Another Hindu Temple in Penanti attacked, this time 'more severely'

Another century-old Hindu temple in Penang has been broken into, and its deities destroyed, this time “more severely” than last week's attack on a nearby temple.

Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy said the Sri Dharma Munisverar temple, which is located about one kilometre away from the Muthumariamman Temple in Penanti Estate, was vandalised around midnight.

“The previous incident in Penanti happened exactly one week ago, on Thursday. Today, we found that the deities were destroyed more severely than the previous ones,” Ramasamy told Malaysiakini.

He said the intruders entered the temple and appeared to have thrown a large stone at the three deities, smashing them into pieces.

The committee that oversees both temples was shocked by the incidents and unable to accept the desecration of their places of worship.

Ramasamy spoke to Penang chief police Abdul Ghafar Rejab, who reportedly said the matter would be thoroughly investigated.

“However, police are still uncertain whether the damage was caused by an insider or outsider. The police must be more alert from now on and must send their patrols to monitor the affected areas,” he said.

“With two related temples, looked after by the same committee being vandalised over a matter of one week, it looks as if the culprits are trying to send a strong message,” the Perai assemblyperson added.

“Is it the work of extremists or is this revenge?”

Only last week, several deities in the Muthumariamman Temple in Penanti Estate in Arakuda were destroyed by unknown attackers who are believed to have used a wooden pole to break the statues.

This followed a similar incident in Ipoh last month, with Ramasamy speculating that it may be due to the country's "heated political situation".

Najib announces RM500 aid for rubber tappers, smallholders

KUALA KANGSAR: Some RM194mil will be given out to rubber estate smallholders and rubber tappers in light of the commodity's drop in prices.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak made the announcement during a presentation ceremony at Dewan Jubli here Friday, and said the money would be distributed to 307,770 smallholders and 80,000 rubber tappers.

He said each individual would receive RM500.

He added that this was the third year the assistance had been given out.

Housewife among four charged with terror-related offences

KUALA LUMPUR: A housewife has claimed trial in a High Court here to possessing items related to terrorist activities in March this year.

Siti Nor Intan Shafinaz Johari, 27, was brought before High Court judge Justice Azman Abdullah to have the charge read to her.

She allegedly committed the offence at a house in Kampung Ujung Tanjung, Kuala Perlis, Kangar at about 8.15am on March 22 and was charged under Section 130JB(1)(a) of the Penal Code.

She later claimed trial to the charge Friday. The court then fixed June 29 for mention.

Mohamad Mustaffa P Kunyalam was the deputy public prosecutor while counsel Farida Mohammad appeared for the accused.

In Judicial Commissioner Ab Karim Ab Rahman's court, the court has fixed June 24 for mention of a case involving businessman Muhammad Saiful Hashim, 35, who was charged with having items related to terrorist activities.

The offence, under Section 130JB(1)(a) of the Penal Code, was said to have committed at a house in Jalan Sekolah Derma, Kangar, Perlis, on March 22.

He also faces another charge of having six fake RM10 notes at the same place, day and time and was charged under Section 489C of the same Code.

Meanwhile, Judicial Commissioner Mohd Nordin Hassan fixed Aug 9 as the next mention date for a case of policewoman Kpl Jusninawati Abdul Gani, 35, who was accused of intentionally omitting information on terrorism acts at the Petaling Jaya police station between 2015 and March 22.

She was charged under Section 130M of the Code.

The other accused, Anuar Ab Rawi, 40, was charged with possessing items related to terrorism activities at Taman Manir Indah in Kampung Banggol Tuan Muda, Manir, in Kuala Terengganu at 8.48am on March 22.

Ex-MIC Youth leader cleared rubber plantation against court orders, claim settlers

While waiting for a court decision over his village’s land disputes with alleged owner Thamarai
Holdings company, Kampung Gatco settler John Cantius was shocked to find strangers entering his village area to clear the rubber trees in parts of the disputed 4,932-acre land in Bahau, Negeri Sembilan.

