Zahid: Prosecution is in the hands of the Attorney-General

The Star

PUTRAJAYA: Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says the police have full faith on the discretionary powers of the Attorney-General to prosecute anyone under the Sedition Act.

He reiterated that the duty of the police was to investigate when a report was lodged.

“These investigation papers will be handed over to the A-G’s Chambers and the prosecution lies in the hands of the A-G.

“The police’s priority is to ensure peace and harmony in the country and we place our full faith in the discretion of the A-G to prosecute according to the law.

“As long as there is a police report, we will carry out our duty (to investigate),” Dr Ahmad Zahid told reporters after the ministry’s monthly staff gathering here yesterday.

Meanwhile, the ministry briefed Pakatan Rakyat youth chiefs on developments involving the Sedition Act issue.

The ministry’s security and public order division secretary Datuk Awang Din Husain earlier received a memorandum from Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (PKR), Suhaizan Kaiat (PAS), and Teo Kok Seong (DAP) here.

“We conveyed the concerns of the young over the progress (towards the repeal of the Act),” Suhaizan told reporters after the meeting which lasted less than an hour.

On July 11, 2012, Najib announced that the Sedition Act would be repealed and replaced with a National Harmony Bill as part of the country’s political tranformation plan.

Court can make IGP arrest convert, return child in custody case, says lawyer

Lawyers for M. Indira Gandhi, who is embroiled in a custody battle with her ex-husband, will argue before a High Court judge tomorrow that the Inspector-General of Police had breached his duty when he refused to enforce two court orders issued on May 30.

Lawyer Aston Paiva, who is a member of Indira's legal team, said the court could compel Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to arrest Muhammad Riduan Abdullah and hand over Prasana Diksa to Indira.

Paiva said Khalid had a legal duty under the Police Act to enforce orders by a competent court.

A government lawyer is also expected to submit before judge Lee Swee Seng the reasons and circumstances that led police not to execute the orders.

If the judge is satisfied with the IGP's explanation, the police need not enforce the committal and recovery orders issued on May 30 this year.

On the other hand, if Lee is dissatisfied with the queries, he could still give time to the police to enforce the orders.

It is unclear, however, if a civil servant can be punished for refusing to carry out a legal duty as there is no past precedent.

A mandamus order is taken to compel a civil servant to perform or stop him from doing a certain act.

Paiva said Indira's mandamus application had now become stronger following the Court of Appeal's decision yesterday to strike out Riduan's appeal against his contempt of court for refusing to hand over Prasana Diksa.

A three-man bench led by Datuk Balia Yusof Wahi yesterday said the court would not hear a contemptor who has shown disrepect to court orders.

Lawyer M. Kula Segaran, who is representing Indira, said his client would drop her suit if police delivered Prasana Diksa to her.

"The IGP and his men still have time to locate Prasana Diksa and arrest the father (Riduan) and put him in a civil prison," he told reporters yesterday after a proceeding in the Court of Appeal.

He said in Indira's case, there was a conclusive finding that Riduan had shown disrespect to the civil court and there was also no Shariah court order to the police to do anything.

Applications to intervene by the Attorney-General and IGP were also disallowed after Riduan's appeal was struck out.

Riduan had refused to hand over Prasana Diksa despite a 2010 High Court order awarding custody of the couple's three children to Indira.

The Shariah High Court in Ipoh in 2009 had given Riduan custody of the three children after he unilaterally converted them to Islam.

However, in July last year, Lee quashed the conversion of the children and ruled that the certificates of conversion were unconstitutional.

On May 30, the court found Riduan guilty of contempt of court for failing to return Prasana Diksa to Indira.

The court also granted her a recovery order and warrant of arrest against her ex-husband.

Khalid, however, refused to follow the court and said police were caught between two court systems because of the different custody orders from a civil and Shariah court.

Safety Assurance Also For Journey To Crash Site - Hishammuddin

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein SEPANG, Sept 12 (Bernama) -- The safety of the Malaysian investigating team must not only be ensured at the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in Ukraine, but also throughout the journey there.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the decision to enter the crash site could only be made after receiving a detailed report from all parties, including the intelligence team.

"We need to know which side is controlling the area, and must abide by their instructions," he said at a press conference held upon his arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport here today, from a working visit to Ukraine, Russia and the Netherlands.

Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 after it was believed to have been shot down in the troubled country while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, with 283 passengers and 15 crew.

Besides 43 Malaysian passengers and crew, the other passengers included Dutch, Australian, Indonesian, British, German, Belgian, Philippine, Canadian and New Zealand nationals.

Hishammuddin also said the Malaysian investigating team would not be entering the crash site on their own but would be with teams from the Netherlands and Ukraine to reduce the risk.

On his visit to Ukraine, Russia and the Netherlands, Hishammuddin said it was complicated but had high hopes that all affected parties were on the same track as Malaysia.

While in Russia, he met with Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Borisovich Karasin and Dutch Defence Minister Hennis-Plasschaert.

Non-Malays must be careful with what they post

Zaid Ibrahim says Malaysia is not the democracy as promised to be and leaders cannot be criticised or disagreed with publicly unless you want to go to jail.

KUALA LUMPUR: If you are a non-Malay or non-Muslim, be very careful with what you tweet and post on Facebook – you may end up spending time in jail, former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Zaid Ibrahim said today.

Zaid said parents should take some interest in what their children were saying on social media.

“I have heard many things Muslims have said publicly about Christians, Christianity, Hindus, Hinduism and the Chinese that are insulting and derogatory, but the chances of them being charged are less likely. That’s the way the cookie crumbles in this country,” he said in his blog Zaidgeist.

He added that non-Malays and non-Muslims also need to take extra care in what they say or write about the Malay rulers.

“Although constitutional monarchs in democracies everywhere else in the world are not spared from public criticism and unsavoury comments, the situation here is different.

“Clearly, we are not the democracy we say we are and we are not the free country we were promised we would be on Malaysia Day in 1963.

He said the loyalty of non-Muslims were questioned all the time as well as those in Sabah and Sarawak who are unhappy with the treatment they have received since the formation of Malaysia.

“So do not say or write what you feel, unless you are prepared to spend time in Kajang,” he said

Zaid said for the first time in history, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister had publicly declared many times that the Malays and Islam were under threat.

He said the PM and the Home Minister were referring to non-Malays and non-Muslims as enemies of Islam and the Malays.

“It would be better to focus on intercommunal relationships at the grassroots level and show our leaders that we do not subscribe to their story.

“Show them that we are prepared to determine our future as a nation and who we are as a people. Let us craft an identity as Malaysians that is totally different from what they want to manufacture,” he said.

Dr M: Death penalty supporters should try it themselves

Mahathir: Malays are lazy, dishonest

Islamic State Releases Video with Youngest Female Fighter

The Islamic State (IS) jihadist group has debuted a video of a girl it claims is the youngest female fighter in its ranks. The video, posted online by the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium (TRAC), features both a speech from the girl and other children at a training camp. It is the terrorist group's latest propaganda video featuring children.

In the video, a man in white threatens Zionists and claims IS will “reclaim their lands.” He also says the group “prepared a new generation that will fight you until their martyrdom or victory.” He turns to the young girl, who appears to be at least seven years old, as proof of his claims.



“Praise be to Allah, the lord of the worlds, the most gracious prayers and greetings on our Prophet Mohamed and his family and companions,” she says, adding:

I call for all Muslims on the surface of this earth to openly flow to Jihad in Bilad al-Sham [the Levant] and against the tyrants of al-Sham, and Hezobollah and the Iraqi Shiite gangs who have come to Syria to kill the women and children and to wreck havoc in Bilad al-Sham, and we must uproot them from our land and not leave a single one of them, and we will continue our jihad until we take back Jerusalem and lift the banner of "There is no god but Allah and Mohammed the messenger of Allah" in the streets of al-Quds [Jerusalem] and above the al-Aqsa mosque, for tomorrow is ours, and it is near. Praise to Allah, lord of the worlds. Takbeer.

