during his tenure. Either way, he has to be cognizant of the implications of Muyhiddin’s speech, which sent Najib scrambling to Parliament instead of making his presence felt at the assembly. Khairy also knows better than anyone that standing in the way of Mahathir never bodes well, as seen during his fall from grace once former prime minister Abdullah Badawi was ousted from the post.
Either way, we must remind Khairy to be a man of his word. He has set Umno Youth down a bold new path, and deviating from it will earn him the scorn of constituents who have bought into the new politics he has been selling. In truth, Khairy has a lot of political capital among the youth – a support base that will mature into voters – and he must work to keep that support base intact should he wish to ascend to the prime minister’s seat. The image of the moderate and the actions to support that image are increasingly important to Khairy’s ability to appeal across the board, and a failure to uphold that image would be tantamount to political suicide.
After all, the fall of Najib’s credibility is largely seen in his failure to uphold his word and promises to the electorate, and he now stands on the brink of being deposed, with Mahathir’s machinery closing in fast. Najib’s quest for popularity, which he has carried on at the expense of showing the guts to take the issues by the horns, plays a big part in why his message of wasatiyyah is discounted as merely hot air to be blown at world leaders while the situation at home grows progressively worse.
But for now, we’ll give Khairy the benefit of the doubt and hold him to his word that he intends to lead with a message of “hope instead of destruction”. Do not doubt that there are many eyes watching the charismatic leader, and under that spotlight only he will determine if he is indeed our hope for sane governance.
Love For Sale in India
One woman’s story of enslavement in the sex industry
India’s parliamentarians again are debating whether prostitution should be legalized or decriminalized. It is an argument that a 36-year-old sex worker in a brothel in New Delhi’s infamous GB Road is watching closely. She gives her name only as “Lata.”
The story of how Lata got to GB Road, Asia's largest and the world's second largest red-light district, housing an estimated 12,000 of India’s 3 million-odd sex workers, is a sad one lived by far too many of India’s girls and women and depressingly will inevitably be lived by more as more women enter the work force and a steadily growing economy gives men the money to visit sex workers.
Lata was born in the Etawah village of Uttar Pradesh, she says, ironically to school teacher parents.
She had no idea her life would take her, at the age of 16, to 20 years of prostitution. She had three siblings, she said, all of whom studied at a local government school where her father once taught.
But when she was in her 10th year of schooling, the wife of a rich farmer neighbour died in childbirth. He was Lata’s father’s friend. He offered the equivalent of U$4,000 for the 16 year old girl. Her father, an alcoholic, quickly accepted the offer.
“Mom wasn't too happy about the arrangement, but she capitulated as dad had threatened her with dire consequences,” Lata said. “I was mortified at the thought of marrying an old man but succumbed under familial pressure and the thought of how so much money would dramatically alter the lives of my brother and two little sisters. However, two days after the wedding, panic set in. I realized I'd rather die than live for the rest of my life with a husband old enough to be my father.”
Telling her family of her decision to run away would spell trouble, so she thought of suicide, she said.
“Then another thought crossed my mind -- why not run away to a different city? So in the dead of night, five days after my marriage, I ran away from my husband's home after packing in my clothes and some jewellery my mother had given me. I boarded the local bus to Delhi, hoping for a fresh, clean start.”
On the bus, she met what she described as an attractive young man who suggested she visit a women's organization in Delhi which could offer me vocational training and even a job.
"’A place to stay and food could also be a part of the deal,’" he said. “I was hooked. Upon reaching Delhi, the guy took me to this large old Haveli [a dilapidated mansion] on GB Road to meet the ‘manager.’ I had no clue what I was heading for. A few girls were learning Bollywood moves from a dance master on the premises wearing loud makeup and gaudy clothes.”
The manager, a woman in her 50s – the madam – told Lata that if she could learn to dance, she would line up stage shows in return for a commission.
“I didn't suspect anything as the lady was very nice. She gave me a room (a dingy one which I had to share with another girl) and food in exchange for doing housekeeping on the premises,” she says “Once I got acclimatized to my new environs, the madam gradually started sending me `clients'. At first I was repulsed by the thought of selling my body. But what other choice did I have? Going back home wasn't an option. Nor was I educated enough to get a job.”
Besides, she said, “the other girls told me the money was okay. Plus there were tips too.
People from all strata of society – politicians, students, professionals, rickshaw pullers – visit her and her confreres. “Some of them are decent while the others create problems by insisting on not using condoms. As madams hate to turn a client away, they occasionally force us to have unprotected sex. As rates for such encounters are double, few girls object.”
In India, sex workers hardly undergo the tests HIV/AIDS, which jeopardizes their lives. Worse, a major chunk of earnings (usually US$20 per client) is taken away by pimps who bring in costumers. These dalals further have to send hafta (bribe) to the police to run their businesses.
“The cops are another nuisance. They want sex – for free! If we refuse, we're harassed, or our regular clients prevented from visiting us or worse, beaten up.”
Every year in India millions of young girls go missing, fathers sell their vulnerable girls, husbands unconscionably sell their wives, traffickers inject steroids to young girls to make them look like adults...
“There are plenty of such horror cases in our brothel too,” Lati says. “Most of us come from the poorest states and from the lowest strata of society. Exploitation of sex-workers is a common practice as the sex trade is proliferating due to social media.”
