Hindraf: Lift ban on ‘Viswaroopam’

Tanjung Golden Village and Lotus Five Star Sdn Bhd suspends the screening of Kamal Hassan's movie pending further notice.

PETALING JAYA: South Indian actor Kamal Hassan’s magnum opus, Vishwaroopam has been removed from local cinemas pending further notice.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a staff from Tanjung Golden Village (TGV) cinema confirmed the movie was removed as of noon today.

“Yes, the movie was removed as of noon due to some issues,” said the staff. She claimed oblivious on the reasons behind the suspension.

Yesterday, the Tamil superstar’s mega-budget movie was banned in the state of Tamil Nadu for 15 days, on grounds that the movie offends the sensitivities of Muslims.

However, the movie was screened last night and this morning in Malaysian cinemas before it was taken out.

It was reported Penang Muslims League urged the National Film Development Corporation (Finas) to review the screening of the movie for censorship or suspension due to its content.

Lotus Five Star Sdn Bhd, the local distributor of Vishwaroopam, had also confirmed suspension of the movie at all its cinemas nationwide.

According to Film Censorship Board’s Control and Enforcement Division secretary, Razak Derahman, the film was suspended on the orders of Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

According to the official, the Malaysian Indian Muslim Youth Movement on Wednesday sent a memorandum opposing the screening of the movie.

“The group cited religious sensitivities so the film will be sent back to Film Censorship Board,” he said.

Meanwhile, a FMT check at the Lotus cinema in Petaling Jaya, revealed disappointed and angry movie goers.

Some had come in groups to enjoy the long awaited movie by the famous actor.

“We tried buying tickets…but we couldn’t as the movie was banned and the notice at the counter confirmed our disappointment,” said a movie buff and Kamal Hassan fan who preferred to remain anonymous.

He said the authorities must be consistent in their action as the movie premiere yesterday was allowed.

“One day they allow, then they say it is sensitive. I thought all movies shown in the country goes through the Censorship Board and the Home Ministry. How come this one escaped? Or is it an after thought on the part of the authorities?,” he added.

A poster of the movie at the entrance had a notice which read: “Strictly children under 18 not allowed.”

Another, brief circular at the ticketing counter revealed that the Home Ministry has banned the movie based on complaints by certain quarters that the show’s content was insensitive to Muslims.

Waytha under fire for silence over temples

A MIC Youth leader has also questioned Hindraf’s plans to ‘take down another Indian' via contesting in MIC allocated seats.

SHAH ALAM: Hindraf pioneer P Waythamoorthy has come under fire for his deafening silence over the Selangor government’s handling of two temple issues in the state recently.

Accusing Waythamoorthy of “pretending to be in the dark” over the issue, Selangor MIC Youth chief M Shanker Raj Ayanger said the Hindraf man’s silence showed that he was an opportunist.

“While the Malaysian Indian community is upset that the Selangor government through the Sepang Municipal Council barged into a house and broke a shrine there recently, Waythamoorthy has kept mum on the matter.

“Would he have done the same if the Selangor government was run by the Barisan Nasional?

“It is surprising to note that Hindraf, which claimed to safeguard Indian rights, has remained silent on the two temple issues involving the Pakatan Rakyat government” he said.

He was referring to the recent case where the enforcement officers from the Sepang Municipal Council demolished a private shrine built within the compound of a house.

As soon as the issue subsided, the Kajang Municipal Council issued summons and fines to the Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Kajang, for excessive noise during prayer sessions.

The council has since rescinded the summons and compounds.

“It looks like Waythamoorthy has deliberately overlooked these two incidents.

“There were also reports that seven temples have been demolished in Selangor after Pakatan’s rule began in 2008 but Hindraf has disregarded the issue.

“It seems quite clear Hindraf only makes noise if it is the BN.

“But if Pakatan does anything, it is silent. When you fight for the community, you must be fair and just. You must fight even if the opponent is your friend.

“You are fighting for the people. But now it looks like Hindraf is only there to criticise the BN and nothing else,” he told FMT.

MIC not afraid of Hindraf

Shanker Raj also criticised Hindraf’s bid to contest MIC seats at the forthcoming 13th general election.

Waythamoorthy himself was reported to be keen on contesting against MIC president G Palanivel, in whichever seat Palanivel wanted.

“What happened to Waythamoorthy’s previous statements when he claimed that Hindraf’s enemy is not MIC but Umno?

“Are they going to kill another Indian and say it is for the betterment of the Malaysian Indian community?” he asked.

He said MIC will not fear any challenge from Hindraf leaders at the general election.

“This provides us with a golden opportunity to prove our mettle and also to show that the majority of the Indian community had lost faith in Hindraf,” said Shanker Raj.

He alleged that Waythamoorthy had become a tool for Pakatan to further his own political aspiration.

‘Stateless Indians were told to go to Sabah’

Niat chairman Thasleem Mohamed Ibrahim has made a startling revelation saying that the late deputy home minister Megat Junid Megat Ayub had asked stateless Indian to go to Sabah to obtain proper documentation.

PETALING JAYA: National Indian Action Team (Niat) and Jihad for Justice chairman Thasleem Mohamed Ibrahim has claimed that the late deputy home minister Megat Junid Megat Ayub had asked him to refer cases of Indians, without proper documentation, to go to Sabah if they wanted proper papers.

He said whenever he discussed the issue of stateless Indians with Megat Junid, the latter would refer to cases in Sabah.

“I’m speaking out because [former prime minister) Dr Mahathir Mohamad raised the issue of Tunku Abdul Rahman granting citizenship to one million people in the Peninsula before independence.

“I would never have spoken about this otherwise, as Megat is no longer with us. He was my school senior, and often during our conversations, I would bring up the issue of stateless Indians,” he said.

Thasleem said on numerous occasions between 1994 to 1996, whenever he told Megat Jubid that a lot of Indians have been living here for many years without citizenship, his immediate reaction would be: “Don’t waste time, go to Sabah.”

“I was quite suspicious on why he continued to mention Sabah but he repeated this on two to three occasions, claiming that if cases were to be dealt here, some of the stateless people may have to pay up to RM50,000 for their application to be approved,” he said.

“The citizenship should be given to them. These people were born here, they were not smuggled here.

“We just want the government to solve this issue once and for all,” said Thasleem.

Jihad for Justice is a new organisation, established a month ago, and 5,000 people have indicated their support.

Bawani: Forget video, focus on crucial issues

The law student says she wants the closure since the public has been made aware about students' freedom of expression in local universities.

KUALA LUMPUR: KS Bawani, the law student who became an overnight sensation, wants a closure to the infamous “listen, listen, listen” video which propelled her into stardom.

“I want this to end. I don’t want to talk about the video anymore.

“The public is now aware because it shows the reality of students in campuses,” she told a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall today.

The Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) student and Suara Wanita 1Malaysia president Sharifah Zohra Jabeen Syed Shah Miskin have been in the limelight after the video went viral on social networking site, Facebook.

In the 24-minute video, Sharifah Zohra is seen berating Bawani when the latter argued in favour of free education during a forum that took place in UUM in December.

Due to public pressure, Sharifah Zohra forgave Bawani and apologised to the university, students and the public.

Since then there had been many calls by student groups for Sharifah Zohra to debate with Bawani.

One student group, Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia, even organised a forum last week which had constitutional law expert Aziz Bari as a fellow panellist. However, Sharifah Zohra skipped the forum.

Meanwhile, Bawani said that the focus should be on other crucial issues.

“It [the video] has overshadowed other important issues such as minimum wage, death-in custody,” added the Oppressed People’s Network (Jerit) and Community Development Centre activist.

Our Malaysia of the 70s

With the state of racial and religious things entire in our beloved Malaysia today - rumours of a festival of Bible-burning, continuing humiliation of the Malaysian Indians especially, the death of critical sensibility in our public universities, the devastating revelations of the ‘Sabah IC-gate’ plot, the issue of ‘stateless Indians’ and the criminalisation of children not able to be schooled because they were born ‘stateless’ and a host of other issues Malaysian-ly unbecoming.

I have decided to travel down the path of nostalgia. I am quite sure many of you reading this column would agree that the late sixties and early seventies presented a good frame of reference of what it means to be Malaysian and what ‘national identity’ could be about. Names upon names came back to me as I conjure fond memories.

There was a certain kind of magic, innocence, and sincerity to foster a Malaysian identity, back then. It didn’t matter what race you were one could love to one’s heart’s content folks like these: P Ramlee, AR Tompel, Aziz Sattar, Saloma, Siput Sarawak, Ayappan, Lim Goh Poh, Andre Goh, Kartina Dahari, Orchid Abdullah, soccer players like V Arumugam the ‘Spider Man’, Soh Chin Aun ‘The Towkay’, Shaharuddin Abdullah the cool guy, Mokhtar Dahari ‘Super Mokh’, Santokh Singh, and many other great names that helped make Malaysian Malaysia proud.