IS ends its segment with "Allahu Akbar." The screen jumbles, but then it focuses on a training camp for children. The cameraman claims these two children are the “descendants of the messenger.” The picture is somewhat blurry as the man instructs one boy, who appears to be around eight years old, how to load a rocket launcher. After the boy successfully loads the machine, the man tells him to say "Allahu Akbar" and to move to the other boy, Abdul Rahman. He tells Rahman to scream "Allahu Akbar" and pull the wire to launch the rocket.

The first segment does deter from IS's other training videos with children. IS follows a strict interpretation of Islamic law, which means women do not join men on the battlefield. In fact, when the group started its jihad, it persuaded women not to join. IS only allowed women after it needed females for Sharia law. Men are not allowed to examine women at checkpoints or medically. The jihadists also need women to reproduce and set up marriage centers across Syria.

Another reason the Islamic State does not typically use females is because being killed by a female is the worst thing that can happen to a jihadist. These terrorists believe if they sacrifice their life on earth for jihad, Allah will reward them with 72 virgins in heaven. IS members hate the female Peshmerga, the Kurdish army, because if they are killed by a female, their reward is in jeopardy.

"The jihadists don't like fighting women, because if they're killed by a female, they think they won't go to heaven," one female fighter told The Wall Street Journal.

In other videos, no longer available on YouTube, males are the focus. One video shows white Bosnian children, mainly boys, shouting "Allahu Akbar." At one training center, boys between five and seven-years-old show off their military skills for Chechen leader Omar al-Shishani. IS also posted a video from a training camp in Ninevah that was filled with children.

‘Laptop of Horror’ Exposes Detailed Threats of ISIS Attack on US

As President Barack Obama is setting his sights on annihilating ISIS in the Middle East, the ISIS “laptop of terror,” whose contents have been obtained by U.S. reporters, reveal the terrorist group’s plans to launch weapons of mass destruction.

The contents, copied by Foreign Policy from a laptop discovered by Syrian rebel fighters in January, show that ISIS is considering attacks on “soft targets,” closed areas like stadiums or shopping malls.
The information on the laptop suggests its owner is a Tunisian national named Muhammed S. who joined ISIS in Syria. He studied chemistry and physics at two universities in Tunisia, and he was planning to put all that education to use:

According to FP, the laptop contains a 19-page document in Arabic on weaponizing the bubonic plague.

The document argues that “the advantage of biological weapons is that they do not cost a lot of money, while the human casualties can be huge. When the microbe is injected in small mice, the symptoms of the disease should start to appear within 24 hours.”

The laptop also includes a 26-page fatwa by Saudi jihadi cleric Nasir al-Fahd, currently in Saudi prison, on whether or not Allah approves of using weapons of mass destruction: “If Muslims cannot defeat the unbelievers in a different way, it is permissible to use weapons of mass destruction, even if it kills all of them and wipes them and their descendants off the face of the Earth.”

Increase this man’s Prozac…

One video clip on the laptop shows former American Nazi Kurt Saxon explaining how to prepare the deadly toxin ricin from castor beans. Saxon declares: “Now you really have some lethal stuff here!”
In the folder “explosives,” the owner had gathered 206 documents, one of which describes how to make the plastic explosive Semtex. Other documents in the same folder describes making other explosives.

There are also 51 U.S. Army publications dealing with sniper training and psychological operations.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has declared it found no evidence of specific threats by ISIS to America. We can only hope that they know different but won’t share.

I-hls.com, a website dealing with Israel’s homeland security issues, suggests terrorist groups routinely distribute training manuals and handbooks to members, together with ideological material. It notes that the al-Qaeda handbook contains both the group’s ideology and goals and practical advice for members eager to do some damage.

How British jihadist 'madams' are running Isis brothels full of thousands of kidnapped Iraqi women

• Al-Khanssaa brigade is female-only militia set up by Isis in Raqqa, Syria
• 3,000 women and girls have been taken captive from the Yazidi tribe
• It's believed they're being forced into sex slavery in brothels for fighters

Thousands of Iraqi women are being forced into sex slavery in brothels run by a 'police force' of British women jihadis, it has been reported.

As many as 3,000 women and girls have been taken captive from the Yazidi tribe in Iraq as Isis militants continue their reign of terror across the region.

Sources now say that British female jihadis operating a religious police force called the al-Khanssaa brigade, that punishes women for 'un-Islamic' behaviour, have set up brothels to for the use of Isis fighters.

A source told the Mirror: 'These women are using barbaric interpretations of the Islamic faith to justify their actions.

'They believe the militants can use these women as they please as they are non-Muslims. It is the British women who have risen to the top of the Islamic State’s sharia police and now they are in charge of this operation.

'It is as bizarre as it is perverse.'

The think tank MEMRI (the Middle East Media Research Institution) released a report saying that IS had taken many Yazidi women to be sold and used as sex slaves.

The al-Khanssaa brigade is a female-only militia set up by the Islamic State in Raqqa, Syria, with a key figure believed to be Aqsa Mahmood, 20, of Glasgow, who fled to the country last year.

Academics at King's College London have identified three other British females as members of the group - and say there are about 60 UK women who have gone to Syria on jihad.

Most of these women - including privately-educated Mahmood - are aged between 18 and 24, with al-Khanssaa said to be seeking out people engaging in Western culture in Raqqa.

It is believed that US hostages James Foley and Steven Sotloff were both beheaded in the desert near Raqqa - and therefore the British women in al-Khanssaa could know who killed them.

Melanie Smith, a research associate at King's College's International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, told journalists Robert Mendick and Robert Verkaik of The Sunday Telegraph: ‘Al-Khanssaa is a sharia law police brigade. This is Isis’s female law enforcement.

'We think it’s a mixture of British and French women but its social media accounts are run by the British and they are written in English.

‘Given how small the community networks are - we know there are about 500 male British jihadis out there - it is quite likely these women move in the same circles as the British killer of Foley and Sotloff.

Read More: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2751506/Thousands-Iraqi-women-forced-sex-slavery-Isis-militants-kept-brothels-run-police-forceof-British-women-jihadis.html

Dr Mahathir tells former IGP to try the death sentence

The former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan “should try the death penalty on himself”, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today on Musa’s call that the Sedition Act include capital punishment.

Musa had said that the Sedition Act should not be retained but instead be amended to include stiffer punishments, including the death penalty.

"Maybe he (Musa) should try it himself," said Dr Mahathir, Malaysia's longest serving prime minister from 1981 to 2003.

Dr Mahathir’s comment comes amid Putrajaya’s blitz against political opponents and others who have voiced critical opinions deemed seditious under the act’s loose definition.

Dr Mahathir himself had used the now-repealed Internal Security Act during Operasi Lalang in 1987 and 1988 to curtail political dissent.

The former prime minister had also curbed the authority of the royals with constitutional amendments in 1993 to remove their immunity from criminal prosecution.

However, Umno divisions and a group called Gerakan Warganegara Mempertahankan Akta Hasutan 1948 have called for the Sedition Act to be retained to protect the position of the Malays, Islam and the royalty.

Musa had given his support to the group which was launched yesterday.

Dr Mahathir was asked about the current spate of arrests and charges under the Sedition Act at a book launch he attended today, but appeared reluctant to comment other than to make the quip about Musa trying the death penalty himself.

Musa, who was IGP from 2006 to 2010, had said that stiffer punishments, like the death penalty, were needed for those who were repeat offenders.

He was also quoted by Berita Harian today as saying that the Sedition Act should not be abolished simply to satisfy the demands of certain quarters.

“I believe that those who always incite and do this purposely should be given a stiffer punishment. The laws are there but they still do it even though they know it is wrong."

Musa suggested that Malaysia should follow Singapore, which still retains the Internal Security Act (ISA) as well as the Sedition Act. – September 11, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dr-m-tells-former-igp-to-try-the-death-sentence#sthash.rl4Otc6h.dpuf

Dr M: I gave one name, rulers had no issue

 

 In a rare instance, Dr Mahathir Mohamad appeared to be on the same page with his arch-nemesis Anwar Ibrahim.