The settlers were so displeased with the incident that they included it as one of their demands to MIC in the memorandum handed yesterday (today) at the party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday (today).

Accompanied by about 50 fellow settlers who held protest banners and placards, John alleged that “in March, 2015, the former Negeri Sembilan MIC Youth chief, M Thirunaukarasu, had trespassed into the plantation and chopped off about 500 acres of rubber estate land and brought out the trees and produce.”

“This is trespassing and theft because Thamarai Holdings has admitted it was not involved in timber production. So, who is this Thirunaukarasu? Not only did he chop and steal the trees, he brought ‘gangsters’ to attack the settlers, to hurt us, and used the police’s help to attack us when they were stealing,” John alleged.

“How can they enter? Because at the time, the case was still in discussion at court, and the court had declared that nobody can enter the plantation – it can’t be sold, can’t be bought, can’t be pawned, can’t be divided.

“So how did Thirunaukarasu enter? How did Thamarai Holdings allow the division of lands to state government? How can the state government give (settlement offerings) to settlers? It shows they are defying the court’s orders,” John said.

“We urge MIC to conduct a thorough investigation on Thirunakarausu, and take disciplinary action on him,” he added.

When contacted by Malaysiakini, Thirunaukarasu said: “They (settlers) failed to justify that the land is theirs in the previous 10 years (that the case has dragged on).

“I’ve got no right to get into their details, I’m not in a position to comment on behalf of Lotus or anybody” Thirunaukarasu added.

“I was there (at the place of the incident) as a contractor appointed by Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri, Negeri Sembilan (PKNNS). And I have all the documents to prove it.

“I was there to clear the land (and) surrender back to the PKNNS in order for replantation, because 1,206 acres were given by Lotus to the state government,” he said.

He also stressed that the incident had nothing to do with MIC, reiterating once again that he was there in his individual capacity as a contractor.

The other demands made in the Kampung Gatco settlers’ memorandum to MIC were:

• To ask MIC to intervene and ensure that eight acres of land (as was agreed upon in the original agreement in the 1970s) are given to every Gatco settler;
• To discuss with Thamarai Holdings Sdn Bhd so that the company would return the particular land rights to Gatco settlers (the settlers claimed the company had attained the rights unlawfully); and
• To discuss with the Negeri Sembilan government so that the rights of Gatco settlers are protected and they are given the right to their respective eight acres of land.

The memorandum also stated that MIC also needs to stress that the Negeri Sembilan government’s offer of between two and four acres of land to each Gatco settlers was unfair and the state government should abide by the Federal Court’s decision.

Rafizi reveals video in latest jet expose, expects lawsuit

For the third consecutive day, PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli continued his expose on Rosmah Mansor using a private jet for a trip to Istanbul.

He revealed a two-minute video which purportedly showed Rosmah boarding the plane owned by Emirates Airline (Emirates) while her officers were carrying bags into the aircraft.

Speaking to reporters here, Rafizi questioned the number of officers who accompanied Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's wife on the trip as well as the contents of the bags.

Claiming that he had "lost count" of the number of bags, the Pandan lawmaker asked the reason for the bags not being placed in the designated luggage area.

"Since this is a private jet, it has ample space to store bags without affecting comfort onboard the jet. What's the use of renting a luxurious jet if it is full of luggage?" he queried.

"What's inside the bags? If they are full of clothes, are they so valuable that they can't be stored at the proper luggage area?" he added.

Rafizi, who has been sued by the prime minister and his wife previously, said he expected to be dragged to court again over his latest allegations.

"I will wait for the lawsuit, I'll see you in court," he added.

K KANGSAR POLLS For the third consecutive day, PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli continued his expose on Rosmah Mansor using a private jet for a trip to Istanbul.

He revealed a two-minute video which purportedly showed Rosmah boarding the plane owned by Emirates Airline (Emirates) while her officers were carrying bags into the aircraft.

Speaking to reporters here, Rafizi questioned the number of officers who accompanied Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's wife on the trip as well as the contents of the bags.