As India has become famous for medical tourism, with westerners flocking to the country for inexpensive medical care, it is becoming famous for sex tourism, with many Indian cities turning into sex tourism hubs.
“The government isn't doing much to stop prostitution because poor lives have little value,” Lata says.
Another dark aspect of sex-trade industry is pornography. Though pornography in India is a punishable offence, thousands of such websites run unregulated. The business has gone virtual and pimps are increasingly shifting their work online for fear of being caught. Social networking sites are turning into virtual brothels.
“Obviously, the government isn't serious about tackling this issue,” she says. “More than the debate over legalization of prostitution, we need to remove pornographic websites as they set in chain an undesirable chain of events. Pornography fuels the demand for prostitution leading to an increase in trafficking of women and children. Some people feel that legalizing prostitution will check the exploitation of sex-workers from police and pimps while keeping AIDS in check. I don’t think so. Sex is a slavery in any form. The trauma and exploitation of prostitutes at brothels is unimaginable and legalizing the trade will only lead to increased trafficking of young girls.”
People say prostitution is the oldest profession in the world, she concludes. “Is it a profession? I'd say it’s the oldest crime committed against humanity. Rather than wasting time over debates and TV discussions, why doesn't the government focus on rehabilitating us and providing us some decent work. We should be integrated with the rest of society. All human beings deserve to live a life of dignity including us.”
Call for Parliamentary Select Committee to mobilise support for moderation and draft laws and measures to deal with the Islamic State threat
By Lim Kit Siang Blog
DAP welcomes the White Paper “Ke Arah Menangani Ancaman Kumpulan Islamic State” and the Prime Minister’s motion seeking Parliament’s support with Government’s efforts to deal with the Islamic State threat and to “menyeru semua lapisan rakyat Malaysia mempergiatkan usaha dan komitmen mereka untuk bersama-sama menyokong Kerajaan menangani ancaman berkenaan”.
Before I proceed further, let me state that the White Paper on the Islamic State is one of the three unfinished business which Najib should have completed in the present meeting of Parliament which ends tomorrow.
While welcoming the White Paper on Islamic State, I want to place on record the people’s disappointment and disapproval that the Prime Minister has refused to complete the other two unfinished business before Parliament adjourns tomorrow, viz:
Firstly, the Report of the Royal Commission of Illegal Immigrants in Sabah (RCIIIS), which is meant to end once-and-for-all the 40-year problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah which had multiplied 15 to 19 times in four decades from 100,000 in the seventies to 1.5 million to 1.9 million at present.
The Report of the RCIIIS was presented to the Federal Government on May 14, and the Prime Minister’s failure to present it to Parliament for more than six months and to allow for a full parliamentary debate, can only mean one thing – the complete absence of political will of the Barisan Nasional Federal Government and confirming that the RCI was just a Barisan Nasional ruse to secure votes from the Sabah voters for the 13GE in May last year.
The establishment of the Joseph Pairin Kitingan RCIIIS Report Review Committee – with no details as to who are its members, its terms of reference and time frame – is just the latest in a 40-year “merry-go-round” sleight-of-hand to kick the problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah into the distant and indefinite future until the population of illegal immigrants in Sabah exceed the two million mark, completely changing the political demography and socio-economic landscape, reducing native Sabahans into strangers and a minority in their own land.
Twenty-eight years ago in Parliament in 1986, I had warned that if the illegal enfranchisement of illegal immigrants in Sabah continued unimpeded, in a matter of three years, the demographic distribution of the 48 state assembly seats with 21 Kadazan majority seats, 8 Chinese majority seats and 19 Malay majority seats would be so altered and gerrymandered that it could end up as 16 Kadazan majority seats, 2 Chinese majority seats, and 30 Malay/Filipino/Indonesian seats.
The people of Sabah are entitled to know whether the political demography would be further aggravated and worsened in another electoral constituency redelineation and this is one reason why immediate publication and implementation of the Report of the RCIIIS is imperative.
Although tomorrow is the last day of the current budget meeting of Parliament, it is still possible for the Report of the RCIIIS to be presented before Parliament adjourns tomorrow as the RCIIIS Report had been submitted to the Federal Government for six-and-a-half months, and I urge the Prime Minister to issue a directive for the Report of the RCIIIS to be tabled in Parliament tomorrow, followed by a parliamentary debate.
Secondly, a Ministerial statement by the Prime Minister –cum-Finance Minister on the roiling multi-billion ringgit 1MDB scandal and assurance that he is not trying to shut down public and parliamentary query and debate on the latest financial scandal by the threat of legal suit against the DAP MP for PJ Utara, Tony Pua.
In fact, Najib should give a public undertaking that his threat of a legal suit against Tony Pua will not be used to shut down any public questioning of any aspect of 1MDB deals.
On Sunday, the Prime Minister had asked: “Where have we gone wrong?”,
This is one aspect where the Barisan Nasional Government have gone wrong.
I can still remember vividly that when Hussein Onn was the third Prime Minister, he insisted on tabling a White Paper in Parliament in 1979 on the Price Waterhouse Report on the Bank Rakyat scandal, which involved malpractices, mismanagement and misuse of public trust and funds to the tune of RM65 million.
This sum is now chickenfeed, for financial scandals are in the tens of billions of ringgit which do not cause the Prime Minister or Finance Minister (or one who is both) to bat an eyelid!