One could laugh at the comedian-ventriloquist Jamali Shadat’s jokes, remember names such a V Sambanthan, Khir Johari, the great statesman Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, Tan Siew Sin, Temenggung Jugah (the man with a really cool haircut I so wanted one... ), Aishah Ghani, and of course the reluctant but down-to-earth and benevolent multiculturalist-statesman Tunku Abdul Rahman (right) with his famous uncontrollable blurting of Malay curse words and his philosophy of “oil and water can never mix”. A simple, yet profound life was back then...

Those were the days before today... when hell is breaking loose. What happened to the ethos of that genre, I wonder.

Growing up in the early 70s, different words to describe reality, practices, and possibilities were dancing happily around me.

Perhaps those street names tune us to calmness... Jalan/Lorong Aman, Sentosa, Bahagia, Rahmat, Syukur, Ne’mat, and Merdeka...

All these shaped the child’s mind, such as that of mine growing up with a fascination of names, as if living is about being taught names and being able to “read the self and the word” in order to be liberated.

There were also words related to spirituality; words such as ‘sembah-Hyang’, marhaban, berzanji, kenduri, berkhatan, and bersugi gigi...

There were also cool words related to Malay magic such as jampi serapah, tangkal, kemenyan, dukun, pawang, and of course the “mambang laut-mambang darat-mambang udara” trinity/trio”...

Smooth-sailing seventies

Back in the day of the smooth-sailing seventies people were happy wearing what ought to be simple fashion and accessories... kebaya, baju kurong (not a straitjacket mind you), baju Melayu Telok Blangah, terompah, selipar chapal, selipar Jepun... manik koran, and all kinds of Malay, Chinese, and Indian ‘bling bling’ to adorn oneself with cultural niceties

Growing up in the kampong, I was not attuned to hearing totally foreign words, imported from elsewhere to denote and connote the self, spirituality, and salvation, and “saving the soul of others”; words such as solat, dakwah, ushrah, tarbiyyah jihad, muzakarah, jubah, serban, hijab, purdah, burqah, niqab, Arqam, tabligh, Ayatollah, muktamaar, buah tamar, or even Daulah Islamiyah...

Not that I knew or had even heard of... until the beginning of the eighties when these words like Karl Marx would became technologies of the “body, mind, and spirit” that changed the social relations of production and the ideological landscape of the country and the consciousness of a segment of Malay people...

And  I never heard anyone wanting to burn the Bible nor shout “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) when scoring goals in a friendly kampong football match.

And the beauty of living back in the day was how the self was constructed out of the early introduction to pluralism/ multiculturalism such that in me, every time the Chinese spirit of Bruce Lee possesses me, I could just go out and beat up my best friend Fook Shiang for example. We could then walk to town and overdose on the Indian food tosei and capati. Along the way we would stop by breezy Lido beach to grab a bite of the Javanesse soul food tauhu (tofu) sumbat.

Next, we could stop by at our teacher’s house and listen to his stories of Malay spiritual powers and magic called ‘Ilmu Budi Suci’ where the energy within possibly called the ‘chi’ can be harnessed so that one could kick like Bruce Lee without even touching your enemy!

Then, back in the day, we could go home after that to watch Joe Bugner got punched out into outer space by the ‘Black Superman’ named Muhammad Ali. I could still remember the words of the announcer ... “Annnddd in thissss corneerrr... weighing 220 pounds... from Louisville Kentucky... the undisputed world champion... Moooo hammaaaad... Aaaa Liiii... Aaaa Liiiii... Aaaa Liiii..." to the sounds of the audience gone berserk.

I could go on and one with this nostalgic; a trip down memory lane of the seventies especially, just by recalling words and words that were synonymous with a world that was about to enter globalisation but was dealing with a strange brew of modernisation and uneven development - a Malaysia before Mahathirism.

That was true multiculturalism without any strand of today’s idiocy. That was our Malaysia with a lot of sense and sensibility.

---

DR AZLY RAHMAN, who was born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Baru, holds a Columbia University (New York) doctorate in International Education Development and Master’s degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and has written more than 300 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience spans Malaysia and the United States, over a wide range of subjects from elementary to graduate education. He currently resides in the United States.

Police: Man not beaten to death

The New Straits Times

KAJANG: Police yesterday denied allegations that they beat a man to death on Wednesday night, here.

District police chief Assistant Commissioner Ab Rashid Ab Wahab said a five-hour autopsy revealed that C. Sugumaran had died of a heart attack.

"Post-mortem results showed that the man had no other injuries on his body and his death has been classified as sudden death.

"He was not beaten up by the police or members of the public as it was claimed," Rashid said, adding that police also did not throw tumeric powder on him as had been alleged on certain news portals.

He said the police had nothing to hide and would apply for an inquest to be held to look into the 39-year-old's death.

It was learnt that Sugumaran had a history of mental illness and his condition was known among the residents of Taman Sri Nanding, Hulu Langat.

On Wednesday, police responded to a call from a resident there who said that a man was running amok and destroying public property in the area at 6.30pm.

When they arrived at the housing estate, they found Sugumaran walking in the middle of the road while carrying a metal rod.

"Three policemen then followed him for about 2km and saw him destroying pots and roadside stalls with the rod. While he was being handcuffed, he was aggressive."

Rashid added that the officers found Sugumaran suddenly unconscious when transferring him into a police vehicle.

He said a medical assistant was summoned and Sugumaran was pronounced dead at the scene at 8.30pm.

Ibrahim Ali called up by cops

Penang police have called up Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali over his Bible-burning remark and will call him again to record a statement in two days time.

Ibrahim confirmed in a short text message to The Malay Mail that the police were following up on a police report lodged against him.

Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hasan Syed Ali also said DAP can “go ahead” to obtain a court order to compel the attorney-general to act against Ibrahim over his statement calling for Muslims to seize and burn copies of the Bible which contained the word ‘Allah’ or other Arabic words.

He was responding to a report in The Malay Mail yesterday’ in which the DAP national chairperson Karpal Singh gave the attorney-general two weeks to act against Ibrahim.

However, Attorney-General Gani Patail had said police must investigate actual incidences of Bible-burning in order for any action to be taken.

“It is their (DAP’s) right to proceed with such actions. As a lawyer, he (Karpal) should be patient and should be aware of how such procedures are,” said Syed Hasan.

“If indeed Karpal is so concerned about such things, why doesn’t he address other issues that may disrupt the nation’s harmony such as with Patrick Teoh’s remarks on Facebook, or the spreading of hatred by other religions towards Malays?”

Syed Hasan was referring to Teoh’s Facebook posting which ridiculed the Muslims, after which he posted an apology.

- The Malay Mail

Rowan Atkinson -- An Islamophobe?

"What is wrong with inciting intense dislike of a religion if the activities or teaching of that religion are so outrageous, irrational or abusive of human rights that they deserve to be intensely disliked." -- Rowan Atkinson

Syrian Refugee Girls Forced into ‘Pleasure Marriages’

Syrian female refugees aged 14 and 15 who fled their country to Jordan and Iraq are being forced into "pleasure marriages" [Nikah al-Mut'ah] -- a pre-Islamic custom allowing men to marry for a limited period, which can last as little as 30 minutes. More disturbing is that Muslim scholars and preachers have given the green light to their followers to exploit the plight of the poor and helpless Syrian girls.

Photo Credit: Al Monitor
Syrian female refugees aged 14 and 15 who fled their country to Jordan and Iraq are being forced into “pleasure marriages” (Nikah al-Mut’ah) — a pre-Islamic custom allowing men to marry for a limited period.

Apart from being a cover for legalized prostitution (the marriage can last for as little as 30 minutes), Nikah al-Mut’ah deprives the wife of many rights.

No divorce is necessary in “pleasure marriages,” for instance, and the husband may void the marriage earlier than agreed.

What is most disturbing about this practice is not even whether or not the wife has rights, so much as that Muslim scholars and preachers have given the green light to their followers to exploit the plight of the poor and helpless Syrian girls.

Muslim men from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have in the past few weeks asked their embassies in Amman and Baghdad to help them find Syrian girls living in makeshift refugee camps in Jordan and Iraq.

This is happening at a time when the oil-rich Arab countries are doing almost nothing to help the tens of thousands of Syrian refugees who are living in extremely difficult conditions.

Some Arab human rights activists have condemned the phenomenon, but their voice has thus far fallen on deaf ears.

Muslim preachers in a number of Arab countries have been encouraging their followers to engage in “pleasure marriages” with Syrian girls as a way of ridding them and their families of their misery. Some of these preachers have even issued fatwas [Islamic decrees] permitting the sexual exploitation of minors.

Many of these girls, according to reports in a number of Arab media outlets, are being returned to their families after hours or days of the temporary marriage.

Some of the victims are being sold by their desperate families to Muslim men in return for a few hundred dollars.

