Iranian cleric calls Facebook 'un-Islamic', membership a 'sin'

17 million Iranians have a Facebook account, despite heavy restrictions and filtering imposed by the government.

An Iranian ayatollah has said that the social networking service Facebook was un-Islamic and being a member of it a sin, the ISNA news agency reported Saturday.

In Iran, it is common for senior clerics to be asked about their stance on certain social issues and whether these issues are compatible with Islamic norms.

Their answers are regarded as a form of decree.

ISNA on Saturday broadcast coverage of the response of Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi-Golpaygani, a senior cleric, to the question about Facebook and Iranian membership in the social networking service.

"Basically, going to any website which propagates immoralities and could weaken the religious belief is un-Islamic and not allowed, and membership in it is therefore haram (a sin)," the ayatollah replied.

"Only the use of websites propagating religious criteria and not leading to any kind of ethical immoralities is of no problem," he added.

According to official figures released last October, 17 million Iranians have a Facebook account, despite heavy restrictions and filtering imposed by the government.

Due to the popularity of Facebook with younger generations, observers believe that the number of real Iranian Facebook users could be much higher than 17 million.

Iran has a population of 70 million, of which than 60 per cent is under the age of 30.

Over 5 million websites are reportedly blocked in Iran, but Iranians use proxy software and virtual private networks (VPN) to access them.

Iranian officials have, for over three decades, been waging what they call a "battle against the invasion of Western culture."

This has led to blockades of "immoral" internet sites and banned Western music and movies. However, pirated versions of those are easily available on the black market.

The country recently established a cyberpolice unit to better police the internet and even plans to introduce its own national internet, though this has been postponed several times.

Over 6,000 women repressed last year

Staff Correspondent

As many as 449 women committed suicide facing different forms of repression last year, according to a report of a women's rights organisation published yesterday. Of them, 27 took their lives due to stalking.

Bangladesh Mahila Parishad made the annual report on women repression based on stories published in 14 national dailies last year, a press release said.

A total of 6,616 women fell victim to repression across the country last year, says the report. Of them, 1,014 women were victims of stalking, 96 were killed after rape and 38 died after being set on fire. Moreover, 81 women were acid burnt while two of them died following the attacks.

Over 800 women were raped, of whom 165 were gang raped, as per the report.

Two hundred and eighty seven women faced sexual harassment in 2011. About 181 women and teenage girls were abducted while 109 women and girl children fell victim to trafficking. Among the victims of trafficking, 45 were sold to brothels, the report says.

At least 330 women were killed for failing to give dowry while 55 teenage house helps died in different incidents of torture across the country. Also, 68 women were tortured in the name of fatwa (religious edict), and 75 fell victim to child marriage.

PAS pecat Hasan Ali berkuat kuasa serta merta

Anwar: Saya akan survive dalam politik

Hasan Ali says saddened by axing after ‘championing Islam’

Hasan insists his recent run-ins with the party were over his fight for Islam. — File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 — Self-styled champion of Islam Datuk Hasan Ali expressed shock and sadness at his sudden dismissal from PAS today, insisting his efforts so far were in the name of the religion.

“I am shocked by the PAS central working committee’s drastic decision to sack me. I am saddened because my fight championing Islam all this while has been rewarded in such a manner.

“I will refer to colleagues and ulama friends for their views on what course of action I should take next,” the Gombak Setia assemblyman said in a short press statement.

Hasan can still appeal to the party’s Syura Council, its powerful decision-making body made up of religious scholars better known as ulama.

He said he will call for a media conference soon, but did not give a date.

The PAS central working committee announced it was revoking Hasan’s party membership with immediate effect for persistently going against the Islamist party’s stand.

President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said in a statement, “The decision was made based on Datuk Hasan Ali’s actions which have wronged and damaged the party’s interest as provided for in the PAS constitution.”

PAS women’s wing chief Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff told The Malaysian Insider that the decision was reached unanimously.

“The decision was made after careful study, discussion and advice given to Hasan but he still ignored orders and still went against the party’s policies,” she said.

PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat also attended today’s monthly meeting.

Last month, Hasan criticised PAS in Umno-controlled media such as Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian and TV3 for purportedly abandoning its Islamist credentials for the sake of political gain.

Hasan accused PAS, which removed him as Selangor chief after its general assembly in June 2010, of straying from its original struggle for an Islamic state by pushing for a welfare state.

The Selangor lawmaker, who is also facing the sack as executive councillor in charge of Islamic affairs, again drew the ire of his colleagues this week when he said tomorrow’s rally in support of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the opposition leader learns the verdict of his two-year-long sodomy trial was a waste of time.

Abdul Hadi had already backed the rally and other party leaders said Hasan had insulted the party president by going against his decision.

The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Selangor government will meet Wednesday to discuss his replacement.

Ghost of Kg Buah Pala haunting Lim

Has DAP lost its sway over Indians in Penang following its 'mishandling' of the Kampung Buah Pala incident?

GEORGE TOWN: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s act of kindness in offering the nine Kampung Buah Pala residents new houses, after their homes were demolished by the Penang Government, would have a major impact on ethnic Indian electorates in the next general election.

DAP grassroots leaders and political observers here believe that the curse of Kampung Buah Pala will haunt the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat in the the 13th general election.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s claim that he was unaware of the federal government offer of houses for the nine ‘is not funny’.

Many believe Lim was simply unprepared for such a move and was caught off-guard by Najib’s gesture.

The federal government had pulled a massive political coup, in the Kampung Buah Pala incident, and that too from right under Lim’s nose.

The nine residents of the village were left in lurch after the state government demolished their homes in September 2009.

The heartache of the nine residents, who’ve been snubbed by state, is now partially appeased as they have been offered double-storey houses worth RM220,000 each by Syarikat Perumahan Negara (SPN) Bhd in Taman Sejahtera Indah, Teluk Air Tawar.

The news that they will soon sign the sales and purchase agreement with SPN has silenced the Penang Pakatan authorities.

“Najib has a scored an open goal against DAP. Our custodian has gone to sleep. It’s a case of political revenge stalling a rational political thinking,” admitted a DAP branch leader.

‘State government lying’

Seated on a Helen Margaret Brown trust land for over 200 years in Bukit Gelugor, Kampung Buah Pala was famously known as Tamil High Chaparral by locals due to its cowherds, cattle, goats and Tamil traditional way of life.

The nine fought bravely against the odds for nearly five years to safeguard their legitimate rights and preserve their traditional Indian village as state heritage.

In the final months leading to the demolition of the Indian village, the nine led by Kampung Buah Pala Residents Association chairman M Sugumaran, fought like men possessed to save their homes.

Thanks to them 24 households, including those who accepted the original offer of either a flat or cash compensation and who left the village between 2005 and 2007, were given double-storey houses on the same village site.

But the nine ‘bravehearts’ however were denied compensation.

While Lim’s administration has repeatedly claimed that the nine had rejected the offer, many who are well versed with the whole fiasco know the truth to be in the contrary.

Sugumaran himself has openly said they had received no offer of compensation.

“The question of rejecting compensation never arose because we were never offered compensation anyway.

“Would anyone with a sensible mind reject compensation offers after their houses have been brutally demolished?

“The state government is lying,” he said.

‘Why wasn’t Lim as compassionate?’

Rumbling through the grapevine is talk that it was political vengeance that systematically denied the nine of any state compensations.

A Kampung Buah Pala villager claimed a state government leader had told him that the nine would not be given any compensation as punishment for bringing up the village issue to the attention of Unesco’s office in Paris.

Whether or not there is truth in this allegation is left to be seen, but what is known is that Lim’s government is being blamed for the
demolition of the village and the poor handling of the ‘crisis’ regardless of the fact that the 24 temporary occupation licence (TOLl) holders were compensated.

The prevailing question now is why wasn’t Lim as compassionate as Najib in giving the nine their rightful compensation?

A DAP assemblyman, who declined to be named, said Lim’s mishandling of the situation with the nine and the constant media spins during the whole fiasco had caused a shift of Indian voters from Pakatan to BN.