If Hussein Onn was prepared to table a White Paper on a RM65 million financial scandal, why has Najib refused to submit to parliamentary accountability and to issue a Ministerial statement on the multi-billion ringgit 1MDB scandal?
Again, it is not too late as a Ministerial statement on the 1MDB scandal could be tabled in Parliament tomorrow, and I urge Najib to do so.
Coming back to the subject at hand, the White Paper on the Islamic State threat, Najib is probably the only head of government in the world to have publicly praised the Islamic State (formerly ISIL/ISIS) terrorists, when he exhorted UMNO members on June 24 to emulate what he described as the “brave exploits” of ISIL/ISIS for UMNO to survive.
Although Najib has since denounced Islamic State unambiguously and unconditionally at the UN General Assembly on Sept. 26, it had not been able to completely wipe out the horror of his ill-advised initial praise of Islamic State in June.
The White Paper indicated that the authorities had been tracking the activities of Malaysians suspected of being related to Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) in 2012, and if so, Najib owes Parliament and the nation a proper explanation how he could be so badly advised as to publicly accord praise to ISIL/ISIS terrorists for their “brave exploits” five days before the declaration of the IS caliphate by its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on June 29, 2014 – showing either poor security intelligence or abysmal judgment by the Prime Minister.
However, when Najib made amends and unambiguously and unconditionally denounced Islamic State when he spoke at the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 27, 2014, I did not hesitate to immediately commend him for his speech and his call on the global community to defeat violent extremism and religious intolerance.
I had earlier urged Najib to unambiguously and unconditionally denounce Islamic State in his United Nations General Assembly speech for three reasons:
A day before Najib’s speech at the UNGA, an international coalition of Muslim scholars had delivered a withering condemnation of IS by unpicking its doctrine in an open letter and declaring its existence “an offence to Islam”.
More than 120 Sunni imams and academics, including some of the Muslim world’s most respected scholars, signed the 18-page document which outlined 24 separate grounds on which the terror group violated the tenets of Islam.
The letter, addressed to the head of IS, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, was significant not only because of its signatories but also its detailed references to the Koran and other Islamic texts to counter the justifications offered by the extremists for their bloody rampage across a swathe of Syria and Iraq.
The closely-argued document singled out the murders of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and British aid worker David Haines (which have since been followed by other atrocious executions, including the French Hervé Gourdel on Sept. 24, Britisher Alan Henning on Oct 3, American Peter Kasig on Nov. 16, as well as Kurds and Syrians) by saying the men were “emissaries” and their killings as “unquestionably forbidden”.
It also took ISIS to task over its countless acts of brutality and massacres under the guise of jihad, or a holy struggle. While acknowledging to Al-Baghdadi that “you and your fighters are fearless” and ready to die for their cause, the scholars stated their actions are “not jihad at all, but rather, warmongering and criminality”.
The documents cited multiple examples of atrocities committed by IS fighters, describing the murder of hundreds of ethnic Yazidis in northern Iraq as “abominable crimes” and describes its attitudes to women and children as morally repugnant.
The letter concluded: “You have misinterpreted Islam into a religion of harshness, brutality, torture and murder. This is a great wrong and an offence to Islam, to Muslims and to the entire world.”
The letter, whose signatories come from Sudan to Iceland and include the grand mufti of Egypt, Sheikh Shawqi Allam, and the mufti of Jerusalem and All Palestine, Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, was the latest from leading Muslims around the world condemning IS and its doctrine.
The White Paper said: “Malaysia berdiri teguh bersama masyarakat antarabangsa untuk menentang kumpulan pengganas ini kerana perjuangan IS mencermarkan nama baik Islam dan bertentangan dengan nilai kemanusiaan.”
In fact, the Global Movement of Moderates should be in the forefront of an international campaign to mobilise world opinion against the IS terrorists, as Najib had repeatedly made the clarion call in international fora, including thrice at the United Nations General Assembly, for “moderates of all countries, of all religions, to take back the centre, to reclaim the agenda for peace and pragmatism, and to marginalize the extremists”.
As Najib has repeatedly stated, “the real divide is not between East and West or between the developed and developing worlds or between Muslims, Christians and Jews; it is between moderates and extremists of all religions”.
Unfortunately, the Global Movement of Moderates initiated by Najib is unable to rise to the challenge of the times to mobilise national and international opinion against the violent extremism and religious intolerance in Syria and Iraq as it is desperately fending off attacks from extremists and intolerant right-wing groups in the country for being “seditious” as a result of a “white terror” spree by Najib’s government in the past few months through a sedition dragnet to stifle freedom of speech and legitimate criticism and dissent – which ironically granted immunity and impunity to the extremist and intolerant elements in the country for serious violations of the law.
Najib must align his domestic policies with his international pronouncements or he would forfeit all respect and credibility, whether at home or in the international arena.
Just as Islam is not under siege internationally, it is not under siege in Malaysia, and those who use the name of Islam to justify extremist and intolerant outbursts and actions must be contained, not only internationally, but also nationally.
This was why in my statement immediately after Najib’s speech at the UN General Assembly, I had made two proposals for Najib to align his domestic policies with his international pronouncements on moderation and the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM), namely :
In his first speech to the UN General Assembly on 27th Sept. 2010 when he first broached the idea of a Global Movement of Moderate (GMM), to promote international peace and harmony and counter Islamophobia which demonize Islam and offend the one and a half billion adherents of the religion, he praised the group of American Christians who had “worked tirelessly to prevent the threatened burning of the Quran with the compelling argument that it is in fact un-Christian to burn the Quran”.