The Jordanian newspaper Ad-Dustour revealed that Muslim men from the kingdom were also exploiting the plight of the Syrian refugees by targeting 14 and 15 year old girls.

According to sources in Amman, some Jordanian Islamists have even divorced their wives in favor of temporary marriage of minors.

Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of the pan-Arab Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, expressed outrage over the “ugly exploitation” of Syrian girls who fled the war in their country.

“Exploiting the conditions of the girls in the refugee camps by marrying them temporarily is a form of rape that must stop immediately,” Atwan wrote. “Those responsible for this crime should be brought to trial.”

Yet Atwan’s condemnation seems to be a lone voice in the desert. No prominent Muslim figure or organization has deemed it necessary to denounce the sexual exploitation of the Syrian girls.

Originally published by the Gatestone Institute.

Police deny beating man, say he died of heart attack

Sugumaran’s mother, K. Manimagalay (right), is comforted by a relative after viewing her youngest son’s body. — Picture by Choo Choy May

KAJANG, Jan 24 — The police have denied beating a security guard yesterday to death, pointing out that a post-mortem today revealed that he had died of a heart attack.

Three eyewitnesses alleged earlier today that four policemen had handcuffed and then assaulted 39-year-old C. Sugumaran together with a mob of more than 20 yesterday evening near the latter’s house at Batu 12, Hulu Langat.

“At about 6.30pm yesterday, the police station at Batu 14 Hulu Langat received a call from a Malay man saying that an Indian man was going amok and destroying public property,” Kajang OCPD ACP Abdul Rashid Abdul Wahab told a press conference at the Kajang district police headquarters here tonight.

He added that three policemen in a patrol car and a motorbike tailed Sugumaran, who was on foot, for about two kilometres from Dusun Sri Nanding to Taman Lagenda Suria in Hulu Langat as the latter waved an iron rod, destroying flower vases near houses and electrical wires, until he fell down in the middle of the road.

“The police, assisted by members of the public, held and handcuffed the man as he was still acting aggressively and trying to struggle during arrest,” said Abdul Rashid, stressing that the crowd did not assault Sugumaran.

He added that a police officer then went to get a Land Rover to bring Sugumaran, described as a big-sized

Sugumaran’s neighbours who claim they saw four policemen and a mob of 20 to 30 people beating him up. From left: R. Moohanarajan, S. Sugunan, R. Vasandh. — Picture by Choo Choy May

man, to the police station.

“But upon return, the Indian man was unconscious. The police then contacted the hospital and a medical officer came and pronounced him dead,” said Abdul Rashid.

The policeman stressed that a post-mortem done by pathologist Dr Mohd Azaini Ibrahim from Serdang Hospital today from 3.30pm to 8.30pm revealed that Sugumaran had died of a heart attack.

“No other injuries could have caused his death,” said Abdul Rashid.

He also said that the policemen did not throw turmeric powder in Sugumaran’s face as alleged by eyewitnesses earlier today.

Eyewitnesses had told reporters earlier today that the security guard was chased down yesterday by four policemen who subsequently handcuffed and beat him to death together with a mob of more than 20 people in Hulu Langat yesterday.

They said that after the policemen caught and handcuffed him, more than 20 other men from a nearby restaurant joined the policemen and proceeded to assault him.

“The police stepped on Sugumaran’s neck,” R. Moohanarajan told The Malaysian Insider at the Serdang Hospital here today.

“Twenty to thirty people wearing plain clothes beat him up. He was lying facedown with his hands handcuffed behind,” added Moohanarajan, who was Sugumaran’s neighbour.

Eyewitnesses say cops, mob beat handcuffed man to death

C. Sugumaran’s mother, K. Manimagalay, is distraught after viewing her youngest son’s body. — Picture by Choo Choy May

SERDANG, Jan 24 — A security guard was chased down yesterday by four policemen who subsequently handcuffed and beat him to death together with a mob of more than 20 people in Hulu Langat yesterday, eyewitnesses alleged today.

It is unclear why policemen were trying to apprehend 40-year-old C. Sugumaran. He was found naked with handcuffs still on him, according to witnesses.

His body is now at the Serdang Hospital where family members had been denied access since their arrival at 9am.

According to witnesses who were present at the hospital today, the incident happened at 6.30pm yesterday.

Sugumaran was seen running from the four policemen in two patrol cars along a major road five minutes from his home in Taman Sri Nanding, Batu 12 Hulu Langat.

As the road was congested with traffic, the four policemen stopped their vehicles and proceeded to chase after Sugumaran on foot.

After they caught and handcuffed him, more than 20 other men from a nearby restaurant joined the policemen and proceeded to assault him.

“The police stepped on Sugumaran’s neck,” R. Moohanarajan told The Malaysian Insider at the Serdang Hospital here today.

“Twenty to thirty people wearing plain clothes beat him up. He was lying facedown with his hands handcuffed behind,” added Moohanarajan, who was Sugumaran’s neighbour.

The eyewitnesses said that the 10-minute beating happened at about 6.30pm yesterday near the Taman Perkasa cemetery at Batu 12, Hulu Langat.

Policemen stand outside the morgue of Serdang Hospital. — Picture by Choo Choy May

More than 20 people comprising Sugumaran’s family, relatives and neighbours had gathered at the hospital here since 9am, demanding to see the body.

Sugumaran’s mother K. Manimagalay was only allowed access to her son’s body about six hours later at 3.10pm.

She burst into tears after emerging from the mortuary and had to be consoled by her younger brother.

Chaos ensued when Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam shouted: “The handcuffs are still on the body. Celaka (Damn)! Already dead, still handcuffed.”

Other people started shouting angrily as about five police officers tried to control the crowd.

Moohanarajan, who is unemployed, said he was returning home after buying a video game when he saw the police chasing Sugumaran, beating him, handcuffing him, and then throwing turmeric powder in the latter’s face.

He added that the forensic police only came at about 11pm to remove the body after it had rained.

Sugumaran’s family, relatives and neighbours wait to view his body. — Picture by Choo Choy May

Manimagalay said that her youngest son Sugumaran did not have a criminal record.

“He never stole. He did not murder anyone...People said that he had fought with Nepalese though,” she told reporters.

The mother of three sons also said that Sugumaran suffered from a mental illness, but did not specify what it was.

Sugumaran’s friend T. Panirselvam said that Sugumaran was hot-tempered and reacted to provocation.

“Maybe he has depression,” said Panirselvam, adding that Sugumaran’s mother had lodged a police report against Sugumaran a few years ago, but did not specify further.

Sugumaran’s family lawyer N. Surendran told reporters here today after viewing the body that Sugumaran’s left leg was injured and had lots of scars, which indicated that “he was pushed down.”

“There was bleeding from the back of the head. On his face, there were remains of turmeric powder around the mouth,” said Surendran, who is also a PKR vice-president.

Surendran called for an immediate police investigation and the suspension of the men involved in the incident.

The post-mortem results were unavailable at press time.

Kajang CID chief DSP Marzuki Mohd Mokhdar told The Malaysian Insider today that the police would brief reporters after the post-mortem that would likely be finished tonight.

“We’ve nothing to hide,” he said.

Sugumaran’s family lawyer N. Surendran (2nd left) speaks to relatives at the hospital. — Picture by Choo Choy May

Burn the Bible, and you burn the church

Pentecostal Churches of Malaysia representative Bishop Robert Judah Paul also expresses resentment against Perkasa chief’s Bible burning plan.

KUALA LUMPUR: Perkasa’s plan to burn the Malay edition of the Bible, which carries the word “Allah” to refer to God, is equivalent to burning churches, the Pentecostal Churches of Malaysia representative Robert Judah Paul said today.

“Burning the Bible is equivalent to burning churches and the churches have every right to bring it to their highest authority. Churches which are linked to international non-governmental organisations will seek the international voices to air their grievances… and this would reflect badly on the country,” he told FMT in an interview.

He said Pentecostal Christians will stand by the Catholics in protecting their religious rights if it comes to that.

“Churches are united and we strongly feel it is a political move rather than a social threat,” he said.

Recently, Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali announced that the organisation will seek out Malay Bibles which carries the word “Allah” and burn them. This caused a furore among Christians in the country.

While the issue is more religious in nature, politicians have not missed the bandwagon, especially with the general election just around the corner.

About 9% of the country’s 29.1 million population are Christians, practising various denominations of Christianity.

“Ibrahim made a wrong statement which incites anger and hatred among Malaysians. We, as Christians are against the statement and totally abhor what he said,” he added.

Robert said if Ibrahim proceeds with the burning of the Malay Bibles, the Churches will initiate legal proceedings against him.

He said there are various reasons why the Malay Bible was being targeted by the ultra-Malay group.

“The Sikh holy book also refers to God as Allah while some Hindu scriptures also do the same. Why target just Malay Bibles? I feel that it is because Christianity is the closest to Islam. Maybe they see Christianity as a threat to Islam.