The former premier revealed that during his tenure, he had only submitted a single name to the palace to be considered for the menteri besar's post.

"Throughout my time, it was always one name only. I never had any problem with any of the sultans," he said when asked if the monarchs had ever requested for more names to be submitted.

However, Mahathir did not let the opportunity slip to take a swipe at the Anwar-led Pakatan Rakyat.

He said perhaps the opposition bloc is getting the royal cold shoulder because it "annoyed" the state ruler.

"You can't annoy people and expect them to co-operate with you. They annoy not only the sultan but also many other people with their bickering," he added.

PKR and DAP incurred the wrath of the Selangor palace by insisting on submitting a single name, PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, for the menteri besar post despite the sultan requesting for more names.

The palace retorted with a stern reprimand, accusing PKR and DAP of being insolent and defiant.

Both parties have since apologised.

Mahathir also said that it is "not acceptable" to have a "remote controlled" MB in the state.

 

"You want to appoint someone who is going to take orders from someone else?" he said, refuting however that his objection has anything to do with Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail's gender.

 

"I have no problem with females, even my wife is female," he said cheekily.

 

Mahathir also said that it is "up to the sultan" who he wants to appoint but did mention that if the person appointed does not hold a majority, the individual can be voted out through a vote of no-confidence.

 

"That is according to our system," he said.

Khalid Ibrahim still legitimate Selangor MB, says state legal advisor

(Bernama) – Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim is still the legitimate Selangor Menteri Besar and is sanctioned to carry out the responsibilities as a Menteri Besar, Selangor legal adviser Datuk Nik Suhaimi Nik Sulaiman said today.

He said this in response to a statement by Klang Member of Parliament Charles Santiago on the possibility of the water agreement to be signed between the state government and the federal government becoming invalid.

“According to provisions in the Selangor State Constitution 1959, for as long as the Selangor Sultan has consented to the appointment of Abdul Khalid as the Selangor Menteri Besar and the appointment is in accordance with the provisions of the law, Abdul Khalid can still function and discharge his duties and responsibilities as a Menteri Besar.

“Therefore, the question on the illegality of actions or decisions made by the Selangor Menteri Besar in all matters, including his capacity to sign the water agreement on behalf of the Selangor government with the federal government do not arise as these actions are still within the executive powers of the Menteri Besar and in accordance with state laws,” he said in a statement here today.

Nik Suhaimi said the federal government was aware of the matter and that discussions, as well as negotiations, on the water agreement continued according to plan.

He said as provided under Article LI(1), Article LIII(2)(a) and(4),as well as Article LV(2)(a) of the Selangor State Constitution 1959, where the Sultan of Selangor had absolute discretionary powers to appoint a Menteri Besar, the ruler’s decision in not wanting to accept Abdul Khalid’s resignation until the appointment of new menteri besar should be complied with to ensure the state government’s administration continued to run smoothly.

“The rights of the Selangor Sultan under the Selangor State Constitution 1959 should be respected and not disputed by any quarters.

“Statements which are not accurate and confusing, if believed, can create anxiety and fear among the people,” he added.

Meanwhile, Abdul Khalid, in a statement issued by his press secretariat today, advised politicians to exercise caution, as well as do some research, before issuing any statement.

“This is to avoid confusion,” he said.

Last Tuesday, Santiago was reported to have questioned the legitimacy of signing the RM9.65 billion water agreement with the federal government as he (Abdul Khalid) is an interim Menteri Besar.

As such, he urged the federal government to shelf the signing of the agreement until a new Selangor Menteri Besar is appointed.

Female trainer assaults army recruit

The mother of an army recruit has lodged a police report that her son was assaulted by a female trainer.

PORT DICKSON: A 20-year-old army recruit was stomped on the face and beaten by a female trainer at the Armed Forces Training Centre in Port Dickson on Sept 9.

His mother, K Eeswary, 45, said her son told her about the incident which happened between 7.45am and 9am at the centre.

“My son told me the trainer stomped on his face and assaulted him during training,” she said.

Eeswary said her son joined the army on April 13 this year. She lodged a report at the Lukut police station this morning.

Earlier today, Port Dickson state assemblyman M Ravi arranged for a closed-door meeting with chief trainer Lt-Col Osman Ahmad, Eeswary and her husband.

After the one-hour meeting, Osman assured the parents that action would be taken against the trainer.

“We will take disciplinary action against the trainer for not following the Standing Operating Procedure,” said Osman.

Ravi urged to public not to speculate as the incident was purely a disciplinary issue and not racial in nature.

“The boy’s parents are satisfied with the explanation and assurance given by Osman,” he said.

Mahathir thinks Malays are a dishonest bunch

After spending 22 years trying to change the Malay mindset, Mahathir says they are still dishonest, lazy and lack integrity.

PETALING JAYA: In a no holds barred message at a book launch, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he found it hard to trust Malays because they lacked a sense of honesty and integrity.

Mahathir said, “Malays think nothing of taking money that is not theirs. I have seen it with my own eyes. They also struggle to manage their finances well or with any degree of honesty.”

He added, ”If you take something that does not belong to you, what you are doing in essence, is stealing.”

He said some Malays had the bad attitude of pinching money from their bosses and thinking nothing of it simply because what the boss didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt him.

Mahathir related how his own mother instilled in him the principle of never taking what was not his.

“I can only hope the people have the presence of mind to put honesty and integrity before all else in their lives as well,” he said.

Mahathir also said he was saddened at his apparent failure to change the Malay mindset despite trying to do so for 22 years as the nation’s premier.

He said he tried hard to change the perception that Malays were lazy but that if someone asked him today what his opinion of Malays were, he would say in all honestly that he thought Malays were lazy.

Mahathir gave this sobering speech at the launch of the book “Wahai Melayu” by Anas Zubedy.

Demi berjihad di Syria, saya tidak akan pulang

Demi berjihad di Syria, saya tidak akan pulang

PETALING JAYA: Seorang lagi rakyat Malaysia yang menyertai perjuangan, Ajnad As Syam telah meninggal di Syria menjadikan jumlah rakyat Malaysia yang terkorban seramai empat orang.

Terbaru Mohammad Fadhlan Shahidi yang menjejak kaki ke Syria Mei lalu terkorban dalam serangan hendap yang dilakukan oleh tentera Bashar al-Assad.

Allahyarham Mohamad Fadhlan antara sekumpulan kecil yang berhijrah ke Syria sebelum ini bertegas untuk menyertai Ajnad As Syam bagi memerangi tentera Bashar al Assad yang berpusat di Kafr Zayta, Hamah.

“Ketegasan itu seiring dengan niatnya untuk berjihad selain bersedia berdepan apa jua keadaan, walaupun berdepan kematian,” kata Allahyarham.



Mereka yang menganggotai kumpulan itu diberi gelaran seakan nama penduduk tempatan dan dia digelar Abu Muhajir.

Anak muda berusia 21 tahun dari Kulim, Kedah ini sanggup meninggalkan ahli keluarga tercinta demi mengejar ‘jihad’ di bumi Syam (Syria).

“Niat untuk berjihad sudah lama ada, cuma tidak tahu caranya. Alhamdulillah, ALLAH SWT memberi saya peluang mendalami agama sebelum berangkat ke Syria. Semuanya ada hikmah,” katanya sebelum ini menerusi akaun Facebooknya.

Ibu kepada Allahyarham, Fatimah Md Lazim, 55, berkata beliau redha dengan apa yang berlaku terhadap anaknya.

“Kami tidak sangka sama sekali tragedi itu boleh menimpa dirinya tetapi kami yakin dan percaya dia ada keikhlasan untuk sama-sama berjuang bila berada di negara itu (Syria),” katanya.

Jelas Fatimah beliau menerima panggilan daripada anaknya itu sebelum berlepas ke Syria.

Fatimah berkata dia tidak dapat menahan kehendak anaknya itu memandangkan usianya telah mencecah 21 tahun.

“Dia ada ilmu agama setelah belajar di Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Bukit Jelutong dan selepas itu menyambung pula di sebuah pondok di Kampung Ulu Bakai di sini,” katanya.