Claiming that he had "lost count" of the number of bags, the Pandan lawmaker asked the reason for the bags not being placed in the designated luggage area.

"Since this is a private jet, it has ample space to store bags without affecting comfort onboard the jet. What's the use of renting a luxurious jet if it is full of luggage?" he queried.

"What's inside the bags? If they are full of clothes, are they so valuable that they can't be stored at the proper luggage area?" he added.

Rafizi, who has been sued by the prime minister and his wife previously, said he expected to be dragged to court again over his latest allegations.

"I will wait for the lawsuit, I'll see you in court," he added.

“She can sue me, (she) can say anything, but with social media, those are the questions that the public will ask after looking at the video."

Meanwhile, responding to Rosmah’s aide Rizal Mansor who said she did not live in the clouds for two months, Rafizi said the to-and-fro flight from Subang to Istanbul would have cost RM1.5 million.

“And this is only one trip, what if she had gone on 10 trips? Millions were still wasted in two months.

“If RM86 million is too much, then give us the (real) figure. I couldn't have plugged the figure out of thin air, my basis was on the fact that RM60,000 was spent per hour,” he said.

Rafizi on Wednesday revealed that Rosmah flew in the aircraft to Turkey to accept the 3G Children Welfare Award on behalf of early childhood programme Permata.

He had claimed that the two-month lease of the Airbus ACJ319 would cost the government approximately RM86.4 million.

Rizal however said that Rafizi had tried to give the impression that Rosmah had lived in the clouds for two months on the aircraft

Malaysiakini has contacted Rizal and is awaiting his response on Rafizi’s latest expose.

NGOs: AG must explain ignoring rulers in leap toward dictatorship

Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali must explain the reason for ignoring concerns raised by the rulers over the National Security Council (NSC) Bill, said a coalition of NGOs.

This was after the legislation was gazetted as law on Tuesday without royal assent.

"The attorney-general had confirmed there were no amendments to the bill despite promising scrutiny of some provisions after his meeting with the rulers in February.

"It is now incumbent on the attorney-general to disclose if any provisions were scrutinised at all and the reasons why no amendments were made nevertheless," said #TakNakDiktator representative Ambiga Sreenevasan in a media statement today.

On Feb 17, the Conference of Rulers asked that the NSC Bill, which would give the National Security Council headed by the prime minister emergency-like powers, to be refined.

However, according to the national gazette, the NSC Bill was automatically assented the following day on Feb 18 under Article 66(4A) of the Federal Constitution.

The provision granted automatic assent to any legislation if the Yang di-Pertuan Agong does not provide his assent within 30 days from when the legislation is presented to him.

"Whilst this is constitutionally permissible, serious questions arise as to why the government acted so hastily and in defiance of the concerns raised by the Conference of Rulers particularly as the bill directly impinges on the powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

"More so, as they have acted in complete disregard of the valid concerns raised by the public with regard to the ramifications of this act," said Ambiga.

'A leap towards dictatorship'

Ambiga said Putrajaya's move to ignore the Conference of Rulers' concerns should trigger alarm bells.

"In this exercise, this government has behaved as if they are accountable to no one, neither the rulers nor the people.

"The fact that there were no amendments to the bill is proof of this. If this is not a dictatorship, then what is?" she said.

She warned that the NSC Act represented an extremely dangerous step for Malaysia as it concentrated extraordinary powers in the hands of the prime minister and NSC.

"No person or entity should have such absolute and unfettered powers. Concentration of power leads to abuse, particularly in times of political crisis.

"The NSC law represents a leap towards a dictatorship and a military-police state with little or no safeguards," she said.

She added that the law was unconstitutional and a grave abuse of power.

"Malaysia does not need such a law which goes against all principles of democracy and undermines the rule of law in the country," she said.

The #TakNakDiktator coalition comprises Amnesty International Malaysia, Bersih, Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism, National Human Rights Society, Pertubuhan Ikram Malaysia (Ikram), Institut Rakyat, Lawyers for Liberty, Society for the Promotion of Human Rights and Suaram.