Najib said at the time that this was a clear example of what can be achieved “when moderates in each faith stand up to the extremists that are trying to hijack the universal value of our religions”.
Yet, Najib was not prepared to come to the forefront to denounce Perkasa President Ibrahim Ali for his threat in January 2013 to burn the Malay-language Bible with the compelling argument that it was un-Islamic to burn the Bible or any other holy books of any religion – not to mention the double standards of his Attorney-General, refusing to prosecute Ibrahim Ali whether under the Sedition Act or other laws while sanctioning sedition prosecutions against Pakatan Rakyat leaders, activists and intellectuals like law lecturer Dr. Azmi Sharom and Ali Abdul Jalil, who had to flee Malaysia and seek asylum and protection in Sweden because of oppression from authorities and gangsters.
In his Aidiladha message, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak reiterated that he would keep faith with the “moderation” pledge he reiterated at the 69th United Nations General Assembly in September this year.
Najib should realize that his wasatiyyah (moderation) campaign of justice, balance and excellence would have no credibility whatsoever unless he is seen as upholding all these principles not only in the international arena but also in his government policies inside the country.
This is why all eyes are on the UMNO General Assembly this week, as all Malaysians, Umno and non-Umno, Malays and non-Malays, are asking the question of “Where have we gone wrong” in promoting wasatiyyah not only under the present Prime Minister but in the 57-year history of the nation that a former Chief Justice (Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad) could deliver a keynote address (ucaptama) at the National Unity Convention of Malay and Muslim NGOs on Sunday warning that the Malays could suffer a fate similar to Red Indians in the United States unless PAS and UMNO unite to allegedly stop DAP from attaining federal power.
In the first place, DAP had never said or believed that it could attain federal power without being part of a Malay-dominated political coalition.
This is not the only falsehood or fallacy in the thesis of the former Chief Justice, which runs counter to all the three Wasatiyyah principles of justice, balance and excellence.
Is Najib, Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy UMNO President, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the UMNO Vice Presidents, Hishammuddin, Zahid and Shafie Apdal admitting that UMNO as a party for the Malays, had failed the Malays after ruling Malaya and then Malaysia for 57 years under six UMNO Prime Ministers to the extent that Malays now risk suffering a fate similar to the Red Indians in the United States – and that this horrible outcome could only be averted and the Malays saved from such a fate if PAS unite with UMNO to save the Malays.
Will Najib and Hishammuddin admit that their respective fathers, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein, had been such failures as the second and third Prime Ministers as to place the Malays in Malaysia under such a risk?
The “Red Indian warning” has been a favourite ploy of Tun Dr. Mahathir. Is Mahathir admitting that he had been such a n abysmal failure as the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia for 22 years from 1981 to 2003 that he has left the Malays after over two decades of premiership risking the fate of Red Indians in the United States?
We are confronted with the challenge whether we are prepared to be moderates in our own country, which is the real test whether we can be true moderates in the world in a Global Movement of Moderates campaign to lead the battlecry to isolate and marginalize all forms of extremism, intolerance and terrorism.
After governing the nation for 57 years, UMNO should be more and more inclusive and less and less exclusive – but the reverse is taking place, becoming even more exclusive and less inclusive than in the past.
Is UMNO prepared to draw the line in the sand, and the UMNO General Assembly this week demonstrate that UMNO stands solidly for moderation to marginalize extremism, intolerance and bigotry in Malaysia”?
The motion before the House asked for support for government policies and efforts to deal with the threat from the militant Islamic State – “menyokong Kerajaan melaksanakan dasar-dasar dan usaha-usaha yang diperkenalkan menangani ancaman kumpulan militan Islamic State; melulus dan merestui dasar-dasar dan usaha-usaha yang diperkenal oleh Kerajaan untuk menangani ancaman kumpulan militan Islamic State” and “menyeru semua lapisan rakyat Malaysia mempergiatkan usaha dan komitmen mereka untuk bersama-sama menyokong Kerajaan menangani ancaman berkenaan”.
If the battle for moderation, the campaign of the Global Movement for Moderates, is to succeed nationally and internationally, in the face of the threat posed by Islamic State and such-like extremist, intolerant and terrorist organizations, it must be a national effort uniting all Malaysians of all ethnicities and faiths which transcend race, religion or politics.
For this reason, I call for a Parliamentary Select Committee to mobilise support for moderation and draft laws to deal with the Islamic State threat, for the threat by extremist, intolerant and terrorist organizations like Islamic State cannot be countered and won unless it is an all-Malaysian, and not just UMNO or Barisan Nasional, effort – especially at a time when the UMNO/BN Government is only a minority government with minority support from the people of Malaysia.
Such a Parliamentary Select Committee to mobilise support for moderation and to draft laws and measures to deal with the Islamic State threat should be formed before Parliament adjourns till March tomorrow.
[Speech by DAP Parliamentary Leader and MP for Gelang Patah Lim Kit Siang on the Prime Minister’s motion on the White Paper on Islamic State in Parliament on Wednesday, 26th November 2014]
DAP welcomes the White Paper “Ke Arah Menangani Ancaman Kumpulan Islamic State” and the Prime Minister’s motion seeking Parliament’s support with Government’s efforts to deal with the Islamic State threat and to “menyeru semua lapisan rakyat Malaysia mempergiatkan usaha dan komitmen mereka untuk bersama-sama menyokong Kerajaan menangani ancaman berkenaan”.