Akhbar tempatan melaporkan turut cedera dalam pertempuran itu adalah lima lagi rakyat Malaysia iaitu Mohd Lofti Ariffin yang dikatakan parah dan masih tidak sedarkan diri.

Why broadband is slower and costlier in Malaysia

G Sharmila  KiniBiz
Malaysia has ambitions of becoming a developed nation in six years’ time, yet broadband speed and affordability remains a critical, unresolved issue. In fact, research shows that even Thailand is ahead of us in terms of broadband speed and affordability. Where did we go wrong?

Although Malaysia is targeting developed nation status by 2020, our broadband speeds are still lagging behind our closest neighbour Singapore, and even that of Vietnam and Thailand, as shown by a study in April this year by Asean DNA.

The study was highlighted in an article by Asean Briefing, which said that within Asean, Singapore and Thailand have the fastest average Internet speeds at 61 megabits per second (mbps) and 17.7 mbps. Vietnam has an average speed of 13.1 mbps while Cambodia has 5.7 mbps. Malaysia on the other hand, has an average speed of 5.5 mbps. The average Asean Internet speed is 12.4 mbps, which puts our broadband speed well below average.

What’s more disturbing is that while Malaysia lags behind in Internet speeds, it’s service comes at a much higher price – more than triple that of services in countries such as Singapore and Thailand on a comparable basis .

A Comparison of Broadband Speeds and Charges 090914 02For instance, Telekom Malaysia Bhd’s UniFi charges RM199 (US$62.40) a month for its 10mbps fibred Internet service, while as the article by Asean Briefing points out Singapore’s largest telco offers 15 mbps Internet for US$30 a month and Thailand charges around US$25 a month for 12 mbps speeds.

The root of the problem

To understand the root of the problem, it pays first to understand the national broadband policies of countries like Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Like Malaysia, all three have national broadband plans. However what differs in Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam is that their markets are deregulated, allowing for multiple broadband service providers to own infrastructure and offer broadband services. Competition in these markets fuels demand and supply, thus users are offered higher speeds at competitive prices.

The situation is very different in Malaysia. The fixed broadband market is dominated by government-linked incumbent Telekom Malaysia (TM), which owns 90% of telephone lines and fibre infrastructure in the country, say industry experts. In fact, it is the sole infrastructure provider for the High Speed Broadband (HSBB) project under the National Broadband Initiative (NBI). And the agreement between TM and the government for the HSBB falls under the Official Secrets Act.

Because TM owns last-mile access, other players are ‘forced’ to lease infrastructure from the incumbent to offer broadband services. Again, as an industry expert points out, the industry has been given the raw end of the deal as TM dictates wholesale rates to players who want to provide broadband services.

“Their (TM’s) wholesale rates are not as competitive as the market anticipated and this has left the other players no choice in the end but to offer higher-priced broadband services,” says the industry expert.

This dominance by one player has led to the present-day situation of high broadband prices and partly the near-stagnating broadband penetration rate. Ironically, a National Key Economic Area under the Economic Transformation Programme is to increase the penetration of high-quality and affordable broadband to 95% of the population by 2020. That’s a mere six years away yet our broadband speeds and prices are nowhere near that of Singapore, our closest neighbour.

Of course one may argue that household broadband penetration in Malaysia was only at 31.7% in 2009 and that this jumped to 55.6% in 2010 owing in part to the deployment of the first phase of the HSBB under the NBI.

However this includes the Streamyx service which is based on copper cabling and not fibre. If this is excluded, then broadband penetration can be lot lower. Also, 2010 was the year in which the true broadband service Unifi was introduced, which means that the large jump could be because of that.

The issue however, is that household broadband penetration does not seem to be increasing as fast as it should be in recent years. According to data from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), as of the first quarter of this year, broadband penetration in Malaysia per 100 households was only 67.3%, compared to 66.6% during the same period last year. That’s a paltry year-on-year increase of 0.7 percentage points.

Analysts believe it won’t be long before broadband penetration hits a saturation point. “I believe saturation under normal circumstances should be closer to 80% (this can change if broadband becomes a basic utility just like electricity and water). If you see the breakdown by states (see table), you will have an idea why the broadband penetration has stayed around 67% in the past year. The low penetration is in rural and East Malaysia – the areas are ‘underserved’ by mobile players as well as fixed-line incumbent TM for broadband,” a telco analyst tells KiniBiz.

“It is a function of economics – the telcos will focus on urban areas first to maximise the returns on capital expenditure. For the mobile players, they have just extended 3G coverage to 80+% of population in the past year or so,” he added.

To achieve higher penetration rates, the government needs to take the lead, the analyst said. “To achieve 80+% penetration, the government will need to take the initiative and even allow the release/use of lower-band spectrum (e.g. 700MHz for longer-range 4G-LTE) so that the rural areas can benefit from wireless broadband. It does not make economic sense to ‘cable up’ rural and vastly populated areas. Hitting more than 90% penetration is a long shot,” he added.

The analyst pointed out also that fixed line broadband is still very expensive and that to push broadband penetration to the next level, prices have to drop. And that is going to be virtually impossible with one player dominating the broadband market.

“Maybe MCMC can require all telcos to provide a basic broadband package (with limited data usage) with low entry cost such as RM30 a month. In fact, the mobile players are pushing their prepaid clients to jump on the data bandwagon by offering ‘bite-sized’ data offerings to get prepaid users to use data. I suspect the broadband penetration may exceed 70% if mobile broadband gets more prevalent with the increasing availability of cheap smartphones,” the analyst explained.

The industry expert suggests that to level the playing field, the government should call for an open tender for the second phase of the HSBB project, due to start later this year. “However, TM still has the last mile connectivity. To open up a tender may prove difficult as TM already has a dominant position,” he said.

One may argue that having millions of broadband customers already means that TM has achieved the economies of scale to allow it to drop prices of its broadband packages. Yet customers continue to pay steep prices for even its ADSL services (Streamyx packages), while in other countries like Singapore, prices have dropped for ADSL packages as other wireless and fibred broadband technologies have overtaken ADSL.

Malaysia isn’t the only country that started out with an incumbent player. Even Singapore started out with SingTel as the only broadband player and South Korea with Korea Telecom. Yet these markets have evolved for the better and ours hasn’t. How did South Korea do it? In our next instalment, KiniBiz speaks to a South Korean expert on how the country achieved the high broadband penetration rates it has today.

Review all sedition cases, not just select few, AG told

Malay Mail 

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 — The Attorney-General (AG) should consider dropping all sedition charges used recently against a number of government critics instead of reviewing just a few, the Bar Council and DAP said, as authorities charged yet another today.

 

Reminding the Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail of his opening remarks at the Opening of the Legal Year 2013 calling of tolerance, Bar Council president Christopher Leong said in a statement here that the review of the charges will eventually lead to the abolition of the controversial legislation.

Quoting Gani saying “in order that every man presents his views without penalty, there must be a spirit of tolerance in the entire population”, Leong said he hoped that this phase of reform will also see the repeal of the Sedition Act.

In a separate statement, DAP’s national legal bureau chairman Gobind Singh Deo pointed out that the sedition charges, particularly the one against law lecturer Associate Professor Dr Azmi Sharom, “bordered on absurdity”.

“Such a charge does little if nothing to assist in our hope to build a nation which promotes healthy discussion, in particular amongst academicians, especially in times of legal uncertainties such as that of the current matter at hand,” said Gobind, who is also representing Azmi in the case.

Azmi was charged in court with sedition last week for his remarks linking the handling of the Selangor menteri besar impasse to the 2009 Perak constitutional crisis, making him the first academic to be snagged in the dragnet.

 

Yesterday, however, Abdul Gani announced that the AG’s Chambers will review several sedition cases, including Azmi’s, to ensure that the prosecution had been fair and transparent.

Gobind, who is also Puchong MP, said the AG should consider the impact the charge has on freedom of expression among academics, who should be entitled to express their professional opinions on matters of public importance.