“Christians will take to the street if our voices are not heard legally. Ibrahim and whoever are behind him are very narrow-minded and are not looking at the bigger picture”, he added.

‘Enough with the warnings, haul up Ibrahim’

MIC Youth wants stern action against Perkasa chief, Ibrahim Ali, who has called on Muslims to burn the Al-Kitab.

PETALING JAYA: MIC Youth has urged Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to stop pussy-footing around the contentious call by Perkasa chief, Ibrahim Ali, to burn the Malay Bible and instead take immediate action against him.

“MIC Youth wants Hishammuddin to take action against Ibrahim.

“Ibrahim’s irresponsible action of inciting hatred against another religion can lead to this nation’s instability,” said the party’s Youth secretary, C Sivarraajh.

He was reacting to Ibrahim who urged Muslims to burn Malay Bibles known as the Al-Kitab which bore the term”Allah”.

Ibrahim, who is also Pasir Mas MP, made the call on Saturday in reaction to reports that the Al-Kitab is being distributed to Muslim schoolchildren.

He said this at a Perkasa convention held in Penang.

Following that call, DAP chairman Karpal Singh and a group of individuals have lodged police reports.

Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, meanwhile, told FMT that action will be taken only after the law had been breached.

Describing Ibrahim’s call as “outrageous”, Sivarraajh said that it is time Ibrahim is brought to book since he has raised racial and religious sensitivities in the past.

“Even though he has been warned many times, but he’s still walking the same way and using the same old tune which made other people hate him,” said Sivarraajh.

In a related development, a little known group called Pasukan Bertindak Anti Bible Bahasa Melayu (Anti-Malay-Bible Action Force), urged Muslims to join in the “Malay Bible burning festivities” on Jan 27 in Penang.

Kerajaan Selangor batal projek kondo Batu Caves

Keputusan dibuat demi menjaga keselamatan orang ramai dan memelihara alam sekitar, kata Menteri Besar.

PETALING JAYA: Kerajaan Selangor hari ini membatalkan projek kondominium 26 tingkat di Batu Caves, dekat ini.

Dengan keputusan itu, kebenaran merancang yang telah diberikan kepada Dolomite Properties Sdn Bhd untuk pembinaan kondominium Dolomite Park Avenue setinggi 26 tingkat dibatalkan.

Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim mengumumkan pembatalan tersebut dalam satu kenyataan media petang ini.

“Jawankuasa Bebas bagi mengkaji dan menilai pembangunan di Batu Caves dan kawasan sekitarnya telah mengadakan mesyuarat yang pertama pada Selasa lalu.

“Dalam mesyuarat itu, Jabatan Perancang Bandar dan Desa telah membentangkan secara terperinci status pembinaan struktur dan bangunan di Batu Caves serta tahap keselamatannya.

“Selepas mendengar penjelasan itu, saya membuat keputusan supaya Majlis Perbandaran Selayang (MPS) membatalkan kebenaran merancang yang telah diberikan kepada Dolomite Properties Sdn Bhd untuk pembinaan kondominium Dolomite Park Avenue setinggi 26 tingkat.

“Keputusan ini dibuat demi menjaga keselamatan orang ramai dan memelihara alam sekitar.

“Saya mengucapkan terima kasih kepada mereka kerana kesediaan untuk membantu kerajaan negeri mencari jalan penyelesaian jangka panjang terhadap isu pembangunan di Batu Caves dan sekitarnya,” kata Abdul Khalid dalam kenyataan tersebut.

Beliau amat berharap keputusan ini diterima positif oleh semua pihak kerana ia melibatkan keselamatan orang ramai.

Beliau menambah, kerajaan Selangor tidak berkompromi dengan mana-mana projek pembangunan yang boleh mengancam keselamatan rakyat.

Kerajaan Selangor, kata Menteri Besar menyokong sebarang projek pembangunan untuk kesejahteraan rakyat tetapi ia perlu dirancang dengan teliti, mengikut peraturan dan tidak membahayakan keselamatan rakyat.

‘Police murdered security guard’

PKR vice-president N Surendran also claimed the police conspired with Serdang Hospital to deny the family their right to see his body.

PETALING JAYA: PKR vice-president N Surendran today accused the police of murder in the death of security guard C Sugumar in Hulu Langat yesterday evening.

He also charged that the police conspired with the Serdang Hospital to cover up the case.

“It is murder by the police. The cover-up is clear. Serdang Hospital is not allowing the family of the deceased to see the body on the instructions of the police.

“They [hospital] have also not conducted a post-mortem,” said Surendran, who was at the hospital mortuary with the family of the deceased.

Sugumar, 40, a bachelor, the youngest in the family, has two brothers.

According to PKR human rights and legal bureau deputy chief, S Jayathas, Sugumar was involved in an argument with some people in Sri Nanding, Hulu Langat, yesterday evening.

Policeman stepped on Sugumar

The police, who were informed about the brawl, arrived at the scene. Sugumar tried to run but the police handcuffed him, Jayathas said.

“The police and the public bashed up Sugumar. A policeman stepped on Sugumar’s neckwhile another smeared his face with turmeric powder, and he died,” he claimed.

Sugumar’s body was brought to Serdang Hospital yesterday but no post-mortem has been conducted.

“The government has learnt nothing and continues to kill Indians in police custody,” said Surendran.

A police officer from the Hulu Langat district police headquarters told FMT that the case is being investigated.

‘Najib responsible for stateless Indians’

Lawyers' group accuses Najib and NRD of failing to protect stateless Indian claimants.

PETALING JAYA: Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) have accused Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and the National Registration Department (NRD) of failing to protect stateless Indians in the country.

In a press statement yesterday, LFL co-founder and adviser, Eric Paulsen, said Najib was ultimately responsible for the problem as the NRD is a department under the Home Ministry and implements policies decided by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet.

He dismissed Special Implementation Taskforce (SITF) chairman N Siva Subramaniam’s statement yesterday which suggested Najib and the NRD were doing a good job in addressing the problem while blaming the Home Ministry and, to a lesser extent, individuals affected.

“We are therefore at a loss as to how he [Siva] can praise the Prime Minister when he is ultimately responsible for the citizenship policies and practices in the country,” he said.

He added that the NRD was a government department responsible for ensuring all bona fide Malaysians are registered and issued with corresponding identity documents.

“Instead of recognising these people of Indian origin – born and bred in Malaysia – they chose instead to perpetuate their statelessness by discriminating against them and placing an unrealistic burden of proof on them to “prove” their citizenship,” he claimed.

Citing the Sabah “citizenship-for-votes” scandal, Paulsen pointed out that the Home Ministry and NRD have powers to simplify citizenship procedures and requirement.

“…but it had been exercised improperly and with ulterior motives,” he said.

LFL accused BN and the NRD of “serious lack of concern and care” for people of Indian origin and other stateless communities.

“There is no genuine effort to register the affected communities nor is there any special procedure provided to facilitate their registration despite knowing the historical inequities and the context of their present circumstances that have kept them stateless for generations,” Paulsen said.

He added that Siva “should know better than to blame the affected communities when he knows that the applications are usually hampered by administrative obstacles, burdensome requirements, gross delays and require repeated visits and interviews”.

“Even then, these cases are rarely resolved despite fulfilling the general citizenship requirement and they are forced to continue living a precarious and wretched existence without recognition as citizens.”

He urged BN and the NRD to immediately rectify the situation by registering the affected communities under proper procedure for nationals (as opposed to foreigners); simplifying the application procedure and documentation requirement; and undertaking mobile registration.

Yesterday, Siva said the issue of stateless Indians in the country is aggravated by Home Ministry officials handling the matter and Indians themselves who have a careless attitude.

He said that the major complaint was the “unfriendly” nature of Home Ministry officers when interviewing them.

He said the problem is further complicated by Indians, especially those living in estates or rural areas, who do not register marriages or birth.

Siva added these people are mostly uneducated as they could not afford formal education.

Batu Caves temple claims they’re being punished for protesting

(The Star) - The Batu Caves temple committee claims it is being victimised by the Selangor government for staging a protest against the construction of a condominium near the limestone cave site last year.

Sri Maha Mariamman Devasatha­nam committee chairman Datuk R. Nadarajah alleged the state government, through the Selayang Munici-pal Council (MPS), had made bizarre requests, including asking for a building plan of the iconic staircase that leads into the main cave.

“After we protested against the condominium, MPS sent us a barrage of letters, and one of them was to dispute the safety of the staircase.

“The staircase has been around since the 1930s. Millions of people have been going up and down it and there has never been a problem.

“And now they want a building plan for the staircase?’’ Nadarajah said here yesterday.

He alleged the state government was also punishing him by scrapping his plans for an Indian cultural centre as well as made him face a lot of bureaucracy over the Batu Caves cable car project.

Nadarajah claimed the development order for the cable car was approved on Dec 31 last year, but MPS was asking for the building plan again.

“That will take us another year of waiting. People are already asking about the cable car,’’ he said.