“Lim should have done some damage control by giving the nine their rightful houses.

“As it is now, Najib’s offer of houses for the nine is a huge blow to the DAP and Pakatan, and a slap to Lim’s face.

“The talk on the ground is would Lim have demolish the houses and denied compensation to ethnic Chinese, let alone Malays?” he said.

How did land get transferred?

Meanwhile London-based Hindraf Makkal Sakti chairman P Waythamoorthy has raised several questions in relation to transfer of the Kampung Buah Pala land.

Among the question ares:

i) Why Lim’s government failed to reveal until today how a land under trust was transferred and put under state’s control?

ii). How did Lim’s government officially transferred ownership of the controversial plot of land on March 27, 2008 to the current owner civil servants cooperative society – Koperasi Pegawai Pegawai Kanan Kerajaan Pulau Pinang?

iii) Why did Lim’s government give life to a dead land deal?

Waythamoorthy also wants the state government to disclose the findings of its investigation into the village land scam.

“Lim should also reveal the court order on the dissolution of the legally-constituted Brown Housing Trust, which encompasses Kampung Buah Pala,” he said.

Lim’s administration has however blamed the previous BN government under former Chief Minister Koh Tsu Koon.

Lim even declassified documents containing chronology of the previous BN executive council decisions made on the Kampung Buah Pala land deals.

But strangely enough he has failed until today to declassify his own council’s documents on the subject.

Meanwhile the nine, led by Sugumaran, are bent on securing their rightful compensation from the state government.

They are currently seeking a court declaration on the land’s real status.

Anwar prepared for jail on verdict eve

Anwar echoed many political observers in saying a guilty verdict would boost the opposition in the long run.
VIDEO INSIDE

KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said Sunday he was prepared to go to jail as he geared up for last-ditch rallies on the eve of a trial verdict that threatens his political career.

Anwar, 64, has toured the country in the past week, whipping up crowds of supporters with fiery speeches denouncing sodomy charges against him as a government frame-up aimed at neutralising him politically.

He was due to address supporters at his Kuala Lumpur home Sunday night, followed by a pair of separate rallies ahead of the following morning’s highly anticipated verdict announcement.

In a brief interview at his home Sunday, Anwar told AFP he had prepared himself mentally for a guilty verdict on charges he sodomised a male aide in 2008.

Sodomy is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia and punishable by 20 years in jail.

“Mentally, I am OK. I am psychologically prepared (for a guilty verdict),” said Anwar, who like many observers believes a guilty verdict is assured.

“Physically, of course, I am 64… my health conditions are, of course, not as great as when I was at the age of 50.”

Kuala Lumpur was bracing for potential unrest, with the opposition saying it plans to gather 100,000 people outside the court on Monday where judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah will pronounce Anwar’s fate.

But Anwar said his supporters were being urged to assemble peacefully and disperse quickly after the verdict. There have been no reports of unrest during his tour.

“I do not anticipate any violence tomorrow,” said Anwar, who added that voters should take any revenge at the ballot box.

Prime Minister Najib Razak must call the next elections by early 2012.

In a concession rare for a country where dissent is tightly controlled, police said they would allow the courthouse gathering, provided that it did not get out of hand.

In July, a rally for electoral reform by tens of thousands in the capital was crushed by police using tear gas and water cannon. About 1,600 people were arrested.

Government’s blunder

The verdict announcement has kindled memories of Anwar’s stunning fall from the ruling coalition more than a decade ago.

As deputy premier in the 1990s, Anwar was groomed by strongman prime minister Mahathir Mohamad to take power one day until a bitter row between them saw Anwar ousted in 1998, beaten, and ultimately jailed on sodomy and graft charges.

Thousands took to the streets in huge demonstrations calling for “reformasi” (reform) and denouncing Anwar’s ouster, which was widely viewed as politically motivated.

Anwar re-emerged years later at the helm of the opposition, inspiring an unlikely alliance of disparate parties to unprecedented parliamentary gains in 2008 general elections that shook the ruling establishment.

The new sodomy charge emerged shortly afterward.

However, Anwar echoed many political observers in saying a guilty verdict would boost the opposition in the long run.

“I think they have made a big blunder (in bringing the charges),” he told AFP.

He said the case also had shown that a recent promise by Najib to grant more civil liberties was merely an election ploy by an ultimately “authoritarian” regime.

But Anwar, looking tired, lamented the toll that his years of legal trouble have taken on his family, including his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who emerged as an opposition symbol during her husband’s earlier political exile.

“I can see the anguish and sadness in their faces. But we have to endure,” he said.

Political law experts say Anwar has the right to stand in any upcoming elections until the appeals process is exhausted.

Judgment Day for Anwar Ibrahim

Anwar says no problem

Case could backfire on the government
Malaysian Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is expected to learn tomorrow whether he will be jailed on sexual perversion charges after a politically suspect trial that has damaged the country’s reputation internationally and, according to observers in Malaysia, contributed to rising distrust of the government.

As many as 100,000 people are expected to assemble outside the Kuala Lumpur courtroom where nearly two years of conflicting and often suspect testimony marked by long delays have droned on. Police have said they will allow the demonstration to go ahead although they warned they would take action if it got out of hand.

Anwar himself Sunday wrapped up a tour of 18 cities across the country in which he sought to galvanize his followers, telling them the trial was politically motivated to drive him from politics. He has said he is prepared for a guilty verdict.

The question is whether the opposition leader will be jailed immediately if convicted, as he was following his conviction on similar charges in 1999, or whether he will be freed on appeal, which some legal sources in Kuala Lumpur say could take years.

In a sense the verdict presents the ruling Barisan Nasional and the United Malays National Organization head, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, with a Hobson’s choice in which neither outcome is to be desired. Given the long series of debatable legal decisions in the two-year trial – including the decision to bring the trial at all after the complaining witness had been told by two hospitals that he had not been sodomized – if Anwar is convicted, his followers and probably a sizeable segment of the electorate will consider him a martyr. If he is judged not guilty, then the government will be shown to have pursued a two-year political vendetta without merit.

“There is a continuously plummeting level of trust in Malaysian institutions,” one source told Asia Sentinel. “It reinforces the sense that it is rotten to the core. That is the key point. Even if the demonstrations are not sizeable, it reinforces the sense that nothing in this country is fair and if you cross the line they will screw you.”

The trial has been condemned internationally by legal scholars and human rights activists as designed to take Anwar out of Malaysia’s political equation. The case has been condemned by the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union, 60 members of the Australian parliament, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch and prominent leaders from Commonwealth nations including Paul Martin of Canada and others.

It also compares unfavorably with other trials of top members of the United Malays National Organization, the dominant political party in Malaysia, who have been wrist-slapped or exonerated on far more serious charges – or not charged at all so far, as in the case of Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, the Minister of Women, Welfare and Community Development and head of the women’s wing of Umno, whose husband and three children are embroiled in a massive scandal involving the National Feedlot Corporation.

This was a scheme to raise and slaughter as many as 60,000 cattle per year under Muslim religious practices. However, millions of dollars of Feedlot money were allegedly used to buy Shahrizat an expensive Mercedes-Benz sedan, to provide for travel overseas and to purchase property and a condominium in the upscale Bangsar section of Kuala Lumpur, among other misuses. So far no one connected directly to Shahrizat has been charged in the case, although it is being investigated and charges could be laid later.

The current case against Anwar began when a then-24-year-old former aide, Mohamad Bukhairy Azlan Saiful, made the charge against the opposition leader on June 29, 2008, shortly after he had led Pakatan Rakyat coalition to a historic sweep of five Malaysian states, winning 82 parliamentary seats in 2008 national elections and breaking the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition's two-thirds majority hold on parliament for the first time since the country was founded. Anwar was arrested at his home on July 16 of that year by a contingent of 10 carloads of police commandos and was locked up overnight in a Kuala Lumpur jail.