“What was said in this case cannot by any stretch of the imagination be taken to be seditious,” said Gobind.

“I hope that reason will prevail and the charges against Dr Azmi Sharom will be dropped. That would certainly be a step in the right direction and would, to my mind, augur well for the AG himself as public prosecutor,” he said.

Putrajaya recently embarked on a sedition crackdown, hauling up at least 16 anti-government dissidents and opposition politicians under the colonial-era law in the space of one month.

The crackdown led to three opposition lawmakers being charged under the 1948 Act two weeks ago, including one for uttering the words “celaka Umno” in the Penang state assembly.Among the latest targets to come under a sedition scope are news portal Malaysiakini and its journalist Susan Loone, over a report on a police crackdown on Penang’s state-endorsed volunteer patrol unit.

This was followed by the charge against Azmi and, a day later, Sabah police confirmed that they have started a sedition probe on the owners of a Facebook page propagating the secession of Sabah and Sarawak from Malaysia.

Also in Sabah the same day, opposition politician David Orok claimed trial to a sedition charge for allegedly posting remarks insulting Prophet Muhammad and Islam on Facebook in July.

Last Friday, student activist Muhammad Safwan Anang was sentenced to 10 months’ jail after the Sessions Court here found him guilty of sedition.

On Monday, social activist Ali Abd Jalil became the fifth person to be charged with sedition in under a fortnight, after he claimed trial for posting remarks on Facebook that allegedly insulted the Johor royal house.

Earlier today, Muslim preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin claimed trial to an offence of having allegedly insulted the Sultan of Selangor in a Facebook post, nearly two years ago. 

Najib Arrives For Two-day Official Visit To Azerbaijan

From Mohd Shukri Ishak

BAKU (Azerbaijan), Sept 11 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak arrived here Thursday night for a two-day official visit to add greater traction to the existing bilaterial relations between Malaysia and Azerbaijan and pave the way for further economic investments.

The special aircraft carrying Najib and wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor touched down at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport, Baku at 9.30pm local time (12.30am Malaysian time).

They were received on arrival by Azerbaijan First Deputy Prime Minister Yaqub Abdulla Oglu Eyyubov, Malaysia's Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and Malaysian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Datuk Roslan Abdul Rahman.

This is the first official visit by a Malaysian Prime Minister to Azerbaijan.

Apart from a four-eyed meeting between Najib dan Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, and a bilateral meeting jointly chaired by both leaders, they are also expected to sign a joint declaration which outlines both countries' commitment to enhance bilateral and economic relations in various fields.

On Friday, after the official welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace, Najib is scheduled to hold bilateral discussions with Ilham Aliyev, to be followed by a delegation meeting between Malaysia and Azerbaijan.

Later, they will witness the signing of memorandums of understanding and agreements, including on economic, scientific and technical cooperation agreement, an MoU in the field of training of diplomats and another between Petronas and State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) to cover cooperation in the oil and gas sector.

Najib is also scheduled to officiate the establishment of the Embassy of Malaysia in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Malaysia established its mission in Baku on April 1, 2014.

The Prime Minister's visit will also enable him to personally extend Malaysia's invitation to the Azerbaijan President to undertake a state visit to Malaysia in the near future.

Ratusan berarak sokong Azmi, desak mansuh Akta Hasutan

Orang Asal berhimpun, desak henti bina empangan mega

PHOTO: Danish Muslim from Copenhagen Poses with Severed Heads

Danish jihadist poses with severed heads, The Loval, 08 Sep 2014 (thanks to Lookmann)
A 25-year-old from the Copenhagen suburbs posted photos of himself, fully-armed, posing near severed heads in Syria. A Scandinavian terror expert tells The Local it is the first time a Dane has been seen in such a gruesome situation.

Read More:  http://pamelageller.com/2014/09/photo-danish-muslim-copenhagen-poses-severed-heads.html/

Isis recruitment moves from online networks to British mosques

Growing evidence that Britain is a specific target for jihadis looking to exploit fundamentalist Islam

Networks of radicals are re-emerging in British mosques and elsewhere to encourage and facilitate Muslims wanting to travel to Syria and Iraq to fight for Islamic State (Isis).

Until now most fighters from Britain who are known to have travelled to Syria have been persuaded and helped via online networks where extremists provide advice on crossing the Turkish border and linking up with Isis fighters.

But a combination of a Turkish border clampdown and a focus by counter-terrorist police on taking down online networks has led to recruitment on the ground becoming more important, sources say.

Communities of radicals recruiting young Brits are thought to include preachers, battle-hardened returning fighters and jihad sympathisers.

Examples of on the ground recruitment have been seen in Cardiff and Birmingham – amid wider evidence that the UK is being specifically targeted by those with links to Isis in Europe.

Abdullah, 19, who tweets as @Jihadwitness – and says he is an Isis supporter based in another European country – said the UK was of interest because it has "a large minority of Salafis". He was one of the first people to put the video of the murder of James Foley on Twitter.

The Salafist strands in Islam tend to promote a fundamentalist outlook, a strict adherence to sharia law and a belief that it is incumbent on believers to fight holy war, or jihad. Abdullah, who declined to give the Guardian his surname, said he believed active recruitment was now taking place in mosques and other centres across Europe following Isis successes and their announcement that they had established a theological state, or caliphate (khilafah) spanning Syria and Iraq.

"We're really excited to come in and join the khilafah. I know many brothers who have said the recruitment has been booming ever since the announcement [of the caliphate's establishment] was made because this is what all these groups fought for for years and years," he said.

A steady stream of Britons continue to make their way to Syria, according to counter-terrorism sources. An estimated 500 to 600 individuals are known to have travelled to the country, and 250 have since returned. Anti-terrorism investigators have growing concerns that a minority of those who return might be planning to attack Britain – under the direction of the Isis leadership or in a lone action.

According to figures from the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR), Britain has the second largest number of foreign fighters in Syria out of any European country.

In Cardiff, from where three Britons travelled to fight in Syria last year, many in the Muslim community are concerned about extremist messages coming from some preachers in the city.

The imam of the Jalalia mosque, Mohammad Bashir Uddin, resigned last month in protest over radical preaching there. At the time Uddin, the imam, told a local newspaper: "People don't understand the relationship between Salafism and terrorism." Women from the same mosque have raised a petition against the use of Salafi speakers and the subjugation of women contained in their teachings, and given it to the mosque committee.‬

But Muhammed Bashir Ahmed, chairman of the mosque committee, denied extremist teachings were coming from his mosque. He said the imam had not objected to the particular Salafi speaker at the time.‬Ahmed said he had received the petition but no action was being taken as "there was nothing wrong".‬

The Charity Commission carried out an assessment after the imam's resignation. But a spokeswoman said that after interviewing the mosque committee, the commission had been reassured. But the commission did not speak to the imam who had made the allegations.‬

The Charity Commission told the Guardian it was also examining another mosque in Cardiff – the Al Manar mosque, where the three men who travelled to Syria worshipped. Nasser Muthana, Assel Muthana and Reyaad Khan from the city travelled to Syria last year. Nasser Muthana subsequently appeared in a propaganda video produced by Isis. It is thought up to six men from the Welsh city may be in Syria.

Sheikh Zane Abdo, imam of the South Wales Islamic centre in Butetown, said many were concerned about speakers with extremist links preaching in Cardiff. "The local Muslim community, the mosques, our leaders need to be working a lot more closely with each other and with the local authority, with the parents, with the police to prevent people from being radicalised, to prevent further heartache," he said.

In Birmingham a leaked police report published this week reveals that extremists are providing support and facilitation for those wishing up travel abroad to fight. The report, written by former assistant chief constable Sharon Rowe in 2013 and leaked to a local newspaper on Friday, says: "Influential extremists continue to operate in Birmingham, promoting extremist ideologies." Rowe said they were operating from locations including gyms, restaurants and cafes, which are "used to facilitate extremist activity by allowing key figures to operate and promulgate their message".

Two men from Birmingham are due to be sentenced this month after travelling to Syria to fight. Yusuf Sarwar and Mohammed Ahmed, both 22, pleaded guilty to terror charges at Woolwich crown court.