The cable car project was announ-ced in 2011 and was expected to be completed in 2012.

He reiterated that the problems began after he started speaking againt the condominium project.

“I protested and they are now coming after me,’’ alleged Nadarajah.

Nadarajah had led a protest against the 29-storey condominium project, located just 120m next to the Lord Murugan statue, in October last year, saying the development was too close to the limestone hills.

He added that he would be revealing more next week as well as showing the letters from MPS.

Anwar: Not Lembah Pantai-bound, but certain on Permatang Pauh

(The Malaysian Insider) - Denying plans to swap constituencies with daughter Nurul Izzah, PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim nevertheless conceded that he was not guaranteed to contest in his Permatang Pauh stronghold.

The opposition leader was responding to rumours that he may instead run for the Lembah Pantai federal seat now occupied by Nurul Izzah, who is expected to face stiff challenge there from Umno’s Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin.

“Why Lembah Pantai? I wasn’t informed of this,” he was quoted as saying in a Sinar Harian report, adding that Nurul Izzah will berate him if he decides to contest her seat.

“God willing I will contest, but most probably there will be requests for me to consider contesting in one or two other seats,” Anwar told Malay-language daily yesterday.

Anwar held Permatang Pauh from 1982 until 1999, when he was convicted and jailed for corruption. The conviction was subsequently overturned.

His wife, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, contested and held the seat during his absence, before making way for Anwar in 2008.

Election 2013 must be called by April 27, after which Parliament will automatically be dissolved and polls initiated.

Sabah churches demand action against anti-Christian frenzy — Bob Teoh

JAN 24 — Sabah churches want the government to act decisively against the latest round of anti-Christian frenzy.

“We see the increasingly provocative attacks against the Malay-language bible — Alkitab — by certain quarters as a direct attack on the rights of Bumiputera Christians in Sabah to religious freedom as enshrined in both the Sabah and the Federal Constitution,” Rev Datuk Jerry Dusing, chairman of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Commission of Sabah Affairs (NECF COSA) said.

“We, therefore, urge the authorities to act immediately against such groups and individuals to the full extent of the law before the anti-Christian frenzy gets out of hand,” he said in a statement.

Dusing said it must be remembered that Sabah has always enjoyed complete religious freedom since time immemorial. Sabah was guaranteed certain safeguards known as the 20-points as a condition for the formation of Malaysia. It is no coincidence that the first of these twenty points pertains to religious freedom.

He also said the majority of Christians in Malaysia are Malay speaking Bumiputeras mainly in Sabah and Sarawak whose use the Alkitab as their Bible for their liturgy and devotional reading.

As many East Malaysians are working or studying Peninsular Malaysia, the Alkitab is also extensively used by them over there. Any attack on the Alkitab is an affront to their faith and religious liberty.

“We now see our religious freedom yet again under threat as the anti-Christian frenzy threatens to get out of hand. A right wing Malay group has even called for bibles, including the Alkitab, to be seized and burned. This is irresponsible and incendiary hate speech,” said.

Although he did not name the group, he was referring to Perkasa which made the threat three days ago.

The statement also said another Muslim group (Pembela) has also called for the halt to the printing of the Alkitab. It added that indeed, it was the Cabinet itself that decided in 2011 to allow for the continued printing and distribution of the Alkitab as part of its so-called 10-point solution to the Allah controversy.

“This is another attempt to deprive Bumiputera Christians of their Holy Scriptures,” the statement said.

NECF COSA also highlighted the call for a ban on the distribution of the Alkitab in public universities and said it must be remembered there are many Bumiputera Christians from East Malaysia studying and teaching in such universities.

“They use the Alkitab as their personal Bibles. This Alkitab ban only serves to deprive Bumiputera Christians their right to their Holy Scriptures. This very right is fundamental to religious freedom,” it said.

The statement said if such unwarranted provocation against Bumiputera Christians are left unchecked it militates against the very concept of 1 Malaysia of putting people first.

“It is time for such promises to be fulfilled. Otherwise, we may to turn out to be a nation divided by religious hatred perpetrated by irresponsible elements. There is no place for such extremists in our beloved homeland,” it added. — mysinchew.com

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

Opposition Are Opportunist In Capitalising RCI Issue For Political Gains, Says Salleh

KOTA KINABALU, Jan 24 (Bernama) -- Former Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak opined that the opposition led by former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was worried over the possibility of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government resolving the illegal immigrants' issue in Sabah, once and for all.

Describing the opposition as opportunist, he said the opposition was trying to manipulate and opportunistically take advantage of the situation for political gains and interfered with the work of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants in the state.

"Obviously, Pakatan (opposition) is worried that BN will resolve the illegal immigrants' issue in Sabah. That's why they are politicising the issue. They don't want the RCI panel to complete their work and use statements from ex-ISA (Internal Security Act) detainees to undermine the findings.

"Their sole strategy is to implicate Umno," he told Bernama after attending a state Maulidur Rasul function, here Thursday.

Salleh, who is Sabah Umno liaison deputy chief and State Legislative Assembly Speaker, was asked to comment on the purported RCI forum organised by an opposition party, here today.

He reiterated that BN government was serious about solving the perennial illegal immigrants' problem in Sabah.

"If they are sincere in resolving the issue, they should support the RCI to accomplish the task," he said.

On Tuesday, Salleh, who is also the Kota Belud Umno Division chief had challenged Anwar to tell the truth about the illegal immigrants to the (RCI) that is tasked with looking into the long-standing problem in the state.

Salleh was quoted as asserting that Anwar was duty-bound to do so as he was Deputy Prime Minister at that particular period, adding that "he was a powerful man and knew what was going on in Sabah".

The setting up of the RCI and appointment of its chairman and members was announced by the Prime Minister on Aug 11, last year to solve the problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah.

The hearing of the proceedings was headed by former Chief Justice of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong.

The panelists were Universiti Malaysia Sabah ex-vice chancellor Professor Datuk Seri Dr Kamaruzaman Ampon, Kuala Lumpur ex-police chief Datuk Henry Chin Poy Wu, former Sabah state secretary Datuk Kee Mustafa and ex-deputy Chief Minister and former state attorney-general Tan Sri Herman J. Luping.

Subsequent proceedings would be held on Jan 29 to Feb 1 and from Feb 22 to Feb 27.

Election campaign has all but officially begun

As speculation intensifies over the date of dissolution of Parliament, the final lap of the months of campaigning heads towards its final lap.

The Edge business website reports receiving text messages from unnamed sources speculating that Parliament would be dissolved on 22 February, and that’s the date being mentioned in coffee-shops. The other theory is that elections would be held at the end of March. But then again, who knows for sure? People are plain tired of this guessing game anyway.

But the campaign appears to have begun all the same. A couple of people have received the following notice in their mail of a decidedly youthful looking Najib and a message:

Some parents of pupils, meanwhile, have already collected their nicely timed RM100 from the schools. Now there’s BR1M 2.0 coming up. Before that we had the smartphone rebates.

Najib and Rosmah meanwhile have visited Gaza – in what appears to be an attempt to court the Muslim vote ahead of the polls.

It appears to be neck and neck, if the UM survey is to be believed.

But it’s bad news from the Sabah front with the Royal Commission of Inquiry proceedings receiving some shocking testimonies (actually, not so shocking) of how foreigners were given identification papers so that they could vote in the state elections.

That has put Mahathir on the defensive. And next thing you know, Perkasa is talking about Bible burning. Don’t fall for the bait! It is so predictable they will use all kinds of racial and religious issues to divide voters (and opposition political parties) ahead of the polls. This is the Old-style Politics that Francis Loh discussed in this Aliran article, whose practitioners are terrified of losing ground to the New Politics (the multi-ethnic approach to issues of justice and governance e.g. Bersih 3.0, the anti-Lynas movement, etc). So the politicians practising Old Politics are trying desperately to make up lost ground.

Then another setback for the BN: another death reportedly involving the police. Not good. Malaysiakini reports: “Four police officers were alleged to have chased, handcuffed and then smeared turmeric powder on the face of a security guard, before beating him to death along with a mob at Taman Pekaka, Hulu Langat yesterday.” Now it the response is there was no turmeric powder, the deceased had gone amok and – wait for it – he died of a heart attack!

Meanwhile, the Felda Global Ventures share price plunged to a new low before bouncing back to RM4.51 a day later.

While over in Batu Caves, the controversy over the condo project has turned into a hot potato. The Nut Graph attempts to dissect the issue, and both sides of the political divide appear to have a lot to answer in this case. Which makes you wonder: are the developers more powerful or influential than the rakyat? Finally, the Selangor state government did the right and wise thing by cancelling the project.

So take note, state governments CAN cancel projects when they want to or then they have the political will to do so. None of that talk about being liable to pay millions in compensation here.