In the intervening months, as the trial has droned on, an array other doubtful factors have made the case look like it was manufactured to rid the Malaysian political scene of one of its most charismatic figures, and that the country’s court system, never regarded as independent since former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad fired the Supreme Court in the 1980s, was bending over backwards to do the government’s bidding.

For instance, Saiful acknowledged a series of meetings in court, at the home of then-Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, on June 24, 2008, two days before the alleged sodomy took place as well as others with Rosmah's close confidant, the former track star Mumtaz Jaafar.

Saiful also acknowledged meeting secretly twice with Rodwan Mohd Yusof, a senior assistant police commissioner, before the alleged offence took place. Rodwan became famous, or infamous, in Anwar's 1998 Sodomy I trial when he illegally removed Anwar's DNA samples from forensic custody and planted them on a mattress allegedly used by Anwar for a homosexual dalliance. To protect the integrity of the prosecution's case, the presiding judge, Augustine Paul, expunged the entire DNA evidence at the time.

Opposition Coalition Without Anwar?

There are also obvious questions over the future of the unwieldy three-party opposition coalition if Anwar is convicted and jailed. The coalition consists of Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat, or People’s Justice Party, made up largely of urban Malays; the conservative Parti Islam se-Malaysia, or Malaysian Islamic Party, and the Democratic Action Party, which is mostly made up of ethnic Chinese.

Anwar has been regarded as the linchpin that has kept the three parties together, and some observers are raising concerns that the three could drift apart without his charismatic presence. However, his wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, ran the party for the six years after Anwar was jailed in 1999, and, analysts in Kuala Lumpur say, did a competent job and can probably take over the reins again. Also, Anwar’s 32-year-old eldest daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar, is president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat and is given credit for being a formidable political force.

On the PAS side, Mohamad Sabu, a galvanic public speaker from Penang and a former PKR member, heads a slate of officers that have made dramatic changes in the party’s religious role, turning it into a secular party and, despite some strains from disaffected Islamists, is now directed toward recruiting urban and less-strict ethnic Malays.

Najib is reportedly debating now whether to dissolve parliament in advance of an election. Some sources have been quoted in local media as saying he must reshuffle his cabinet first, to get rid of Shahrizat and one or two other top officials who have got themselves into troubles of various kinds. Whether the Anwar verdict will be an albatross hung around the Barisan’s neck when that election occurs remains to be seen.

Anwar Ibrahim: Message On Eve Of 901 (January 09)

Call for Hasan Ali’s sacking came from deep within Pas

The call for Hasan Ali’s sacking came from deep within Pas, say sources within the party.

Mat Sabu speaking to thousands at Kampung Baru tonight: 'Whether or not Anwar goes to jail, we will take Putrajaya.' - Photograph: N Surendran

Contrary to what Zulkifli Noordin is reported as saying (that PKR’s Azmin Ali had a big say in getting Hasan Ali dismissed within 24 hours) and what Bayan Baru MP Zahrain Hashim alludes to (“A major victory for DAP”), grassroots Pas members themselves had registered their displeasure over Hasan to their party leadership.
When contacted, Tasik Gelugor Pas information chief Abdul Rahman Kasim said, “Only a couple of days ago, I sent an sms to Mat Sabu and Mujahid (Yusuf Rawa) requesting that a show-cause letter be issued to Hasan Ali” and if he didn’t reply within 21 days for sterner action to be taken.
“He (Hasan) was creating a lot of rifts in the Selangor government.”
“I believe there were a couple of others too within the party who made similar calls (for action to be taken against Hasan).”
Pas central committee member Mujahid said the party had two ways of taking action. One way was through a show-cause letter. “But there is another provision which allows the party to dismiss a member immediately if it is felt that the member’s actions jeopardise the interests of the party.”
He added that the party had gone through all the procedures but the last straw came after the Selangor exco member ‘apologised’ recently but then repeated his actions. (On 27 December 2011, Hasan was reported to have ‘apologised’ at a meeting with the party’s top leaders, including Hadi Awang and Nik Aziz, in Kota Bharu. “It is not easy for a person to admit their mistakes and ask for forgiveness. So, his action has moved me,” Nik Aziz had said.)
When asked how strong Hasan’s following within the party is, Mujahid replied, “Pas members take a serious view of members who go against the instructions of the president.” Hasan’s sacking would have some impact, but it would not be serious as “the party has experience in dismissing other leaders such as Asri” but without any serious repercussions.
The former Pas president Mohd Asri quit the party in 1983 after his membership was suspended by the party’s disciplinary committee, which coincidentally was headed by Mujahid’s father, Yusof Rawa.

Bangalore orphanage in dock over sexual abuse of young girls

Junior girls in Muslim Orphanage, the state’s biggest orphanage run by the Waqf Board, have been found to be sexually abused by their seniors under the patronage of some of the orphanage staffers. This shocking revelation has been made following visit by a team, led by State Minority Commission (SMC) chairman Anwar Manippady and members of the commission and Women & Child Welfare Department (WCWD), which inspected the orphanage located near Commercial Street on December 31.

“Several junior inmates of the orphanage confirmed that they were not only sexually harassed by their seniors but were also forced to witness homosexual acts. Instances of senior girls torturing and beating their juniors if their demands were not met, too, came to light,” Manippady has stated in a report submitted to chief secretary SV Ranganath.

“It’s a gross violation of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2001, and the shocking part is that some members of the institution (the orphanage) are also involved in the immoral activities,” Manippady has said. “Upon verification we found that the manager, identified as Ashraf, is a habitual offender and has also been harassing an ex-inmate of the orphanage regularly.”

The commission’s report seeks action against the guilty.it has recommended the termination of service of the entire existing staff of the orphanage, and the filing of criminal charges against them for allowing the junior girls to be sexually exploited.

The SMC has also demanded that the government hand over the administration of the orphanage to the WCWD.

The inspection team also found large-scale misappropriation of funds allocated for the running of the orphanage, Manippady told DNA.

SMC and WCWD members conducted the inspection of the orphanage after receiving a series of complaints. The commission had then submitted several representations to the Waqf Board, seeking immediate action against the guilty and to put a stop to the sexual abuse of the junior girls at the orphanage.

“After waiting for four months we decided to take up the issue again and visited the orphanage to conduct an inspection,” Manippady said.

But Waqf Board chairman Riyaz Khan rubbished SMC’s report, saying the inspection was done to tarnish the image of the board and its members. “It’s all being done since the commission members have not been elected in the board,” he said.

Khan said the Waqf Board had sacked a warden for misbehaviour and an accountant for forging and misappropriating funds. He said the duo had been hand in glove with the SMC to tarnish the image of the institution.

Mother drowns baby daughter in bucket while boyfriend watches live on Skype

A mother drowned her baby daughter in a bucket while her boyfriend watched live over the internet.
Norwegian Yasmin Chaudhry killed the one-year-old by plunging her into a bucket of water during a 3am Skype video call with her British partner.

Chaudhry, 26, said she had just wanted to discipline her baby for waking up and 'disobeying her'. 

Enlarge  

Shocking act: The Norwegian drowned her one-year-old daughter in a bucket while her boyfriend watched from Britain over Skype

She called an ambulance and initially told paramedics that the baby had fallen into the bucket by accident.
The girl was unconscious when the paramedics arrived and was pronounced dead the next day, in October 2010.


Chaudhry was initially arrested on suspicion of negligence because of inconsistencies in the stories she gave to police and the paramedics, but is now facing a preliminary charge of murder.


'This has been a long investigation and she eventually admitted it to us in October 2011,' Norwegian police prosecutor Kristin Rusdal told MailOnline.

'She said it was done to discipline the child. She had been holding her under water.
'She had discussed the discipline with this friend, with whom she had a relationship. They met online and had met in person only once. 


Chaudhry claimed that her boyfriend - who is not the child's father - told her to do it.
Both she and the Briton deny wanting to kill the baby.