One parent – Walid el-Araj – speaking for the first time a year after his son's death, said he still had no real idea as to how his 23-year-old son, Mohammed el-Araj, from Ladbroke Grove, west London, was encouraged to travel to Syria. He is sure that others were involved.

He told the Guardian his son had spun a series of lies in the months preceding his departure for Syria. "I thought that he was at college and he wasn't. I thought he was already [enrolled] at a course but he wasn't.

"Always, because I believed him, he gave me a positive answer about any questions [I had]. And I was busy with my work. Any time I asked, when I arrived home, and ask 'where is he' ... he'd be at the mosque."

"I don't know which mosque. I wish I knew the mosque. Because I was seriously angry. I want to catch any of these imams and want to find out how they make these young boys [do this]."

El-Araj is was killed in Syria in August 2013, around the same time as another west Londoner, 22-year-old Choukri Ellekhlifi. The death has left him heartbroken he said. "I lost my son … he was born from my hand but I didn't know how to control him … my life is destroyed completely."

Hundreds of foreign students allegedly cheated by private college

Anwar Menteri Kewangan Pertama Minta GST Dilaksana

(Rakyat News) – Ketua Pembangkang, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim semasa memegang jawatan sebagai Menteri Kewangan pada tahun 1992 telah menyokong perlaksanaan sistem cukai barang dan perkhidmatan (GST) di negara ini.

Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak berkata perlaksanaan GST yang telah disokong oleh Anwar telah diutarakan dalam perbentangan bajet tahunan negara.

“Saya bukan Menteri Kewangan yang pertama menyebut tentang GST. Saya mahu memberi tahu Menteri Kewangan pertama yang sebut hasrat kerajaan untuk melaksanakan GST pada tahun 1992 dalam ucapan (perbentangan) bajet, nama Menteri Kewangan ketika itu Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“Pada 30 Oktober 1992, Menteri Kewangan pada ketika itu menyebut bahawa GST akan dilaksanakan pada tahun hadapan tetapi Anwar membuat pusingan.

“GST sejak ketika itu lagi dalam perancangan kerajaan. Jika GST tidak baik, mana mungkin dalam kerajaan ketika itu sanggup mengumumkan bahawa GST akan dilaksanakan,” katanya ketika menutup Majlis Penerangan Perdana GST di Pusat Dagangan Dunia Putra (PWTC) di sini hari ini.

Najib yang hadir pada majlis tersebut telah menerangkan kepada hampir 2,000 orang awam mengenai manfaat pelaksanaa GST yang mampu memacu ekonomi negara ke arah status negara maju.

Sebelum ini, Anwar telah menyelar bahawa pelaksanaan GST merupakan cukai menghukum rakyat.

“Tiada perubahan antara jurang kaya dan miskin. Kita akan bersungguh-sungguh menentang GST,” kata Anwar.

Menurut Najib, pembangkang sering kali menyalahkan kerajaan melaksanakan cukai tersebut walhal dalam pada masa yang sama Anwar turut menyokong penuh pelaksanaan cukai tersebut semasa memegang jawatan sebagai Menteri Kewangan pada tahun 1992.

“Kita bukan seperti pembangkang, main politik memanjang. Janji sana, janji sini tetapi perbelanjaan daripada mana? Hasil daripada mana?

“Kita bertanggungjawab. Kita mahu buat dengan cara yang baik dan teratur serta turut menerangkan kepada rakyat.

“Tidak mengapa jika ada orang mengatakan GST ini tidak popular tetapi selepas kita laksanakan GST, selepas ekonomi kita akan kukuh dan mencapai taraf negara maju, rakyat akan berterima kasih kepada kerajaan bahawa GST itu telah dilaksanakan.

“Kita akan buktikan dibawah pimpinan BN kita akan terus membawa rakyat dan negara ke arah yang lebih maju dan lebih berjaya,” katanya.

Pelaksanaan cukai GST dikenakan sebanyak 6 peratus berbanding cukai sedia ada iaitu Sales And Service Tax (SST) sebanyak 12 peratus.

GST turut dilaksanakan sebanyak 160 negara dan Malaysia merupakan negara Asia yang mengenakan cukai GST lebih rendah berbanding negara lain seperti China sebanyak 17 peratus.

Cukai tersebut lebih adil apabila mengenakan 6 peratus dari perkilangan ke kedai perkhidmatan untuk pembeli tidak perlu khuatir akan pembelian barangan yang bercukai berganda ataupun cukai tersembunyi.

Ia juga dapat mengurangkan kos perniagaan peruncit daripada pembekal kerana pembekal boleh mendapatkan pulangan GST.

Gobind: Sedition charge against Azmi absurd

The Puchong MP welcomes the Attorney-General's announcement to review the sedition charge against Dr.Azmi Sharom.

PETALING JAYA: DAP National Legal Bureau chairman Gobind Singh Deo said the sedition charge against Universiti Malaya law professor Dr.Azmi Sharom should be dropped as it “borders on absurdity”.

Gobind said he welcomed the recent announcement by the Attorney-General (AG) to review the sedition charge against Azmi and others.

“The charge against Azmi borders on absurdity because he is accused of committing sedition in advancing an argument advocating openness and transparency in the Selangor menteri besar dispute,” he said in a press statement today.

He added that the charge would not help to build a nation which promoted healthy discussion among academicians.

Gobind, who is also the Puchong MP, said the AG should consider the impact the charge would have on freedom of expression in particular academicians.

He should take into account rights to express professional opinion on matters of public importance.

“I hope that reason will prevail and the charges against Azmi will be dropped,” he added.

Gobind also asked the AG to reconsider all other cases charged under the Sedition Act.

Public speaker charged with sedition for insulting Sultan

A public speaker claim trial to a sedition charge for insulting the Sultan of Selangor.

SHAH ALAM: A freelance public speaker pleaded not guilty today to a charge of making a seditious statement which insulted the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, via Facebook last year.

Wan Ji Wan Hussin, 32, is alleged to have committed the offence at the Selangor State Secretariat Housing Office, Level 5, Sultan Salehuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Building, Section 5, here, at 10am on Nov 5, last year.

He was charged under Section 4(1)(C) of the Sedition Act 1948 and the offence is punishable under Section 4(1) of the same Act, which carries a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or a jail term of up to three years, or both.

His counsel, Radzlan Jalaludin, asked the court to set bail at RM2,000, saying his client could not afford a big amount as he has four children to support.

Sessions Court judge Slamat Yahya set bail at RM5,000 in one surety and fixed Oct 10 for case mention. Wan Ji paid the bail.

The judge also ordered Wan Ji, a former Selangor PAS committee member to surrender his passport but the accused claimed he had lost it.

The court then issued an order for the Immigration Department to prevent the accused from going abroad.

Selangor Prosecution Unit head Mohd Azari Harun conducted the prosecution. - Bernama

UPSR science paper leaked on Internet

The Examination Board appeals to authorities to investigate and take action against those responsible for it.

PETALING JAYA: The UPSR science paper scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed to Sept 30 due to a leakage of the question paper that was posted online and spread through social media.

The science paper in question is 018 (National School), 028 (National Type Chinese School) and 038 (National Type Tamil School).

In a statement, a representative from the Education Ministry said, “The Malaysian Examinations Board has lodged a police report to facilitate investigations and action will be taken against those involved.”

Second education minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh sent out an apology via Twitter to all Year Six pupils saying he was deeply sorry for the leakage of the UPSR science questions.

UK House of Commons, 14 July 2014: Israel accused of war crimes

Teoh Beng Hock appeal verdict a turning point? – Koon Yew Yin

In the last few years, the reputation of Malaysia's judiciary for fairness and adherence to do justice strictly according to the law has taken a severe beating.

Notorious cases such as the Linda Joy, Anwar Ibrahim, Nizar vs Zambry, and other less politically visible cases have raised public doubts as to whether our judges, especially in cases with politically sensitive outcomes, are able to arrive at fair and just decisions.