Bid to cross-examine Hisham rejected

The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has rejected an application by Berjaya Books Sdn Bhd to call Home Minister Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein for cross-examination in its judicial review application to challenge the seizure of Irshad Manji’s book by the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi).

High Court (Appellate and Special Powers) judge Justice Zaleha Yusof also dismissed the application to cross-examine Prime Minister’s Department’s Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom and his deputy Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim, saying that all their affidavits were sufficient.

Berjaya Books, which owns Borders bookstore, had applied to cross-examine them as there were apparently conflicting statements in their affidavits.

Lead counsel Rosli Dahlan told reporters later that he would file an appeal.

The case had been fixed for hearing on March 11.

On June 25 last year, Berjaya Books and two of its employees obtained leave for a judicial review to challenge Jawi’s seizure of the book.

They are seeking, among others, a certiorari order to quash the decision by Jawi officers in raiding, searching and seizing Irshad Manji’s books – Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta and Allah, Liberty and Love – at the Borders bookstore at The Gardens Mall on May 23 last year.

Temple noise order inquiry begins against officer

The Kajang Municipal Council has begun a domestic inquiry against an officer who directed a Hindu temple to reduce religious activities after 6pm.

Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said that, if there is alleged misconduct, an internal probe must be conducted.
"It is important, as an employer, to look after the employees' interests, for we can't simply dismiss or suspend them," he told a press conference after chairing the weekly state executive council meeting today.

"There must be a process and this process is already taking place."

Khalid (left) was commenting on calls for action against the officer who issued the order to the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Bangi Lama on Jan 8, citing a noise complaint.

If the temple committee failed to abide by the order, it could be slapped with a fine of RM1,000 or a jail term of six months, or both, under Section 82(5) of the Local Council Act. The order has since been cancelled.

Several people and groups have urged action to be taken against the unnamed officer, including Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo.

"It is clearly against the Pakatan Rakyat spirit, and an attempt to again put Pakatan in a bad light." Gobind said on Jan 20.

"It is normal for temples to conduct prayers between 6pm and 9pm, during which time there will also be ringing of bells. This is a fact. It is well-known to us and we respect this."

Professor: Learn from East M'sia on use of 'Allah'

Professor Emeritus Shad Saleem Faruqi has urged the setting-up of a council to discuss the usage of the word ‘Allah'.

"There is no simple solution to this complex situation, but a solution will surely be found if all are willing to solve the issue," the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) legal adviser during a question-and-answer session after delivering a lecture on ‘Federal-state relations in Malaysia' at the UiTM campus in Kuching.

Shad Faruqi said non-Muslims in Sarawak had been using the word ‘Allah' for a very long time and Muslims in the state were not offended, pointing out that peninsular Malaysians could learn from their East Malaysian counterparts on how to live together.

"Communally, Sabahans and Sarawakians are far ahead of the Peninsular Malaysians.

"Intellectually speaking, it is quite funny for someone to prescribe to someone else how God should be addressed.

"This argument contradicts with our freedom of religion and free speech. Many so-called religious experts argue that the word ‘Allah' is unique to Islam and that it must not be used by others.

"With all due respect, this argument hasn't a leg to stand on. The word ‘Allah' is used by people in the Arabic world, including Christian Arabs.

"In Arabic countries, words such as ‘Bismillah', ‘Alhamdulillah' and so on are used by Christian Arabs because they are part of the Arabic language," he said.
Not unique to Islam
Shad Faruqi pointed out: "The argument that the word ‘Allah' is unique to Islam basically reflects a lack of knowledge of history. Arguments that Muslims will be misled by the use of word ‘Allah' by Christians are unacceptable.

"Muslims are not gullible or unintelligent," he said, adding that a Muslim would not be easily misled to follow another religion just because the word ‘Allah' was also uttered by non-Muslims.

Those making such arguments, he said, had a very weak knowledge of Islamic teachings and its history.

On Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali's (right) urging the burning of copies of Bibles containing the term ‘Allah', Faruqi said that it was an extreme measure that had no room in a country like Malaysia, which had worked hard to strengthen solidarity and harmony in its multi-racial society.

"This kind of extremism must be condemned at all costs. The nation should not heed the call but work at achieving a solution to maintain peace and unity.

"For 55 years, Malaysia has become a unique country that has become a model for inter-religious, inter-communal, inter-regional and inter-linguistic relationships to the rest of the world.

"There is no room for extremism in Sarawak, like in the peninsula as shown by the call for Muslims to seize Bibles using the word ‘Allah' and burn them. Don't listen to them. Keep this country peaceful," Shad Faruqi concluded.

---

The writer, who uses a pseudonym, is based in Sarawak.

Activists protest against Dr M's RCI proposal

Christian Girl in Pakistan Allegedly Forced into Marriage and Conversion to Islam

Abducted 15-year-old is presumably somewhere in the violence-ridden financial hub of Karachi, Pakistan. (Pakeezarealestate.doomby.com)

Official’s aide, accused of running prostitution ring, kidnapped 15-year-old, mother says.

KARACHI, Pakistan (Morning Star News) – A powerful Pakistani official’s aide who is allegedly running a prostitution ring here has taken a Christian girl from her home and forced her to convert to Islam and marry him, according to the girl’s family.

Khursheed Bibi, a midwife and mother of 15-year-old Asma Masih, told Morning Star News that Ghaji Khan, a close aide of Sindh Provincial Minister for Local Government Agha Siraj Durrani, abducted her daughter from their house in Karachi on Dec. 10. The girl’s father is Rehmat Masih.

“Ghaji was our tenant for some months, but we asked him to vacate the premises after two police raids on our house revealed that he was running a prostitution network from the upper portion of our house,” said Khursheed Bibi, of Neelum Colony in Karachi’s Clifton area. “The police recovered some girls from Ghaji’s rooms in both raids; however, he escaped arrest because of Minister Siraj Durrani, who is considered very close to President Asif Zardari and acts as his enforcer in Karachi.”

Mother to seven daughters (two married) and six sons, Khursheed Bibi said the family searched for Asma without success that night in Karachi, Pakistan’s violence-ridden financial hub.

“The next afternoon we got a call from Ghaji that Asma had eloped with him and they had contracted nikah [marriage],” she said. “He also claimed that Asma had converted to Islam and asked us not to look for her, as she won’t be returning home.”


Khan had somehow enticed Asma out of their house and whisked her away, she said.

“I could not believe my ears, because Asma is hardly 15 and Ghaji is thrice her age,” she said. “I told him that I wanted to speak to Asma for the last time, so he handed over the phone to her. ‘What have you done my child, my child?’ I asked as Asma burst into tears. [She said], ‘They are not going to let me return home, mother – do something.’”

Khursheed Bibi said that she and her husband went to Boat Basin Police Station to file a First Information Report, but the duty officer refused to register a case against Khan.

“We told him that Ghaji had abducted our daughter, but the official refused to listen to us,” she said. “[The duty officer said], ‘Do you know Ghaji works for Siraj Durrani? I’d suggest that you forget your daughter and stop creating problems for your other children.’”


Disappointed by the police, Khursheed Bibi said the family filed a court petition to enjoin the police to register a case against Khan and recover Asma from his custody.

“We told the court that our daughter was a minor and could not have made an independent decision to renounce her faith,” she said. “It is quite evident from the circumstances that Ghaji had contracted a fake Islamic marriage with her to avoid arrest. The court admitted the petition and ordered police to register a case against Ghaji and produce Asma in court.”

Police registered a case (No. 644/12) against Khan on Dec. 22, but despite repeated court directions to arrest him, officers have not made a single raid.

“The judicial magistrate (South) has repeatedly ordered the investigation officer, Sub-Inspector Abdul Ghaffar, to raid the minister’s house and arrest Ghaji, but the police have not gone there even once,” she said.


On Saturday (Jan. 19), the judge ordered police to produce Asma in court yesterday (Jan. 21), but again police officials said they needed more time.

Meantime, Khan’s lawyer has submitted a marriage certificate to police claiming that Asma had converted to Islam and had married his client of her own free will. The certificate issued by Mufti Abdullah of Jamia Yousufia at Malir says that Asma had embraced Islam, and that her new name is Farzana.

“The mufti is definitely a part of this racket,” Khursheed Bibi said. “Even if one supposes for a minute that Asma has willingly accepted Islam, how can the mufti validate a marriage of a 15-year-old, which is strictly against the law? We have submitted evidence [birth certificate and baptism certificate issued by the Philadelphia Pentecostal Church in Karachi] to the court, while Ghaji is claiming that she is over 18.”

Her lawyer, Jamil Virk, has petitioned the court to recover Asma and set up a medical board to determine her exact age. The family has also asked that when police rescue her daughter, she be sent to a government-run women’s shelter until the case is decided.

Khursheed Bibi said that Khan and his associates have continuously threatened them, including death threats.


“We are poor Christians with no one to turn to except the courts,” she said. “I couldn’t control myself and broke down in tears before the judge. I told him that we were being continuously harassed and threatened to stop pursuing the case or else we would be killed, yet we still want our daughter back.”