Murder inquiry: Police are discussing extraditing Chaudhry's British boyfriend after flying over from Oslo to question him with the help of Scotland Yard

The British man has not yet been named because his name does not appear in any of the court documents published in Norway. 


Ms Rusdal confirmed a preliminary murder charge had been filed against the British man and said police were discussing extradition.

Officers from Oslo flew to Britain just before Christmas to question the boyfriend with the help of Scotland Yard.

'We could issue a formal request to the British authorities to see if they wan to investigate the case, but because it is so closely tied to our investigation we would like to see them together,' said Ms Rusdal.
Chaudhry's five-year-old son was taken into care following the horrific episode in October 2010. 


Yesterday she was remanded until February 4.

The baby's father now lives in Pakistan after splitting with the mother.
His lawyer said: 'He is, of course, very shocked.'

901′s many faces

Monday's peaceful assembly at the Duta Courts will see a motley of group of people some of whom will use the avenue to voice out against the many issues plaguing the nation.

PETALING JAYA: It a commonly held believe that Malaysia’s favourite past time is food and eating. But here’s a new addon – Malaysians are also attending demos and rallies.

Why? Because these people have ‘seen the light’ so to speak. There are many labels for this ‘enlightenment’. Some call it an ‘awakening’, while others label it ‘reformasi’ or ‘liberation’.

But I think there is a very different reason for this.

After being brow beaten for 50 years they just want to let off steam. They want to take to the streets in their T-shirts (yellow optional) , bandanas on their head, placards in their hands and all in the name of giving the authorities the finger sign.

Off course, amongst the protestors or supporters, there will be those who genuinely believe in their cause. Others are like rebels without a cause. And yet some are there simply to acquire the bragging rights to say ‘been there, done that’.

Opposition coalition member PKR has issued a call for Malaysians to gather in front of the Duta Courts on Monday, in a peaceful assembly, in support of its de-facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court is to issue its verdict on Anwar’s Sodomy II case on Monday. Anwar is alleged to have sodomised his male aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan way back in 2008.

For some, it has been a long and tiring trial with parts of the anatomy gleefully mentioned in the mainstream media and online news portals. Not many would remember the last time words like anal and rectum was so freely bandied about. And most people by now know the meaning of sodomy.

Not one to miss a beat Anwar’s loyal lieutenant, Azmin Ali is cashing in on the publicity.

He’s calling for 100,000 supporters to gather at the courts for Anwar, a former deputy prime minister, on a day dubbed as ’901′.

Yes, we know it is a far-fetched figure. Even the Bersih 2.0 rally could only manage to reach the 50,000 mark.

The ever shrewd politician that he is, Azmin knows that if he had mentioned a figure of 10,000 nobody would have blinked. But 100,000, now that’s a disconcerting figure and it’s got the big boys worried. The police are on alert and the ruling leadership will be personally monitoring the developments.

So, who are the people who are likely to attend the rally? Here, we attempt a breakdown of the categories. (Again not scientifically proven).

Loyalists

The first category represents Anwar’s die-hard fans. Guilty or not , these group have the perception that their ‘Dear Leader’ is god-sent and the tyrannical government is hell bent on sending Anwar to the darkest pits of Hades.

These people would go all out for Anwar no matter what.

There is another group within this category that would just be there in a ‘show’ of solidarity for Anwar. These people would come from PAS, DAP and Pakatan based NGOs.

These groups may not necessarily believe that Anwar is innocent but they would join the rally anyway to support their team member.

Reformists

Another group is the reformists. This group couldn’t care less if Anwar is guilty or not. They are there to show resentment at all the ills that is plaguing the country.

All they need is an avenue and the rallies are their favourite way of showing that they too, should be acknowledged.

Rally Lovers

And the final group is the people who love rallies, come what may. Tear-gas, water cannon and batons? For this group, it’s simply a case of “Just bringing it on, brother’.

Now, which group are you in?

Umno bantah benarkan perhimpunan penyokong Anwar

Keputusan itu memalukan kerana berpuluh laporan polis dibuat membantah perhimpunan tersebut.

PETALING JAYA: Tidak sampai 24 jam, polis membenarkan penyokong Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim berhimpun di tempat parkir kereta mahkamah tinggi Kuala lumpur, Umno Cheras mahu ia dikaji semula.

Ketua bahagian Datuk Syed Ali Alhabshee menyifatkan keputusan itu memalukan kerana berpuluh laporan polis dibuat membantah perhimpunan tersebut.

“…tiba-tiba polis Kuala Lumpur berikan kebenaran. Kita nak minta KDN dan Bukit Aman mengkaji semula keputusan tersebut demi ketenteraman awam,” katanya.

Beliau mendakwa keputusan Polis Kuala Lumpur itu juga dikhuatiri akan menimbulkan persepsi negatif di kalangan umum kononnya kerajaan begitu takut kepada tekanan penyokong Anwar.

Semalam Ketua Polis Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Mohammad Salleh dilaporkan sebagai berkata kebenaran diberikan setelah beliau mengadakan pertemuan dengan Timbalan Presiden PKR, Azmin Ali.

Dalam nada kecewa, Syed Ali khuatir keputusan itu akan memberi ruang kepada pembangkang mencanangkan seluruh negeri menerusi ceramah politik kononnya pihak polis berada dalam cengkaman mereka.

Hakim akan membuat keputusan terhadap kes liwat Anwar dengan pembantunya, Mohd Saiful Azlan Bukhari Isnin ini.

Denial

Yes, in their eagerness to prove me wrong (that the building cost RM30 million and not RM60 million), they raised other and more important issues -- not telling us where the money came from, not telling us how much money was collected, not telling us since the money was not in Umno’s account then whose account it was in, not telling us how they obtained the land, and not telling us where the balance of the land went to.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Denial (also called abnegation) is a defence mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence. The subject may use:

1. Simple denial: deny the reality of the unpleasant fact altogether.
2. Minimisation: admit the fact but deny its seriousness (a combination of denial and rationalisation).
3. Projection: admit both the fact and seriousness but deny responsibility.

Unlike some other defence mechanisms postulated by psychoanalytic theory (for instance, repression), the general existence of denial is fairly easy to verify, even for non-specialists. On the other hand, denial is one of the most controversial defence mechanisms, since it can be easily used to create unfalsifiable theories: anything the subject says or does that appears to disprove the interpreter's theory is explained, not as evidence that the interpreter's theory is wrong, but as the subject's being "in denial".

Denial of fact

In this form of denial, someone avoids a fact by lying. This lying can take the form of an outright falsehood (commission), leaving out certain details to tailor a story (omission), or by falsely agreeing to something (assent, also referred to as "yessing" behavior). Someone who is in denial of fact is typically using lies to avoid facts they think may be painful to themselves or others.

Denial of responsibility

This form of denial involves avoiding personal responsibility by:

1. Blaming: a direct statement shifting culpability and may overlap with denial of fact.
2. Minimizing: an attempt to make the effects or results of an action appear to be less harmful than they may actually be.
3. Justifying: when someone takes a choice and attempts to make that choice look okay due to their perception of what is "right" in a situation.

Someone using denial of responsibility is usually attempting to avoid potential harm or pain by shifting attention away from themselves.

The above was lifted from Wikipedia and was not written by me.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad denied that Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy 1 trial was actually political persecution in spite of the many flaws in the trial where even I, a non-lawyer, could see just by attending the trial in the public gallery (and which the Federal Court later ruled that the Prosecution had failed to prove Anwar’s guilt).

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak denied knowing or meeting ‘that Mongolian woman’ without explaining the involvement of his office (his aids, bodyguards, best friend Razak Baginda, etc.) in the murder, the deleted immigration records, the testimony of witnesses during the trial, the admission by the convicted police personnel, and much, much more.

First Lady Rosmah Mansor denied buying (or receiving as a gift) the USD24-million diamond ring in spite of the Customs documents showing that the ring WAS brought into the country and was done so in her name (and later declared that it had been ‘returned to sender’).