Before I proceed further, let me state that the White Paper on the Islamic State is one of the three unfinished business which Najib should have completed in the present meeting of Parliament which ends tomorrow.
While welcoming the White Paper on Islamic State, I want to place on record the people’s disappointment and disapproval that the Prime Minister has refused to complete the other two unfinished business before Parliament adjourns tomorrow, viz:
Firstly, the Report of the Royal Commission of Illegal Immigrants in Sabah (RCIIIS), which is meant to end once-and-for-all the 40-year problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah which had multiplied 15 to 19 times in four decades from 100,000 in the seventies to 1.5 million to 1.9 million at present.
The Report of the RCIIIS was presented to the Federal Government on May 14, and the Prime Minister’s failure to present it to Parliament for more than six months and to allow for a full parliamentary debate, can only mean one thing – the complete absence of political will of the Barisan Nasional Federal Government and confirming that the RCI was just a Barisan Nasional ruse to secure votes from the Sabah voters for the 13GE in May last year.
The establishment of the Joseph Pairin Kitingan RCIIIS Report Review Committee – with no details as to who are its members, its terms of reference and time frame – is just the latest in a 40-year “merry-go-round” sleight-of-hand to kick the problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah into the distant and indefinite future until the population of illegal immigrants in Sabah exceed the two million mark, completely changing the political demography and socio-economic landscape, reducing native Sabahans into strangers and a minority in their own land.
Twenty-eight years ago in Parliament in 1986, I had warned that if the illegal enfranchisement of illegal immigrants in Sabah continued unimpeded, in a matter of three years, the demographic distribution of the 48 state assembly seats with 21 Kadazan majority seats, 8 Chinese majority seats and 19 Malay majority seats would be so altered and gerrymandered that it could end up as 16 Kadazan majority seats, 2 Chinese majority seats, and 30 Malay/Filipino/Indonesian seats.
The people of Sabah are entitled to know whether the political demography would be further aggravated and worsened in another electoral constituency redelineation and this is one reason why immediate publication and implementation of the Report of the RCIIIS is imperative.
Although tomorrow is the last day of the current budget meeting of Parliament, it is still possible for the Report of the RCIIIS to be presented before Parliament adjourns tomorrow as the RCIIIS Report had been submitted to the Federal Government for six-and-a-half months, and I urge the Prime Minister to issue a directive for the Report of the RCIIIS to be tabled in Parliament tomorrow, followed by a parliamentary debate.
Secondly, a Ministerial statement by the Prime Minister –cum-Finance Minister on the roiling multi-billion ringgit 1MDB scandal and assurance that he is not trying to shut down public and parliamentary query and debate on the latest financial scandal by the threat of legal suit against the DAP MP for PJ Utara, Tony Pua.
In fact, Najib should give a public undertaking that his threat of a legal suit against Tony Pua will not be used to shut down any public questioning of any aspect of 1MDB deals.
On Sunday, the Prime Minister had asked: “Where have we gone wrong?”,
This is one aspect where the Barisan Nasional Government have gone wrong.
I can still remember vividly that when Hussein Onn was the third Prime Minister, he insisted on tabling a White Paper in Parliament in 1979 on the Price Waterhouse Report on the Bank Rakyat scandal, which involved malpractices, mismanagement and misuse of public trust and funds to the tune of RM65 million.
This sum is now chickenfeed, for financial scandals are in the tens of billions of ringgit which do not cause the Prime Minister or Finance Minister (or one who is both) to bat an eyelid!
If Hussein Onn was prepared to table a White Paper on a RM65 million financial scandal, why has Najib refused to submit to parliamentary accountability and to issue a Ministerial statement on the multi-billion ringgit 1MDB scandal?
Again, it is not too late as a Ministerial statement on the 1MDB scandal could be tabled in Parliament tomorrow, and I urge Najib to do so.
Coming back to the subject at hand, the White Paper on the Islamic State threat, Najib is probably the only head of government in the world to have publicly praised the Islamic State (formerly ISIL/ISIS) terrorists, when he exhorted UMNO members on June 24 to emulate what he described as the “brave exploits” of ISIL/ISIS for UMNO to survive.
Although Najib has since denounced Islamic State unambiguously and unconditionally at the UN General Assembly on Sept. 26, it had not been able to completely wipe out the horror of his ill-advised initial praise of Islamic State in June.
The White Paper indicated that the authorities had been tracking the activities of Malaysians suspected of being related to Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) in 2012, and if so, Najib owes Parliament and the nation a proper explanation how he could be so badly advised as to publicly accord praise to ISIL/ISIS terrorists for their “brave exploits” five days before the declaration of the IS caliphate by its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on June 29, 2014 – showing either poor security intelligence or abysmal judgment by the Prime Minister.
However, when Najib made amends and unambiguously and unconditionally denounced Islamic State when he spoke at the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 27, 2014, I did not hesitate to immediately commend him for his speech and his call on the global community to defeat violent extremism and religious intolerance.