Or whether in fact the opposite has taken place with judges more concerned with career advancement and playing ball with the powers that be.

Public concern that our courts, including at the highest level, may in fact be filled with partisan, unfair or even corrupt judges, has been rising non-stop since the Mahathir era. In my piece, “How low can our judiciary go” last April, I noted that at no time in the country's history has there been such a large and wide variety of politically charged cases being brought to the courts of law.

This includes the present batch of ridiculous sedition cases which have made the Attorney-General's Chambers a laughing stock among knowledgeable legal circles all over the world.

I have also noted that “if we take these cases individually and collectively, the overall impression that can be obtained from the many articles and analysis which have appeared in the Internet media is that the Malaysian judiciary has come under tremendous political pressure when arriving at their judgments”.

Some authoritative observers of the deterioration in judicial standards in the country have been much more critical of judges.

The highly respected former Court of Appeal judge N.H. Chan, a legal expert who was called to the English Bar in 1959 and has more than 50 years of experience in Malaysian legal practice at the private and public level, has asked with understandable exasperation how could it be that we are the only country, out of all the other common law countries, in the entire world that has so many incompetent judges? His answer is that there must be something wrong in our system for the appointment of judges.

Many people from the legal fraternity agree with him. There was a time when judges were appointed from the cream of the legal profession and the law departments in our universities produced graduates who knew their law and were of some standard.

With the decline in educational standards, it was inevitable that the standards of law graduates in the country, and with it, also the standard of judges, recruited to administer justice, would also fall.

Apart from the decline in educational standards, the factor of politically-biased appointments has played a role.

The Lingam case and the shocking disclosures arising from the Royal Commission of Inquiry, in particular, show clearly that the appointment of judges in the country has been tainted, and that there was evidence of ethical and criminal misconduct by lawyer Lingam, various judges, politicians and businessmen on the matter of judicial appointments.

Despite this finding, the Attorney-General chose not to put Lingam in the dock. This was not because no law had been broken but because of the fear that the skeletons that would emerge out of the closet during the trial would bring down the government.

We are still living with the legacy of a compromised judiciary and the dark shadows cast by prominent members of the judiciary who are more interested in the pursuit of power and self interest rather than with the pursuit of justice.

But every now and then, a verdict comes from out of the blue which shows that there are also good and honourable judges in the system who are not interested in the pursuit of power and self interest, and who are willing to stand firm in the administration of impartial and principled justice.

The most recent example of this has just arrived from the Teoh Beng Hock case, a landmark case which has riveted the attention of the nation for over five years now.

Members of the public who were expecting that this case would go unpunished by our judicial authorities were pleasantly surprised. As a result we see in the internet media the almost universal praise and accolades accorded to the three appeal court judges, Ariff Yusuf, Mah Weng Kwai and Hamid Sultan for their reasoned, meticulous and rigorous written judgments when they struck down the earlier open verdict on the case arrived at by the Shah Alam High Court in refusing to set aside the coroner's open verdict in the Beng Hock inquest.

In their unanimous decision, the judges held that Teoh's death was caused by multiple injuries from a fall from the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam as a result of, or which was accelerated by an unlawful act or acts of persons unknown, inclusive of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers who were involved in his arrest and investigation.

Teoh's sister, Lee Lan, has lodged a police report at the Shah Alam police quarters to speed up police investigation. The police must remember that some MACC officers have caused the death and the culprits must be caught and punished adequately.

Whatever happens next in the case, it is important that we should not lose faith in the integrity of our judiciary which forms the first line of defence in the protection of our constitutional rights.

It is not only judges themselves who must exercise vigilance so that their independence is not compromised by political, legislative and other pressures. It is all Malaysians who must stand firm so that there is no political or executive interference with the judicial process. – September 10, 2014.

* Koon Yew Yin reads The Malaysian Insider.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/teoh-beng-hock-appeal-verdict-a-turning-point-koon-yew-yin#sthash.A6oCcAG6.dpuf

Najib Assures Malaysians GST Will Not Be A Burden

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak today assured Malaysians that the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a progressive tax system to be implemented on April 1, 2015, will not burden them.

He said the new tax structure, which is adopted by 90 per cent of the countries in the world, must be implemented in Malaysia to ensure sustained and continued growth for the country.

Najib said the government was not rushing into implementing the GST as it had studied its implications for the past 30 years and was convinced that it would benefit the people and country.

"Be assured, I will not burden the people. As the Barisan Nasional Chairman, I will not inconvenience them as the government is backed by the peoples' support," he said when closing a briefing session on GST at the Putra World Trade Centre here, Wednesday.

The government will implement the GST at a fixed rate of six per cent to replace the present Sales and Services Tax at 16 per cent.

Najib also explained to the 2,000 odd participants why the GST was good, how it would spur the country's economic growth and in attaining developed nation status.

He said the GST was not new as it had been mentioned by three previous finance ministers including Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, when he tabled the budget on Oct 30, 1992.

"We must have strong financial resources. Each time we present the annual budget, there must be the bonus element, or else the budget is considered not good.

For a month's bonus, the government has to fork out about RM5.6 billion. It is the government's responsibility to look after the 1.5 million civil servants and 300,000 pensioners. The country needs enough resources," he said.

Najib said to sustain the country's financial stability, the implementation of GST was vital to increase revenue stream.

Najib said out of a workforce of 12 million people, only 1.2 million employees were paying taxes and the revenue collected was benefiting 28 million Malaysians.

"Among others, tax revenue was necessary for the provision of health services, as there was always a pressing need to increase hospitals and beds for the people," he said.

However, Najib admitted that the GST would result in a slight increase of 1.8 per cent in the price of certain goods.

But, he assured that the increase would not involve essential goods and services and, strict enforcement would be in place with additional back up of enforcement officers from the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism.

"The public can also lodge reports to the government against unscrupulous traders who raise prices so that action can be taken against them," he said, adding that recipients of the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) should also use their one-off handouts wisely.

Beginning next year, the government would top up an additional RM300 to the current payment of RM650 to alleviate the plight of the low-income following the introduction of GST.

Najib also advised traders to be GST ready by registering their businesses as soon as possible and not wait until the last minute.

IGP and AG allowed to intervene in Deepa's case - Malaysiakini

 

Applications from Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail and Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar to intervene in the child custody and conversion cases of S Deepa and Muslim convert Izwan Abdullah (N Viran) were allowed by the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya today.

The three-member appellate court panel led by Justice Balia Yusof Wahi made the decision after lawyer Joanne Leong, representing Deepa, who is from Seremban, did not object to the application.

Faiz Fadzil, who appeared for Izwan Abdullah, also did not object.

The other panel members were Justice Mah Weng Kwai and High Court judge Badariah Sahamid.

Another similar case involving M Indira Gandhi and K Pathmanathan, from Ipoh, is currently being heard by the court.

Both Gani and Khalid (left) have applied to be interveners as the cases raised constitutional questions on the jurisdiction of the syariah and civil courts.

Khalid has refused to act on court orders on the two cases, saying it was not clear whether the civil court has jurisdiction over matters under the purview of the syariah court.

They allowed the application sought by senior federal counsel Suzana Atan, who represented the AG and IGP, for the two to be allowed to intervene in the case and for the proceedings to be amended to include the names of the AG and IGP as respondents in the application.

The court also allowed the applications of the AG and IGP for a stay of the order of the Seremban High Court for the police to help to retrieve Deepa's child from Izwan. The court made no order on costs.

Deepa's son taken away

It was reported that on April 7, the High Court in Seremban awarded custody of Deepa's two children, who had been converted to Islam by Izwan, to the mother.

Despite having custody of the children, the High Court did not rule on the conversion of the two children, a son aged six and nine-year-old daughter, to Islam by their father.

Two days after the High Court order, Izwan took away the couple's son from Deepa's house in Jelebu.

On June 30, IGP Khalid obtained a stay from the Syariah High Court in Seremban on the order that the police to find and locate the children.

The Court of Appeal also fixed Dec 4 for the hearing of Viran @ Izwan's appeal against the custody and recovery order.