The head of the Negeri Sembilan religious department went before the nation on primetime TV news to deny that a certain VVIP had been caught for khalwat with a well-known singer in a hotel room in Port Dickson without explaining why the need to do such a thing if not because of the talk in town and without explaining whether the incident did happen and if so who were the persons involved.

Zainuddin Maideen denied he had an affair with his Indonesian maid.

Abu Hassan Omar denied he was having an affair with his sister-in-law without explaining why he was forced to relinquish his post of Menteri Besar.

Shahidan Kassim denied having affairs with students and underage girls and made them pregnant without explaining why the Raja of Perlis refused to accept him as the Menteri Besar due to these allegations (which the Raja of Perlis confirmed by talking to the girls concerned).

Idris Jusoh denied the many allegations of corruption without explaining why the Sultan of Terengganu refused to accept him as Menteri Besar due to these allegations (after the Sultan personally saw the evidence).

Khir Toyo denied the many allegations of corruption without explaining how he accumulated all that wealth on his Menteri Besar’s salary and without explaining how the court could then find him guilty of corruption.

The ex-IGP, Musa Hassan, denied being the patriarch of the Chinese underworld and crime syndicate without explaining the eight Affidavits signed by senior police officers and underworld bosses that implicated him as the boss of the crime syndicate.

Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi denied he was planning to marry Jeanne Danker in spite of spending Christmas with her in Australia (and later did marry her).

Umno denies it is a racist party in spite of backing Perkasa and Pekida and in spite of the Umno leaders heading Pekida and Ibrahim Ali being Tun Dr Mahathir’s very close friend.

PKR denies sabotaging Zaid Ibrahim in the Ulu Selangor by-election in spite of the reporters who leaked the story confirming that the doctored photograph of Zaid with the beer bottle was handed to them by Azmin Ali and not by Umno.

I, Raja Petra Kamarudin, denied the charge of sedition in spite of admitting that I am the man behind Malaysia Today and in spite of my name being on the article, ‘Let’s send the Altantuya murderers to hell’, that was published in Malaysia Today and asked the government to prove it in court (so they took me to court).

Yes, I too play the game of denial. And then I ask the accusers to prove it. We all play that same game. But if PKR also plays that game then they will be no better than all those others mentioned above.

PKR leaders deny any wrongdoing in Selangor without showing us the list of lawyers who have been given legal work and the amounts involved.

PKR needs to claim the moral high ground. This is because PKR is offering itself as a better, cleaner, more transparent, etc., government compared to Umno. So mere denial would be no better than Umno.

PKR needs to prove me wrong. And if I am wrong then I will tender a public apology. Maybe my Deep Throats are wrong. Or maybe they intentionally set me up with a Red Herring.

Whatever it may be, only by revealing the list of lawyers who had been given work and the amounts involved can PKR claim the moral high ground. Mere denial would be the stuff that Umno is made of.

However, be warned of one thing.

Some years back I alleged that Umno Sabah had collected RM100 million in donations from business people to finance the construction of their RM60 million Umno Sabah headquarters. I then asked: what happened to the balance RM40 million?

That was a Red Herring.

Rahim Ismail then issued a press statement saying that the building cost RM30 million and not RM60 million. I knew it was RM30 million. But by saying that it was RM60 million I anticipated they would correct me and call me a liar.

I was not concerned about the figure. What I wanted them to confirm was that they did in fact build a multi-million ringgit building. But they totally avoided the subject of where the money came from and how much it was. Umno Sabah’s accounts did not show that they owned a building, whether RM30 million or RM60 million. So who then actually owns that building?

Furthermore, that building was built on a piece of state land that was alienated to Umno. Yes, land owned by the rakyat given to Umno. That was the important issue.

What is even more important is that only PART of that huge piece land was used for the Umno building. What happened to the balance of the land? Who was it transferred to? And we are talking about prime land here.

Yes, in their eagerness to prove me wrong (that the building cost RM30 million and not RM60 million), they raised other and more important issues -- not telling us where the money came from, not telling us how much money was collected, not telling us since the money was not in Umno’s account then whose account it was in, not telling us how they obtained the land, and not telling us where the balance of the land went to.

As I always said: watch my left hand hidden behind my back, not my right hand raised in front of your face. That’s how magicians perform their tricks and make you believe what you see, which are mere illusions.

TUNNEL LINK

1. It is heartening to see Malaysia and Singapore agreeing on a sub-sea tunnel to connect the two countries. The bridge that will not be built now is planned to have eight lanes. This is of course due to the expected heavy traffic.

2. The question is whether the tunnel can provide for this volume of traffic. An eight-lane tunnel would have to be very wide or it will need two tunnels. Even if it is a double-decker like the Smart Tunnel in Kuala Lumpur, it needs to be very tall especially as it must cater for the heavy vehicles with their containers etc.

3. Because it will be far below the sea-bed it will have to begin and end far inland as lorries and trucks need gentle gradients. It can be as far as four kilometres for both ends. This, together with the undersea part will stretch the tunnel to almost eight kilometres.

4. If the Singapore MRT is going to use it as well, there must be at least another tunnel. Trains need even more gentle slopes. So the length might be more than eight kilometres.

5. Can Malaysia afford the cost of half this project, assuming the other half will be borne by Singapore? The project will cost billions and will take very many years to complete.

6. When completed I hope the causeway and the railway line will be removed. We will not need them anymore. Then water will flow east west and vice-versa. And small boats will be able to use the Tebrau Straits without having to go around south of Singapore.

7. Both Singapore and Malaysia will benefit from the removal of the causeway.

Second Anwar sodomy case ‘flimsier’, WSJ says

 KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7 — In urging President Barack Obama to take a stand in democracy in the Muslim world, The Wall Street Journal today called Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s second sodomy case “flimsier” than the first.

In its editorial piece, the US daily said Malaysian democracy could benefit from a sign that the US is not indifferent to Anwar’s legal ordeal or to the political system that has allowed it to continue. US interests could benefit as well, it said.

“The current case is even flimsier than the last one. It is based mainly on the word of one accuser who, as it so happened, had met with then-deputy prime minister, now Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak days before the alleged incident.

“Doctors at two hospitals could find no evidence of rape in the aftermath of the alleged incident. Nonetheless, political observers anticipate a guilty verdict,” WSJ said today.

The verdict of Anwar’s trial will be delivered on Monday with a potential sentence involving years of jail time on sodomy charges.

If found guilty, Anwar could spend up to 20 years behind bars but will escape the caning penalty as he is over 60. It would effectively spell the end of his political career and his chance to be prime minister.

The former deputy prime minister first went through “this charade” in the late 1990s, when he fell out with then-Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad during the Asian financial crisis, was “savagely beaten” by police and ultimately sentenced to prison on sodomy and corruption charges.

Anwar (picture) spent six years in prison before the sodomy charges were overturned by the country’s highest court in 2004, a year after Dr Mahathir had left office.

He was again served with sodomy charges four years later after Umno lost its two-thirds majority in a general election and the opposition seemed close to assembling a parliamentary majority.

“This is happening in the context of growing discontent among Malaysians with Umno’s ruling order, and Mr. Najib’s ambivalent attempts at political reform. But if that’s reminiscent of the unhappiness that presaged the Arab Spring, so too is the don’t-rock-the-boat attitude of the Obama Administration,” WSJ said today.

The paper pointed out that Malaysia is supposedly a moderate Muslim country and a useful regional counterweight to China.

“Failure to speak to the broader aspirations of ordinary people will only feed the suspicion that has festered for years that the United States pursues our own interests at their expense,” WSJ quoted Obama as saying, in May.

“Mr. Anwar’s case gives the President a chance to show that he meant what he said,” WSJ said today.

Six in Britain lose bid to be registered as absent voters

The Star
by LISA GOH

KUALA LUMPUR: Six Malaysians staying in Britain have failed in their judicial review application to be registered as absent voters in the next general election.

High Court Justice Rohana Yusuf dismissed the application after ruling that the Election Commission's (EC) decision to not register the six as absent voters was in accordance with the law.