I had earlier urged Najib to unambiguously and unconditionally denounce Islamic State in his United Nations General Assembly speech for three reasons:
- Firstly, Najib’s laudatory first reference to ISIL/ISIS on June 24, akin to glorification, which sent out a wrong message about Malaysia’s stand against Islamic militants, extremists and terrorists. In fact, former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir was incensed by Najib’s initial praise for ISIL/ISIS, coming out with a downright condemnation of ISIS on August 16 while making the caustic comment “I do not know if he knew what he was saying, but if Malaysia emulates Isis, this country will not be stable. Malaysia will become a very violent country.”
- Secondly, the daily ISIS sadistic and horrific human rights violations, including targeted killings, trafficking, sexual abuse, abductions, forced conversions and beheadings which run contrary to the Global Movement of Moderates and Wasatiyah advocated by Najib to reject all form of violence and extremism, whether political or religious.
- Thirdly, as Prime Minister of multi-religious Malaysia, with Islam as the official religion, Najib should speak loud and clear to lead the world, including Islamic nations, to condemn the terrorism and inhumanity of ISIS, not only as an affront and anathema to Islam as a religion of peace but for its crimes against humanity.
A day before Najib’s speech at the UNGA, an international coalition of Muslim scholars had delivered a withering condemnation of IS by unpicking its doctrine in an open letter and declaring its existence “an offence to Islam”.
More than 120 Sunni imams and academics, including some of the Muslim world’s most respected scholars, signed the 18-page document which outlined 24 separate grounds on which the terror group violated the tenets of Islam.
The letter, addressed to the head of IS, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, was significant not only because of its signatories but also its detailed references to the Koran and other Islamic texts to counter the justifications offered by the extremists for their bloody rampage across a swathe of Syria and Iraq.
The closely-argued document singled out the murders of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and British aid worker David Haines (which have since been followed by other atrocious executions, including the French Hervé Gourdel on Sept. 24, Britisher Alan Henning on Oct 3, American Peter Kasig on Nov. 16, as well as Kurds and Syrians) by saying the men were “emissaries” and their killings as “unquestionably forbidden”.
It also took ISIS to task over its countless acts of brutality and massacres under the guise of jihad, or a holy struggle. While acknowledging to Al-Baghdadi that “you and your fighters are fearless” and ready to die for their cause, the scholars stated their actions are “not jihad at all, but rather, warmongering and criminality”.
The documents cited multiple examples of atrocities committed by IS fighters, describing the murder of hundreds of ethnic Yazidis in northern Iraq as “abominable crimes” and describes its attitudes to women and children as morally repugnant.
The letter concluded: “You have misinterpreted Islam into a religion of harshness, brutality, torture and murder. This is a great wrong and an offence to Islam, to Muslims and to the entire world.”
The letter, whose signatories come from Sudan to Iceland and include the grand mufti of Egypt, Sheikh Shawqi Allam, and the mufti of Jerusalem and All Palestine, Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, was the latest from leading Muslims around the world condemning IS and its doctrine.
The White Paper said: “Malaysia berdiri teguh bersama masyarakat antarabangsa untuk menentang kumpulan pengganas ini kerana perjuangan IS mencermarkan nama baik Islam dan bertentangan dengan nilai kemanusiaan.”
In fact, the Global Movement of Moderates should be in the forefront of an international campaign to mobilise world opinion against the IS terrorists, as Najib had repeatedly made the clarion call in international fora, including thrice at the United Nations General Assembly, for “moderates of all countries, of all religions, to take back the centre, to reclaim the agenda for peace and pragmatism, and to marginalize the extremists”.
As Najib has repeatedly stated, “the real divide is not between East and West or between the developed and developing worlds or between Muslims, Christians and Jews; it is between moderates and extremists of all religions”.
Unfortunately, the Global Movement of Moderates initiated by Najib is unable to rise to the challenge of the times to mobilise national and international opinion against the violent extremism and religious intolerance in Syria and Iraq as it is desperately fending off attacks from extremists and intolerant right-wing groups in the country for being “seditious” as a result of a “white terror” spree by Najib’s government in the past few months through a sedition dragnet to stifle freedom of speech and legitimate criticism and dissent – which ironically granted immunity and impunity to the extremist and intolerant elements in the country for serious violations of the law.
Najib must align his domestic policies with his international pronouncements or he would forfeit all respect and credibility, whether at home or in the international arena.
Just as Islam is not under siege internationally, it is not under siege in Malaysia, and those who use the name of Islam to justify extremist and intolerant outbursts and actions must be contained, not only internationally, but also nationally.
This was why in my statement immediately after Najib’s speech at the UN General Assembly, I had made two proposals for Najib to align his domestic policies with his international pronouncements on moderation and the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM), namely :
- to end the “white terror” sedition spree in the past weeks through malicious and selective prosecution and investigation under the Sedition Act, drop all Sedition charges, and empower the Global Movement of Moderates to launch national and international initiatives to promote moderation and reject all forms of violence and extremism in the face of the IS threat; and
- move a motion when Parliament meets on Oct 7 to condemn in unambiguous and unconditional terms the extremism, violence and barbarism of IS.
The motion to condemn IS now before the House, but Najib has still to align his domestic policies with his international pronouncements on moderation and the establishment of GMM.
In his first speech to the UN General Assembly on 27th Sept. 2010 when he first broached the idea of a Global Movement of Moderate (GMM), to promote international peace and harmony and counter Islamophobia which demonize Islam and offend the one and a half billion adherents of the religion, he praised the group of American Christians who had “worked tirelessly to prevent the threatened burning of the Quran with the compelling argument that it is in fact un-Christian to burn the Quran”.