Arrest Warrants

Noting that police had repeatedly defied the court’s orders by failing to produce either Khan or Asma, the judge yesterday (Jan. 21) issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Khan and his wife Zareena Begum, who is also allegedly involved; she is said to help him lure young girls into prostitution.


The judge reprimanded police for favoring the accused, warned against any harm to the applicant and her family and ordered officers to produce Khan in court on Wednesday (Jan . 23).


Sub-Inspector Abdul Ghaffar told Morning Star News that police did not have the evidence against Khan necessary to arrest him.


“We cannot raid the minister’s house until we have solid evidence against Ghaji Khan,” he said, adding that “Farzana” had told police that she had wilfully married Khan.


He added without explanation, “The girl is hesitating to appear before the court due to her family.”


Ghaffar rejected the elderly mother’s claim that police were supporting Khan due to the minister’s influence. “There’s no pressure on us from Minister Durrani,” he said.


He acknowledged that Khan had “a minor criminal record” but refused to comment about his alleged involvement in sex-trafficking.


“I don’t know about the raids on Khursheed Bibi’s house, so I cannot comment on the prostitution charges against Ghaji,” he said. “He has told us that Farzana is his third wife, and he has a marriage certificate. It’s up to the court to determine her age and whether she was forced to convert.”


A large number of women and girls belonging to Christian, Hindu and other minority communities in Sindh Province have been forced by Muslims to convert to Islam. In all cases, the perpetrators are either close relatives or aides of influential politicians and feudal lords.


In February 2012 a Hindu woman, 19-year-old Rinkle Kumari, was abducted from her village of Mirpur Mathelo in Sindh Province’s Ghotki District and forcibly converted to Islam by relatives of Pakistan People’s Party lawmaker Abdul Haq, whose alias is Mian Mithu.


The young woman’s family fought a two-month legal battle despite threats to their lives, but in April the Supreme Court ruled that Rinkle had chosen to live with her “husband” and had “embraced” Islam of her own volition.


In March, the chief justice observed that Rinkle, who constantly cried throughout the on-camera proceedings, wanted to return to her parents. When directed to a shelter to make up her mind, Rinkle reportedly “shrieked” and pleaded to go with her mother.


According to various media reports, nearly 300 Christian and Hindu girls and young women are forcibly converted to Islam in Sindh Province every year. Such cases are rarely highlighted in the media for various reasons, fear of reprisal by the Muslim majority being the foremost deterrent.


Once converted to Islam, no person can renounce the faith under the Islamic injunction of “death for apostates.”

© 2013 Morning Star News. Articles may be reprinted with credit to Morning Star News.

Iraq suicide bomb at Shia mosque kills 42

The latest wave of violence means the overall death toll from bloodshed in Iraq this month has already surpassed that of any of the previous three months, according to an AFP tally based on reports from security and medical officials. AFP (File Photo)

KIRKUK: A suicide bomber made his way into a Shia mosque north of Baghdad and blew himself up in the middle of a packed funeral on Wednesday, killing 42 people and leaving corpses scattered across the floor.

The attack, the deadliest in six months, is likely to heighten tensions as Iraq grapples with a political crisis and more than a month of protests in Sunni-majority areas that have hardened opposition to Shia Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

No group claimed responsibility, but Sunni militants often launch attacks in a bid to destabilise the government and push Iraq back towards the sectarian violence that blighted it from 2005 to 2008.

The bomber struck at the Sayid al-Shuhada mosque in Tuz Khurmatu, 175 kilometres north of Baghdad, and targeted the funeral of a relative of a politician who was shot dead a day earlier.

“Corpses are on the ground of the Husseiniyah (Shia mosque),” said Shallal Abdul, mayor of Tuz Khurmatu. “The suicide bomber managed to enter and blow himself up in the middle of the mourners.”

Niyazi Moamer Oghlu, secretary general of the provincial council of Salaheddin, which surrounds Tuz Khurmatu, put the toll from the attack at 42 dead and 75 wounded.

Among those hurt were officials and tribal leaders, including Ali Hashem Oghlu, the deputy chief of the Iraqi Turkman Front and a provincial councillor in Salaheddin.

The funeral had been for Oghlu’s brother-in-law, who killed in Tuz on Tuesday.

Tuz Khurmatu lies in a tract of disputed territory that Kurdistan wants to incorporate into its autonomous three-province region against the wishes of the central government in Baghdad.

The row is regarded by diplomats and officials as the greatest long-term threat to Iraq’s stability.

The death toll from Wednesday’s blast was the highest from a single attack since a series of bombings north of Baghdad on July 23 killed 42 people.

Also on Wednesday, gunmen killed a school principal near the main northern city of Mosul and an anti-Qaeda militiaman was shot dead near the predominantly Sunni town of Fallujah.

Wednesday’s violence came after a wave of attacks on Tuesday killed 26 people and wounded dozens more.

That broke four days of relative calm following a spate of incidents claimed by Al Qaeda’s front group that killed at least 88 people on January 15-17, according to an AFP tally.

The militant group is widely seen as weaker than during the peak of Iraq’s sectarian bloodshed, but is still capable of carrying out mass-casualty attacks on a regular basis.

The latest wave of violence means the overall death toll from bloodshed in Iraq this month has already surpassed that of any of the previous three months, according to an AFP tally based on reports from security and medical officials.

Attacks in Iraq are down from their peak in 2006-2007, but they are still common across the country.

The unrest comes amid a political crisis that has pitted Maliki against several of his erstwhile government partners, less than three months before provincial elections.

BN’s integrity, Pakatan’s infighting key factors for polls, survey shows

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 — For Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR), the issues of integrity

A recent survey has shown integrity will be a key consideration for voters. — File pic

and in-fighting will determine if voters would decide to vote against them, a University of Malaya (UM) survey has shown.

"For Pakatan, the issue of perbalahan (infighting). For BN, the issue of integrity.

"They are looking from the perspective of governance actually," Prof Datuk Dr Mohammad Redzuan Othman, the director of the University of Malaya Centre of Democracy and Election (UMCEDEL), told reporters today.

In the centre’s recent survey with a sample size of 1,409 voters, 78 per cent said integrity and abuse of power by BN leaders would be an issue that would affect voters’ support towards the ruling coalition.

For hot issues over the past year, such as the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal, the controversial Lynas rare-earth plant and crime, those who said they would cause a drop in support for BN stood at 62 per cent, 61 per cent and 51 per cent respectively.

A whopping 95 per cent of Chinese voters polled were concerned about integrity.

Other key issues for the Chinese community are the increase of the nation’s debt attributed to the alleged weak management of the economy at 89 per cent, while the Lynas plant and increase in the prices of goods were at 86 and 82 per cent respectively.

For PR, 55 per cent of the 1,409 voters polled said that disagreement among the three parties within the opposition pact - PKR, PAS and DAP - would cause their support to dwindle.

The pact has been criticised by its political rivals for what is alleged to be its failure to agree over issues such as the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims.

The UMCEDEL survey also showed that PR was leading in Selangor and Penang at 53 per cent and 59 per cent respectively, while BN stood at 29 per cent and 37 per cent respectively.

Perak appears to be up for grabs, with BN and PR almost evenly matched at 39 per cent and 41 per cent respectively.

PR still leads in Kelantan, while it stands at 46 per cent for Kedah.

The federal opposition won the above five states in Election 2008 in an unprecedented polls victory, but lost Perak to BN when several PR state lawmakers defected.

The nationwide survey titled “Polling Trends in the Run-up to the 13th General Election” was carried out from December 26, 2012 to this January 11 through both face-to-face and phone interviews.

The respondents were drawn from a diverse range in terms of race, age, level of education, occupation and salary.

Election 2013 is expected to be intensely fought, with BN seeking to gain a two-thirds parliamentary win and PR aiming to wrest control of Putrajaya.

Umno-Perkasa alliance to boost votes?

The public should not be blamed for thinking that Perkasa is playing up the Malay bible issue to benefit Umno, says a scholar.

PETALING JAYA: With Chinese voters having turned their backs on the ruling coalition and the Indian votes hanging in the balance, is Umno working with Perkasa to shore up Malay support ahead of the polls?

Nottingham University communication professor Zaharom Nain said the public cannot be faulted for making such an assumption.

“You can’t blame the thinking people because it appears to be so,” he told FMT.

Zaharom was commenting on Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali’s call on Muslims to burn the Malay bibles containing the term Allah.

While some viewed this as an attempt to rally Malay/Muslim sentiments, there were also those who claimed that it could be an attempt to divert attention from the Royal Commission of Inquiry in Sabah.

Zaharom said that Umno should clear the air about its links with Perkasa.

“Barisan Nasional component parties have also failed to come out strongly against Ibrahim because he is backed by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad who is still influential,” he added.

Alliance would backfire

Monash University’s Prof James Chin warned that the Perkasa-Umno alliance would backfire on BN.