In her 10-page judgment read out in court yesterday, she said it was made clear at the outset of the case by the applicants that they were not challenging the validity of the law the Elections (Registration of Electors) Regulations 2002 but merely questioning the validity of the EC's decision.

“I must say that this application is rather odd. It is essentially a challenge of a decision by a body that simply complies with the law. In other words, it is a challenge of a perfectly valid decision of the EC under the Regulation.

“If the Regulation is not challenged and is thereby accepted as valid law, then I am unable to understand how a decision made pursuant to such law can be subject to a judicial review,” she ruled.

She also said that counsel for the six had contended that the EC was the same body which made the regulations, and that the categories listed were not exhaustive.

“In my considered view, such argument is naive and ignorant of the fact that the regulation-making power and administrative decision of the EC are two different powers enjoyed by the EC.

“The EC cannot, in exercise of its administrative power, use its regulation-making power to change the rules. The present application, therefore, must be seen to be an attempt to circuitously urge this court to make an order for the EC to breach the existing law,” she said.

She added that the court also could not make an order directing the EC to register the applicants as absent voters as that would be tantamount to ordering the commission to act against the provisions of laws which were “valid, enforceable and remain unchallenged”.

“The application in my view is ludicrous and bordering on abuse of court process. Thus, I hereby dismiss the applications, and make no order as to cost,” she ruled.

The six Dr Teo Hoon Seong, electrical engineer V. Vinesh, entrepreneur Paramjeet Singh, Dr Yolanda Sydney Augustin, translator Sim Tze Wei and software architect Leong See See filed the application on Oct 25 last year to compel the EC to register them as absent voters in the next general election.

They sought a declaration that as Malaysians staying abroad, they were entitled to be registered as absent voters and directed the EC, named as the sole respondent, to register them.

They also sought for an order to quash a decision made by the EC, which notified them in a letter dated Sept 9, that it would not register them as absent voters.

PM Meets With Officers And Staff Of Federal Agencies In Selangor

SHAH ALAM, Jan 7 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak Saturday held a closed-door meeting with 3,000 officers and staff of federal agencies in Selangor in conjunction with his two-day visit to the state today.

Najib, who is also the chairman of the Selangor Umno Liaison Body, arrived at the Shah Alam Conventon Centre (SACC), here at 8.30am and spent about one-and-a-half hours to convey his message to the civil servants.

Also present were Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister who is also deputy chairman of the Selangor Umno Liaison Body, Datuk Seri Noh Omar and Selangor Barisan Nasional component party leaders.

The Prime Minister later attended a programme with about 20,000 industry workers from all sectors at the Proton Centre of Excellence, here.

Hindus are grossly endangered and degraded by their Muslim neighbors.

Beware of Allah’s Dogs, Islamic Thugs and Muslim Neighbors.
~Upananda Brahmachari.

Never it is said that Dogs are filthy creatures so created by Almighty Allah.

The Quran says in 5:4 – They consult you concerning what is lawful for them; say, “Lawful for you are all good things, including what trained dogs and falcons catch for you.” You train them according to GOD’s teachings. You may eat what they catch for you, and mention GOD’s name thereupon. You shall observe GOD. GOD is most efficient in reckoning.

Actually dogs are useful animal all the time if not hydrophobic. But who are the real dogs of Allah?

It is not tough to answer, if you meticulously judge every moments of a grown up dog. For the masters’ sake, this progeny barks ultimately with a high pitch holding the face upward. In the same manner the Muazzins (muazzin - the Muslim official of a mosque who summons the faithful to prayer from a minaret five times a day) bark five times for their Master (Allah). If you observe properly, then you must see how they bark so loudly even before a loud speaker, as if Allah and his followers are in moderate deafness.

No brother, Allah was not deaf when there was no use of loudspeaker, or these use of high volume public address system for Namaz is not for any deafness for Allah or his clan. It is only due to spread the supremacy of Islam through wave all over. And with this propaganda the world today watches the barbaric Islamic faces in the row of Talibani Terrors, Islamic Thugs and Muslim Neighbors.

The recent world witnessed the Talibani Terrors in America, Russia, France, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and many places. Islamic thugs flogged women in Swat, sprinkled acid upon unveiled women faces in Pakistan and Bangladesh, satiated themselves in female genital castration or sodomy. But, neighbor Muslims are proved most un-trusted everywhere.

Surfaced satanic behavior of Muslim neighbor.

Two incidents during the last phase of the year 2011 and in the beginning of the year 2012 can throw some light upon the behavior of our Muslim neighbors in general and not for any exception in any case.

The authorities of Agragami Girls School and College in Sylhet, Bangladesh allegedly distributed beef in the name of mutton to its present and ex-students during the institution’s 108th founding anniversary programme on December 25 last year.

The matter was flashed in the news papers of Bangladesh without any reaction of the Muslim neighbors of the aggrieved Hindu people whose religious sentiments were hurt by a intrigue of the culprit Muslims. But when the Hindus retaliated and one Amit Das Gupta, a Supreme Court lawyer, filed the writ petition with the HC for taking action against the persons responsible after a national daily on December 28 last year published a report on the incident of beef being offered in the name of mutton, some section of Muslims are trying to percolate that beef has high protein than mutton.

Hindu Human Chain against dangerous Muslim neighbors.

Then how can you rely a Muslim neighbor with open mind? Actually, your Muslim neighbor always relishes your degradation whenever you are not a believer and have not your profound faith in Islam. They always play with your sentiments, girls and women; want to loot your land and wealth and kill you as a Kaffir, or to keep you as a slave or Zimmi without any hesitation as Quran teaches all these way of treatment to the non-believer – Kaffir by a profound believer – Momin.

Believe it or not, in this way of treatment, some Muslim neighbor in Pakistan forcefully converted a Hindu teenage girl and married under the dictum of Quran. No problem.

As per report in NDTV, a teenage Hindu girl in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi was allegedly forcibly converted to Islam and married off to a Muslim man, prompting her family to lodge a police complaint.

The case of the girl identified as Bharti, who has been renamed Ayesha following her conversion, is the 18th instance of forced conversions and marriages in the Lyari area of Karachi, The Express Tribune reported on the 1^st day of 2012.

Hindu girls are victimized by Muslim neighbors in the name of Love and Nikah-Marriage.

The family of the girl alleged that she was forcibly converted to Islam and married off to a Muslim man. They filed an FIR at Baghdadi police station and a local court is now hearing her case.

During an appearance in court, she was clad in a black ‘abaya’ and barely looked at her parents when she saw them, the daily reported.

“She is being pressurized to say that she converted because of her own free will else we would be harmed,” said her father, Narain Das.

Bharti’s mother, a cardiac patient, was upset that she did not even glance at her.

Even then we expect a good Muslim neighbor in my next door which is simply impossible and who wants it is simply insane. But, you will find some good one beside you, if we keep some lethal arms in our house to protect our man from Muslim neighbor whenever they attack us, misbehave with our daughters, sisters, women and others and obviously try to stealthily encroach our possession in every respect.

In India or everywhere see the tactics of your Muslim neighbors. They clustered in new areas, preferably in frontage and roadsides. Set up their own markets. Erect a Mosque and a Muslim hotel. Start religious function without any hurdles and try to capture local politics. In this activities a strong Islamic feeling generates a bigger Islamic network, where the Mon-Muslims are never allowed if not kneel down to Islam or to pamper Islamic expansionism. Never we can check these as we do not ponder even.

For our protection from these type Muslim neighbors, please try to understand these factors. When they are 5% only they are submissive, even they can hold your feet to have your favour. When they are about 10%, Muslims try to franchise their self identity. In the span of 15%-25%, Muslims successfully demand and procure their reservation-rights-might. If they are in the hold of 25%-30% of population, they claim their land and gradually surface them as persecutors. 30%-40% strength of a Muslim populace paves a transition for a Dar-ul-Islam (Land of Islam). 50% Muslim population always creates a Islamic Country where the rights of others (non-Muslims) are snatched permanently. We can judge the temperament of our Muslim neighbor in this light more or less. Otherwise we can shake hand with the Islamic peril for us. We are now compelled to say no to Muslims neighbors. Exceptions are always welcome.