Najib said at the time that this was a clear example of what can be achieved “when moderates in each faith stand up to the extremists that are trying to hijack the universal value of our religions”.
Yet, Najib was not prepared to come to the forefront to denounce Perkasa President Ibrahim Ali for his threat in January 2013 to burn the Malay-language Bible with the compelling argument that it was un-Islamic to burn the Bible or any other holy books of any religion – not to mention the double standards of his Attorney-General, refusing to prosecute Ibrahim Ali whether under the Sedition Act or other laws while sanctioning sedition prosecutions against Pakatan Rakyat leaders, activists and intellectuals like law lecturer Dr. Azmi Sharom and Ali Abdul Jalil, who had to flee Malaysia and seek asylum and protection in Sweden because of oppression from authorities and gangsters.
In his Aidiladha message, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak reiterated that he would keep faith with the “moderation” pledge he reiterated at the 69th United Nations General Assembly in September this year.
Najib should realize that his wasatiyyah (moderation) campaign of justice, balance and excellence would have no credibility whatsoever unless he is seen as upholding all these principles not only in the international arena but also in his government policies inside the country.
This is why all eyes are on the UMNO General Assembly this week, as all Malaysians, Umno and non-Umno, Malays and non-Malays, are asking the question of “Where have we gone wrong” in promoting wasatiyyah not only under the present Prime Minister but in the 57-year history of the nation that a former Chief Justice (Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad) could deliver a keynote address (ucaptama) at the National Unity Convention of Malay and Muslim NGOs on Sunday warning that the Malays could suffer a fate similar to Red Indians in the United States unless PAS and UMNO unite to allegedly stop DAP from attaining federal power.
In the first place, DAP had never said or believed that it could attain federal power without being part of a Malay-dominated political coalition.
This is not the only falsehood or fallacy in the thesis of the former Chief Justice, which runs counter to all the three Wasatiyyah principles of justice, balance and excellence.
Is Najib, Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy UMNO President, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the UMNO Vice Presidents, Hishammuddin, Zahid and Shafie Apdal admitting that UMNO as a party for the Malays, had failed the Malays after ruling Malaya and then Malaysia for 57 years under six UMNO Prime Ministers to the extent that Malays now risk suffering a fate similar to the Red Indians in the United States – and that this horrible outcome could only be averted and the Malays saved from such a fate if PAS unite with UMNO to save the Malays.
Will Najib and Hishammuddin admit that their respective fathers, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein, had been such failures as the second and third Prime Ministers as to place the Malays in Malaysia under such a risk?
The “Red Indian warning” has been a favourite ploy of Tun Dr. Mahathir. Is Mahathir admitting that he had been such a n abysmal failure as the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia for 22 years from 1981 to 2003 that he has left the Malays after over two decades of premiership risking the fate of Red Indians in the United States?
We are confronted with the challenge whether we are prepared to be moderates in our own country, which is the real test whether we can be true moderates in the world in a Global Movement of Moderates campaign to lead the battlecry to isolate and marginalize all forms of extremism, intolerance and terrorism.
After governing the nation for 57 years, UMNO should be more and more inclusive and less and less exclusive – but the reverse is taking place, becoming even more exclusive and less inclusive than in the past.
Is UMNO prepared to draw the line in the sand, and the UMNO General Assembly this week demonstrate that UMNO stands solidly for moderation to marginalize extremism, intolerance and bigotry in Malaysia”?
The motion before the House asked for support for government policies and efforts to deal with the threat from the militant Islamic State – “menyokong Kerajaan melaksanakan dasar-dasar dan usaha-usaha yang diperkenalkan menangani ancaman kumpulan militan Islamic State; melulus dan merestui dasar-dasar dan usaha-usaha yang diperkenal oleh Kerajaan untuk menangani ancaman kumpulan militan Islamic State” and “menyeru semua lapisan rakyat Malaysia mempergiatkan usaha dan komitmen mereka untuk bersama-sama menyokong Kerajaan menangani ancaman berkenaan”.
If the battle for moderation, the campaign of the Global Movement for Moderates, is to succeed nationally and internationally, in the face of the threat posed by Islamic State and such-like extremist, intolerant and terrorist organizations, it must be a national effort uniting all Malaysians of all ethnicities and faiths which transcend race, religion or politics.
For this reason, I call for a Parliamentary Select Committee to mobilise support for moderation and draft laws to deal with the Islamic State threat, for the threat by extremist, intolerant and terrorist organizations like Islamic State cannot be countered and won unless it is an all-Malaysian, and not just UMNO or Barisan Nasional, effort – especially at a time when the UMNO/BN Government is only a minority government with minority support from the people of Malaysia.
Such a Parliamentary Select Committee to mobilise support for moderation and to draft laws and measures to deal with the Islamic State threat should be formed before Parliament adjourns till March tomorrow.
[Speech by DAP Parliamentary Leader and MP for Gelang Patah Lim Kit Siang on the Prime Minister’s motion on the White Paper on Islamic State in Parliament on Wednesday, 26th November 2014]
After four-year wait, Malaysia-born teen finally gets legal recognition as a citizen
Malay Mail
by JOSEPH SIPALAN
by JOSEPH SIPALAN
High Court ordered the federal government to recognise him as a Malaysian citizen and issue him a MyKad by the end of this year.