“It is not going to help Umno since Ibrahim is attempting to start another May 13,” he added.

He said that the move would not change the Chinese vote bank as “the Chinese have long deserted BN.”

UCSI’s political analyst Ong Kian Ming was also confident that Umno was backing Ibrahim and Perkasa.

“Umno has always outsourced its extremist policies, it thinks [of these things] but can’t say [them] because by doing so they would alienate the non-Muslim voters,” said the DAP election strategist.

Chin and Zaharom had mixed views on the current controversy in relation to the ongoing RCI in Sabah regarding the granting of citizenship to immigrants.

Chin felt that the issue would not affect the coverage on the RCI.

“The RCI would be ongoing until after the general election. The findings would be mind blowing,” he said.

Zaharom, however, said: “It is more than coincidental for Ibrahim to rant while the RCI is ongoing.”

Umno had always distanced itself from Perkasa but observers remain unconvinced, especially since the movement appeared to enjoy the privilege of legal immunity in churning out sensitive remarks.

Jeffrey: Tell RCI the truth, Anwar

The Sabah strongman says Anwar, being the second most powerful leader in Umno then, could not have been ignorant of what was happening in Sabah.

PETALING JAYA: Sabah’s veteran politician Jeffrey Kitingan today expressed hope that Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim would “tell the truth” if he ends up testifying in the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) probing the “Project IC” in Sabah.

“I am glad he has said that he has no problem in testifying in the RCI probing into citizenship granted to immigrants in Sabah.

“However I do hope he would tell the truth about his own role in the citizenship fiasco,” Jeffrey told FMT today.

“From what I know, he was indeed in charge of Sabah [for Umno]. He was the director of operations and was involved actively in the citizenship project,” he added.

“I am very sure he was in the know of what was happening in Sabah at that time.”

Earlier today, Anwar told reporters that he was ready to testify at the RCI but quickly added that he was also in the dark about the project.

“I have no problem whatsoever. I knew for a long time the project was under the prime minister, that it did not involve a Cabinet process, so it is the full responsibility of the prime minister and finance minister.

“When I was there, even I was not briefed on the issue [of providing citizenship to immigrants],” Anwar said.

He also said that the RCI had not summoned him because “they know I have nothing to do with it”.

Yesterday, Sabah Umno liaison deputy chief Salleh Said Keruak had challenged Anwar to tell the truth about the illegal immigrants to the RCI tasked with looking into the long-standing problem in the state.

He said that Anwar was duty-bound to do so as he was deputy prime minister at that particular period, adding that “he was a powerful man and knew what was going on in Sabah”.

In recent weeks, various quarters have asked for both former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar to be summoned by the RCI to testify on the citizenship-for-vote issue.

‘He can’t be ignorant’

Jeffery, who is also the head of Sabah STAR, said that Umno was involved in so many activities in Sabah at that time in order to gain influence, and to form the state government.

“They were playing with the voters’ list. They were changing voters from one constituency to another in order to win, and of course mobilising foreigners to become citizens and become their voters,” he said.

“I am sure Anwar, being the second most powerful Umno leader at that period, would not have been ignorant of what the then prime minister and Umno were doing to win at all costs in Sabah,” he said.

“As I said, he knows more about the citizenship project than many others and if he is indeed called up to testify at the RCI, I sincerely hope he would tell the truth,” he said.

“I hope Anwar will speak the truth for the sake of justice and democracy that he often speaks about,” he added.

He said that was the best Anwar, as the leader of the opposition, could do for Sabahans after all the years of them being manipulated by the federal government.

Allah issue: ‘Pakatan stands by Hadi’

Anwar Ibrahim is firm that Pakatan Rakyat will allow non-Muslims to use the word
UPDATED

KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said that Pakatan Rakyat was firm in its decision that non-Muslims were allowed to use the word “Allah”.

“Pakatan Rakyat in the past meeting looked through the statement made by PAS president [Hadi Abdul Awang] carefully and we took the stand that we agreed to give room [for Allah to be used by non-Muslims], but to also remind people to not misuse it,” said Anwar.

“So we follow what the PAS president says. And if he does not revise that statement, then that is Pakatan’s decision.”

He was referring to a statement by PAS president Hadi Awang after the opposition pact’s presidential meeting on Jan 8.

Hadi had said that “Allah”, which is written in the Quran, is special and cannot be translated properly to other languages.

“That’s why Muslims of all races refer to God as Allah. So non-Muslims can use the holy word although it may not reflect the original meeting,” Hadi had said.

But the PAS Syura Council said last week that non-Muslims should prevent the use of the word “Allah” in translations of their religious text.

“Translating the word God or Lord from any non-Muslim religious texts to the word Allah cannot be allowed because it is wrong from the aspect of meaning…. therefore, it has to be prevented,” PAS spiritual adviser Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said in a statement.

Commenting on this, Anwar said: “I’ve read the PAS Syura Council’s statement. Its concern is the problem of the term ‘Allah’ used for other purposes, and that is probably where there is a difference of opinion…”

But he said the difference of opinion was small and the issue as a whole had been interpreted differently by various Muslim scholars.

He also added that some of the concern expressed by the Syura Council had its basis.

“They [Syura Council] are worried that [the term "Allah"] would be used to confuse Muslims or would be twisted by some quarters. If such cases happen… then action must be taken.”

‘Bible-burning call extreme’


But Anwar said Ibrahim’s call to burn Bibles with the word “Allah” last Saturday in response to alleged proselytisation efforts was far too extreme and should be condemned by all.

“We could protest… if there is evidence… Christians are trying to proselytise a Muslim, we can bring the matter up to court,” he said.

“But to burn or threaten to burn what Christians feel is their holy book is an extreme act and should be rejected by all Malaysians, including Muslims,” he said.

On Saturday, Ibrahim had reportedly said: “Muslims must unite to protect their religion. They must seize those Bibles, including the Malay editions, which contain the term Allah and other Arabic religious words, and burn them.”

But Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hasan Syed Ali said last night that Ibrahim’s message had been misconstrued and that the latter was merely urging Muslims who received Jawi-scripted Malay Bibles to “burn them”.

This was in reference to a police report lodged several days ago for the alleged distribution of English Bibles containing Jawi script and the word “Allah” to high school students in Jelutong.

“Perkasa is only bringing up the issue to provoke the people’s sentiments. It is a political ploy…meant to satiate the appetites of the stressed-out Umno,” claimed Anwar.

He also said Barisan Nasional’s inaction over Ibrahim’s controversial call showed how weak its leadership was.

MIC strategy director S Vell Paari and MCA central committee member Loh Seng Kok have flayed Ibrahim and Perkasa over the issue, but the top leadership in the ruling coalition has yet to comment on it.

The Bible-burning issue appears to have come to a head after the discovery of a flyer urging Muslims to attend a “festival” to burn Malay-language Bibles this Sunday at the Bagan Luar Municipality field in Butterworth.

The programme was planned by a previously unknown group called Pasukan Bertindak Anti Bible Bahasa Melayu.

The flyer reads: “Our children and grandchildren will end up being apostates if you want to wait for our impotent government to act.

“To Muslims who have copies of al-Kitab, bring them over to make our Bible-burning session merrier.”

Second police report against Ibrahim Ali

A group of citizens turns the screws on the police and the AG.

PETALING JAYA: A group of citizens today lodged a police report against Ibrahim Ali, increasing pressure on the authorities to act against the Perkasa president for advocating the seizure and burning of Bibles that use Arabic religious terms.

The group of 12, led by human rights lawyer Siti Zabedah Kasim, made the report this morning at the Dang Wangi police station.

It was the second such report against Ibrahim since DAP chairman Karpal Singh lodged his yesterday.

On Monday, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail said his office would not act against Ibrahim until police reports had been made against him or until Bibles are burnt.

“With this in mind,” Siti said in reference to Gani’s statement, “we—independent Malaysians of various belief and races—have come forward to lodge a police report regarding this very serious matter.”

Siti is a member of the Bar Council’s human rights committee, but she said she was making the report as a private citizen.

She denounced the Perkasa president, saying Malaysians of all creeds believed that his statement was meant to incite hatred and provoke the commission of crimes.

She noted that a group calling itself Pasukan Bertindak Anti Bible Bahasa Melayu had already planned a Bible-burning programme in Butterworth this Sunday.

Ibrahim made his controversial statement on Saturday. According to news report, he said: “Muslims must unite to protect their religion. They must seize those Bibles—including the Malay editions—that contain the term ‘Allah’ and other religious terms in Arabic and burn them.”

Referring to Ibrahim’s statement that he had been misquoted, Siti said this defence was no longer valid because his organisation had subsequently confirmed his words and said it stood by them.

“He said ‘including the Malay editions,’” Siti noted. “This can only mean that the Perkasa president actually called upon the Muslims to burn Bibles in any language, including the Malay editions.”