Related Reading for our disgraceful Muslim neighbors:

•  Pak: ‘Hindu Girl Forcibly Converted to Islam’
• Perils Of Faith: HRCP warns of rise in forced conversions of Hindus
• Beef in school lunch in Sylhet to mock, disgrace Hindus
• Muslim friend chopped ghastly Hindu boy for money.
• Jilted Muslim neighbor in West Bengal increasing Cruelty upon Hindu Girls terribly.
• Hindu villagers in Sankrail, Howrah face worst by their Muslim neighbors. 
• Hindu housewife ravished in Narail, Bangladesh again by Muslim neighbors. 
• Hindu girl gangraped viciously in Raghunathpur by Muslim neighbors.

20 killed as Nigerian gunmen attack Christian mourners

Nigeria has recently experienced a surge in ethnic and sectarian violence Photo: AFP

Gunmen in Nigeria on Friday opened fire on friends and relatives gathered to mourn the deaths of three Christians killed on Thursday, leaving up to 20 more people dead.

It was the latest in a series of attacks blamed on radical Islamists who have vowed to wage a religious war on Nigeria's Christians and drive them from the country's majority-Muslim north.

Several dozen Christians had come together for a meeting in a town hall in Mubi, in Adamawa state, to mark the deaths the day before of several people killed in the town.

Up to four gunmen surrounded the building and opened fire with Kalashnikov rifles, killing up to 20 people and leaving another 15 badly injured.

"We started hearing many gunshots through the windows," said Okey Raymond, 48, who was at the meeting.

"Everyone scampered for safety, but the gunmen chanted: 'God is great God is great' while shooting at us."

Mr Raymond said he hid under a table and escaped through a rear door. The gunmen also carried knives and machetes, the local police commissioner said.

No arrests have been made in the attack, and no one has claimed responsibility.

A purported spokesman for Islamist group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attack.

Mubi is close to the Cameroon border and is not in an area covered by a state of emergency declared by Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria's president, following two weeks of sectarian violence.

The country's population of 160 million people is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.

While Boko Haram has been blamed for increasingly deadly attacks for months, including an August suicide bombing of UN headquarters in Abuja that killed 25, the violence has taken on a different dimension with recent church attacks.

A wave of Christmas bombings that killed 49 people, most of them outside a Catholic church as services were ending, has provoked outrage in Nigeria and intensified fears of more sectarian clashes.

There have been fears of reprisals from Christians, and Christian leaders have warned they will defend themselves if attacks against them continue.

Boko Haram is a shadowy group believed to have a number of factions with differing aims, including those with political links and a hard-core Islamist faction.

: Up to 3,000 people have died in a week of clashes in Southern Sudan between different cattle-herding tribes accusing each other of stealing herds, local officials said yesterday.

Cops set strict conditions for Anwar rally

The participants are stopped from doing any action, including making noise or make any signals that would disrupt the court proceedings.

KUALA LUMPUR: The police today announced a set of conditions for the organisers and participants of the “901 Free Anwar” rally to be held at the Jalan Duta court complex parking lot next Monday.

A posting on the PDRM official Facebook page listed the 10-point conditions.

The statement said that the conditions were issued by the Sentul district police chief, who had considered public safety and public order factors before imposing the following:

1. Brochures/banners with the tagline ‘Bebaskan Anwar 901’ or ‘Bebaskan Anwar’ are not allowed in any circumstances during the rally.

2. The usage of other sound amplifying equipments, aside for loud hailers, is not allowed.

3. The usage of only two hailers are allowed for the purpose of managing the crowd.

4.Public speaking is not allowed in whatever circumstances

5. The organisers must ensure that participants do not do any action, including making noise or make any signals, that would disrupt the court proceedings.

6. The area for the gathering is limited to the parking lot along the left side of the main road into the court. The area will be marked by police line and participants are not allowed outside of it. If the area is filled, other participants are not allowed in and they will be dispersed from the area.

7. The organiser must make sure that participants do not bring any weapons and give full cooperation to the police to make checks if required.

8. The organisers must ensure that all participants leave the rally no later than one hour after the court verdict has been delivered.

9. All orders by the police, which would be given from time to time, to ensure peaceful assembly must be adhered to.

10. Participants are not allowed to vandalise or damage any public property or any private property at the area.

Earlier today the police said that they would allow for the rally if the organisers can assure no disruption to the public order.

PKR then announced that they will ensure that the gathering is peaceful and that they will disperse after the court decision has been made. It is now uncertain if they would agree to the strict conditions imposed by the police.

Among the first to react was PKR vice president N Surendran who said that no conditions were set when PKR held a meeting with the KL police chief DCP Mohmad Salleh earlier today.

“We will proceed with the gathering on that basis,” he told FMT.

Indian votes will remain a challenge for BN

The Indian voter has already decided on who to vote for in the 13th GE, says a local political analyst.

KUALA LUMPUR: Irrespective of the outcome on Monday when the Kuala Lumpur High Court delivers its verdict on PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, Pakatan Rakyat can be certain of support from its Indian voters.

According to political analyst A Thiruvengadam, whichever way the court decides will make no difference to the Indian opinion of Anwar.

“The verdict will not make a difference to the Indians’ opinion of Anwar. The Indian community here strongly believe that our judicial system is dominated by politicians and not fully independent.

“Whether he is found guilty or not, the current Pakatan supporter will continue to give Anwar his vote. In fact there may even be a wave of sympathy for him if he ends up in jail,” said Thiruvengadam, a political columnist in the local Tamil daily.

He said Barisan Nasional vis-a-vis MIC will have a tough time convincing loyalist Indians in the coming general election.

“You must understand the Indian thinking. Cases involving politicians like Anwar Ibrahim are seen more as a politically motivated rather than morality problem cases.”

“BN is to be blamed for the increasing perception that Anwar is innocent. Just see how the case was handled.

“Several BN ministers have accused Anwar as sodomite, “kaki liwat’ even before the judgment and the way of police handle this case since the beginning will also be a reason for a sympathy wave for Anwar and Pakatan,” said the former Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) councillor.

‘No win situation for BN’

Thiruvengadam added that the bulk of the Indian grassroots community believed that Anwar was innocent and that the sodomy charges was a conspiracy to discredit him.

He said current political environment is far different from the days before 2008 and much of the credit for increased public awareness goes to the alternative media and social networks which were freely publishing details of issues in a way that was easily understood.

“It’s a no win situation for BN as far as the Indian voters are concerned. Putting the opposition leader behind the bar will result in a large number of Indian voters voting BN out.

“Acquitting Anwar of the sodomy charges will only confirm to them that the whole trial was politically motivated.

“Either way the 13th GE is going to be a challenge for BN to win over the Indian voters,” said Thiruvengadam.

Just DO IT, not DUIT!

A good chunk of the legal work in MBPJ has been diverted to the firms of Sivarasa, Surendran and Derrick through the influence of Lateefa Koya and Derrick. After all, this is a PKR-controlled council. Is this not corruption, or at least a conflict of interest?
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
'We don't need to meet RPK. We have Internet'

RPK dakwa rasuah tapi tiada bukti

Come back and shed light on bribery claims, Selangor urges Raja Petra

The Selangor government wants me to come forward and reveal the conflicts of interest, abuses of power and transgressions in the state administration. I will do just that. In the meantime, while I gather some of the evidence to enable the state to get to the bottom of things, maybe they can start investigating these first two cases.

These cases do not need any evidence from me. The state has all the records and most likely they can quote the figures from the top of their heads. In one of the cases, if the state can cooperate with the MACC to ensure that the identity of the whistleblower is protected, I will try to convince that person to come forward to testify.