Judge
Datuk Hue Siew Kheng ruled that the federal authorities had acted
unfairly in rejecting two earlier applications by Navin Moorthy to be
granted his citizenship, describing it as “unjust and too harsh”.
She
said there is no provision under Article 15A of the Federal
Constitution that expressly states that the marriage of a child’s
parents must be officially registered to qualify for citizenship, as
claimed by the National Registration Department and the Home Ministry.
Hue
added that because there is no clear definition of the “special
circumstances” outlined under Article 15A, it should be interpreted to
cover the various protections afforded to children by Malaysia’s
ratification of the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
“The
primary consideration should be what is best for the child,” she said
in her judgement, adding that there are several statutes in force in the
country that abide by the convention’s requirement that puts the
welfare of children as a priority.
Hue
also rebuked the authorities for having “glossed over” the fact that a
Malaysian passport — which was issued to Navin — can only be issued to
citizens, and that the approval of the teen’s passport amounted to an
implicit recognition of his citizenship.
In
view of the authorities’ discrepancies, Hue ordered the National
Registration Department (NRD) to immediately recognise the boy’s
citizenship and to issue him a MyKad within one month from today.
Hue also ordered the NRD to pay RM8,000 in costs.
When
met outside the court, Navin said he was overjoyed that he can now
proudly say without any doubt that he is a Malaysian citizen.
“I
feel very happy. It’s been four years of waiting... some people said I
was a foreigner, but now I can prove that I am not a foreigner,” said
the 16-year-old.
Navin,
through his father Moorthy Ramiah Pillai, filed a civil suit last
December against the director-general of the NRD, the Home Ministry, as
it oversees the NRD, and the federal government over his citizenship
status.
In
his submissions, the teenager claimed that he was initially issued a
birth certificate that listed him as a citizen when he was born on July
8, 1998, but found that his status was later changed to “Bukan
Warganegara” or non-citizen.
Navin,
who was born to a Malaysian father and Filipino mother, is also listed
as a citizen in his Malaysian passport issued by the Immigration
Department.
His
businessman father, Moorthy, had applied twice with the NRD for his
son’s citizenship, but claims that both applications were rejected by
the Home Ministry.
Call To Maintain Sedition Act Dominates Assemblies Of Three Umno Wings
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 (Bernama) -- The issues concerning the proposed abolition of the Sedition Act 1948 dominated the assemblies of the three Umno wings - Wanita, Youth and Puteri - at the Putra World Trade Centre on Wednesday.
In fact, the three wings unanimously agreed for the Act to be maintained, empowered and added value.
All delegates even viewed the Act as the final fort to protect sensitive matters as enshrined in the Federal Constitution from being ridiculed after the abolishment of the Internal Security Act (ISA).
Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said the government should continue with the plan to introduce the National harmony Act, while at the same time maintain and improve the existing Sedition Act.
She said the proposed introduction of the National Harmony Act was aimed at promoting and boosting the the spirit of harmony and mutual respect among the multi-racial and multi-religious people in the country.
Meanwhile, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said if the Sedition Act were to be amended or improved, the government should maintain the main provisions that prohibit and permit punishment of seditious speeches or behaviour.
He said the provisions were power and shields, not only for Malays, but also for the general Malaysian public.
"Whatever that is being done on the Sedition Act and whatever name given to it later, we want the power in it to be maintained and become the shields for all of us," he said.
The Kedah Puteri Umno, on the other hand, called on the government to empower the Sedition Act to check the activities of keyboard warriors, who spread rumour via the new media with the aim to jeopardise national peace.
Kubang Pasu Puteri chief Rosliza Hasan said the government should amend several provisions in the Act so that the public could not use the media arbitrarily to create public anxiety.
"National harmony and solidarity must be preserved. Matters concerning religion as enshrined in Article 153 is very sensitive. The key to national development and progress is solidarity and harmony," she said.
The assemblies of the three wings were simultaneously opened by Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin last night.
In fact, the three wings unanimously agreed for the Act to be maintained, empowered and added value.
All delegates even viewed the Act as the final fort to protect sensitive matters as enshrined in the Federal Constitution from being ridiculed after the abolishment of the Internal Security Act (ISA).
Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said the government should continue with the plan to introduce the National harmony Act, while at the same time maintain and improve the existing Sedition Act.
She said the proposed introduction of the National Harmony Act was aimed at promoting and boosting the the spirit of harmony and mutual respect among the multi-racial and multi-religious people in the country.
Meanwhile, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said if the Sedition Act were to be amended or improved, the government should maintain the main provisions that prohibit and permit punishment of seditious speeches or behaviour.
He said the provisions were power and shields, not only for Malays, but also for the general Malaysian public.
"Whatever that is being done on the Sedition Act and whatever name given to it later, we want the power in it to be maintained and become the shields for all of us," he said.
The Kedah Puteri Umno, on the other hand, called on the government to empower the Sedition Act to check the activities of keyboard warriors, who spread rumour via the new media with the aim to jeopardise national peace.
Kubang Pasu Puteri chief Rosliza Hasan said the government should amend several provisions in the Act so that the public could not use the media arbitrarily to create public anxiety.
"National harmony and solidarity must be preserved. Matters concerning religion as enshrined in Article 153 is very sensitive. The key to national development and progress is solidarity and harmony," she said.
The assemblies of the three wings were simultaneously opened by Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin last night.
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