This whistleblower is a Chinese and a developer who depends on state approvals for his company’s projects. So, invariably, he is very concerned about his business being disrupted or sabotaged if his identity is revealed. Chinese business people somehow appear paranoid about being victimised by what they perceive as a ‘Malay’ administration.

The first case involves Azmin Ali’s brother-in-law, Johan Taharin. Johan approached one developer who has been having problems getting certain approvals since Pakatan Rakyat first came to power almost four years ago.

Now, I have known this developer personally for some number of years. In the past, he had always voted MCA. For the first time in 2008 he supported Pakatan Rakyat. He even organised talks in his house for me to speak to his neighbours, friends and family so that I can campaign and swing them over to Pakatan Rakyat. Some of this person’s friends even flew back from Australia, Canada and the US at his behest just to vote for Pakatan Rakyat.

This developer complained to me that Johan approached his firm and said that he (Johan) is aware that they (the developer) is facing problems getting approval from the state. Johan offered to help them overcome their problems, for a fee.

The developer asked Johan how can they be assured that they would get approval once they paid the money? Can they instead pay after the approval has been obtained rather than pay upfront? After all, they are talking about a few million here, not a small amount of money.

Johan told the developer that he is representing Azmin Ali and if required he can bring them to meet Azmin so that Azmin can personally give them his assurance. They replied they will think about it.

The developer then phoned me, cursing and swearing. “We voted Pakatan Rakyat because of you,” the developer said. “Before that we were MCA supporters. But because of you for the first time we all supported Pakatan Rakyat.”

“What’s the difference between Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional if they also ask for bribes?” the developer screamed.

The developer then asked me what he should do. “Should I pay the money?” he asked. “Can I get a guarantee that I will get my approval after I pay?”

I told the developer that we kicked out Barisan Nasional and replaced it with Pakatan Rakyat because we wanted to end corruption. If we now pay under-the-table money to Pakatan Rakyat, then why the hell did we bother to kick out Barisan Nasional? We might as well have just retained Barisan Nasional.

The developer did not pay the money and, of course, his project is now in tatters. But he swore he was going to campaign against Pakatan Rakyat in the coming general election.

Okay, that is the first case. If the MACC wants to talk to the developer let me know. Anyway, that person also reads Malaysia Today so he is probably aware of this already (and probably pissing in his pants by now).

Now, let us go to the next case, which, if not corruption, is certainly a conflict of interest.

This next case is regarding some scams involving the amount of legal work dished out by the legal department of MBPJ. This work is being given exclusively to a group of lawyers who are all PKR leaders.

This large amount of legal work to these chosen few has caused immense unhappiness amongst the other Pakatan Rakyat council members in MBPJ, who have chosen to remain silent for the sake of ‘party unity’. They feel that if they speak out that may jeopardise Pakatan Rakyat’s chances of retaining Selangor in the next general election.

The principle characters are lawyers Derrick Fernandez and Lateefa Koya, who are also both MBPJ councillors and PKR leaders, the Member of Parliament for Subang, R. Sivarasa, and the newly-minted Vice President of PKR, N. Surendran. Lateefa is also employed by Daim and Gamany, Sivara’s legal firm.

A good chunk of the legal work in MBPJ has been diverted to the firms of Sivarasa, Surendran and Derrick through the influence of Lateefa Koya and Derrick. After all, this is a PKR-controlled council. Is this not corruption, or at least a conflict of interest?

Anwar Ibrahim is fully aware of this but does nothing about it. And Anwar does not need me to provide any figures or documents because the accounts can be procured from the MBPJ.

MBPJ has to be transparent and reveal the exact amount of work given to these three firms and the total fees paid over the few years that Pakatan Rakyat has ruled Selangor.

Daim and Gamany has moved from their humble office in the ‘slum’ Masjid India area to a new swank office near MBPJ. Surendran, on the other hand, is no longer the poor lawyer he used to be. He used to travel around in a beaten-up Proton Saga begging for work. Now, he is chauffer-driven in an expensive continental car. Talk about rags to riches in the blink of an eye.

Surendran’s firm is called Edwin Lim Suren & Soh and Derrick’s is Derrick Fernandez and Co. Sivarasa is also on the board of Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor and is enjoying perks and director’s fees estimated in the tens of thousands a month, other than the spoils from his legal work.

Okay, as I said, let us start with these two cases while I gather the evidence for the other cases, which I will reveal in due course.

Why can’t the PKR people be more like Nik Aziz, the Kelantan MB? Do you know that Nik Aziz still lives in his old wooden house that does not even have a proper road leading to it? And when he does his prayers in the office, he switches off the lights because his prayers are his personal matter while the electricity is paid by the state government.

That is how I expect our elected leaders to conduct themselves.

And, yes, I still support Pakatan Rakyat and I urge you to do the same. But do we want to wait until Pakatan Rakyat becomes just like Barisan Nasional before we scream? We need them to clean up their act now. I suspect that the next general election will be held in March 2013. That means we have more than a year to set things right.

So, just do it! I said DO IT, not DUIT!

PKR to hold Anwar support rally outside High Court

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 6 — PKR today announced today the January 9 assembly in support of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be held in the parking area outside the High Court in Jalan Duta, and added it has police permission to do so.“The police have granted us permission to have our assembly at the Jalan Duta parking lot, right in front of the court entrance,” PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Mat Akin told The Malaysian Insider after leaving the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters.

PKR deputy president Azmin Ali announced on Tuesday that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will be amassing a rally of over 100,000 people in a show support for Anwar next Monday when the High Court delivers its decision for Sodomy II.

Azmin, who led the PKR delegation to meet with police here today, refused to divulge details, saying he will elaborate on the matter later at a press conference.

He said the meeting with the police went well, and thanked them for agreeing to meet PKR and “preparing to discuss the matter.”

“The venue has been chosen… we will carry on with our assembly,” Azmin told reporters here.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Mohmad Salleh confirmed the matter during a brief, joint press conference with PKR after their meeting.

“We have agreed that the assembly will be in accordance with the 2011 Peaceful Assembly Act.

“It is agreed that it will be held outside the (Jalan) Duta High Court parking area,” he said.

Bersih 2.0 protesters not violent, says doctor

The Star
by SHAUN HO

KUALA LUMPUR: Bersih 2.0 protesters who assembled outside the Tung Shin Hospital were neither aggressive nor destructive, a doctor at the hospital told the Suhakam public inquiry.

Gynaecologist Dr Ng Kwee Boon, who was working on July 9 last year, said he was watching the demonstration from the staff car park before he was forced to leave the area because of the tear gas.

He said he walked to the main building before a second round of tear gas was fired.

He added that he could smell tear gas while at the main building but did not see where the tear gas canisters had landed.

“I was told that a tear gas canister landed on the ground near the hostel,” said Dr Ng, who sketched a diagram of the hospital and its surroundings to show where the protesters were and where the tear gas canister landed.

He also said he saw two protesters being arrested and beaten by police officers who had entered the hospital compound.

“I feel that they used excessive force and that they were punishing the protesters,” he told the inquiry.

The inquiry also questioned Dang Wangi OCPD ASP Mohamad Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman, who was field officer of the Dataran Merdeka area during the demonstration.

He said he did not give the order for the men to be sent to Jalan Pudu but said his superiors from the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters could supersede his authority on that day.

Asked if he was in communication with any police unit in the Tung Shin Hospital and Pudu area, Mohamad Zulkarnain said he had sent one ASP Karthikayan to monitor the vicinity.

“My orders were to control Dataran Merdeka only. I was ordered to go to KLCC but I did not follow those orders as there would be nobody controlling Dataran Merdeka. I did not receive any other orders to go anywhere else,” he said.

On Wednesday, the inquiry questioned ASP Ahmad Halimi Hamidi, who was in charge of the FRU personnel at the hospital.

ASP Ahmad said he was ordered by ASP Karthik to fire the water cannon to disperse protesters despite telling Karthik there was a hospital nearby.

The inquiry will resume on Monday at 2.15pm at the Suhakam office in Menara TH Perdana here.