MIC: Kenapa ‘TIADA’ tindakan terhadap individu yang hina agama Hindu?

By Intan Nur Idayu- Themalaysiantimes

KUALA LUMPUR, 10 Sept: Dengan nada yang keras Pemuda MIC hari ini mendesak Ketua Polis Negara, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar dan Peguam Negara, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail bertindak dan mengambil tindakan terhadap beberapa individu yang menghina agama Hindu di media sosial.

Ketua pemuda parti, C. Sivarraajh mendakwa pihak Polis dan Jabatan Peguam Negara gagal menjalankan tugas mereka dengan adil.

“Sampai bila kami mahu menunggu, masyarakat bertanya kepada kita. Lebih baik jika mereka berdua ini duduk rumah jika tidak mampu jalankan tugas dengan baik,” katanya dengan nada yang kecewa ketika dihubungi The Malaysian Times (TMT) hari ini.

Pegawai Khas Menteri Besar Perak itu berkata demikian mengulas perkembangan mengenai beberapa individu yang masih belum dihadapkan ke mahkamah atas tindakan menghina agama Hindu.

Semalam seorang penyelia tapak binaan, Chow Mun Fai, dijatuhkan hukuman penjara satu tahun atas
tuduhanmenggunakan aplikasi Facebook miliknya untuk menghantar komen yang menyentuh unsur sensitiviti perkauman.

Jelas Sivarraajh lagi, kenyataan Mun Fai ini tidak begitu menjejaskan jika dibandingkan dengan kenyataan yang dikeluarkan oleh Man Namblast dan Shahul Hameed sebelum ini.

“Saya setuju dengan keputusan mahkamah untuk menjatuhkan hukuman terhadap Mun Fai tetapi adakah ini bermaksud mereka yang keluarkan kenyataan lebih sensitif sebelum ini boleh terlepas begitu sahaja?” soalnya.

Katanya, Ketua Polis Negara dan Peguam Negara berat sebelah dalam membuat keputusan bagi menentukan isu mana yang perlu diselesaikan terlebih dahulu.

“Sayap Pemuda MIC banyak membuat susulan kes Man Namblast dan Shahul Hameed tetapi sehingga hari ini tiada apa-apa tindakan yang diambil terhadap mereka.

“Pada saya Ketua Polis dan Peguam Negara tidak adil,” tegas beliau lagi.

Tambahnya, beliau tidak akan teragak-agak untuk membuat protes bagi menunjukkan bantahan atas Khalid Abu Bakar dan Abdul Gani yang menjalankan tugas secara berat sebelah.

“Saya nak rakyat nampak kedua-dua pihak (Ketua Polis dan Peguam Negara) ini tidak buat kerja dengan bagus,” katanya lagi.

Beliau menegaskan selama ini MIC sering mempertahankan mereka berdua daripada dikecam oleh pihak yang tidak berpuas hati dengan hasil kerja dua pihak ini.

Walaubagaimanpun, beliau tidak menyalahkan undang-undang yang menjadi punca beberapa pihak bertanggungjawab terlepas daripada kesalahan mereka.

Akta Hasutan bukan punca masalah

Menurut Sivarraajh, tidak adil untuk menyalahkan Akta Hasutan kerana yang patut disalahkan adalah “individu” yang menyalahgunakan akta tersebut.

“Pada saya, Akta Hasutan itu baik tetapi hanya beberapa individu yang salah gunakan kebebasan secara tidak adil,” ujarnya.

Selain itu, beliau turut percaya jika akta itu digunakan secara adil dan saksama maka rakyat Malaysia akan hidup dengan lebih aman dan hormani tanpa wujud isu-isu yang boleh menimbulkan kemarahan sesetengah pihak.

“Jika wujud individu yang boleh menggunakan undang-undang ini dengan lebih cekap ,saya yakin pihak yang suka keluarkan kenyataan sensitif akan lebih berhati-hati sebelum mengeluarkan apa-apa kenyataan,” kata Sivarraajh. -TMT

IGP ordered to get child back or answer to court - Malaysiakini

 

Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar has 48 hours to abide by the committal and recovery order issued against K Pathmanathan @ Muhd Ridhuan Abdullah to return six-year-old Prasana Diksa to her mother, Indira Gandhi.

This follows the Court of Appeal today dismissing Ridhuan's application for an extension of time to file his record of appeal to set aside the contempt of court order served against him for not abiding, until today, with the order of the High Court in Ipoh to return Prasana within the stipulated time of May 30, 2014.

The appellate court also dismissed the applications of the attorney-general and the IGP to intervene in the case following the court's order to strike out Ridhuan’s appeal.

With this, Khalid and the police have until Friday to arrest Ridhuan and retrieve Prasana, failing which Khalid has to appear before the High Court in Ipoh to explain reasons for the police failure to abide by the court decision.

'Ridhuan found guilty of contempt'

This follows the appellate court ruling that Ridhuan cannot be heard in this court as he was found guilty of contempt for not abiding by the High Court order to return the youngest child to the mother.

Justice Balia Yusof Wahi said the decision not to allow the extension of time, and not allowing the IGP and AG to intervene, was also unanimous following the court today allowing the objection by M Indira Gandhi's lawyers to strike out Ridhuan’s application.

“It is trite that the contemptor (Ridhuan) cannot be heard until he has purged his contempt as there is a committal order against him dated May 30, 2014. Ample time was given to the appellant to purge his contempt (set aside the contempt order, but he had filed it out of time). The law is not with him,” Justice Balia said.

“We agree with the submission of the applicant in this case. Public interest demands respect for the law to be maintained and the appellant (Ridhuan) has not shown that,” he said.

Justice Balia said because of this, the court could not allow the application for the AG or IGP to intervene in this matter or allow Ridhuan’s application for an extension of time for the appeal records.

“These two applications must have fallen flat and have become academic,” he ruled.

Sitting with Justice Balia were Court of Appeal judge Mah Weng Kwai and High Court judge Badariah Sahamid.

The High Court in Ipoh has fixed Friday for hearing kindergarten teacher Indira Gandhi's review application to execute the High Court order compelling the IGP to arrest Ridhuan.

Shamala case haunts Ridhuan

Ironically, another unilateral conversion custody case was used to in today's matter, with lawyer Aston Paiva, representing Indira Gandhi, saying that a person who is in contempt cannot be allowed to be heard in court.

Aston cited the majority judgment in the S Shamala vs M Jeyaganesh case for this where the court ruled Shamala had no right to be heard in court because a contempt proceeding was initiated against her for not returning her children.

Shamala, a nurse, had taken her children to Australia after she obtained custody of them, and was not willing to come back to Malaysia for the appeal filed in court by her former husband.

Aston said the High Court in Ipoh had given mercy to Ridhuan, saying it would suspend the contempt order if he returned the child.

“The court had given order granting custody to the mother in 2009 and there has been a lapse of more than four years.

“This man has not purged his contempt. He is simply not responding and not contactable, undetectable and his whereabouts are unknown,” Aston said.

Also representing Indira with Aston are M Kulasegaran and N Selvam.

However, Ridhuan's lawyer, Anas Fauzi, cited the minority judgment in the Shamala case by Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Richard Malanjum to back his case.

Anas said in the minority judgment, Justice Malanjum allowed a leeway of three months to Shamala to come back to Malaysia and to stand in judgment of the court.

“The court should consider the constitutional right of the father following the dispute in the High Court and the Syariah High Court, as the Syariah High Court had given custody of the child to the father.

“Therefore, we must wait for the appeal to be heard. This is conditional relief and the court should allow constitutional questions to be posed and not close the court's doors,” he said.

'Blatant disobedience by Radhuan'

However, Justice Mah intervened that there has been blatant disobedience by Ridhuan to the court order.

Justice Balia interjected further that Ridhuan had not filed the memorandum of appeal, which includes the record of appeal and now, the court was hearing this extension of time.

“Besides this notice of appeal, nothing else has been filed,” he said.

Senior federal counsel Suzana Atan, for AG Abdul Gani Patail and IGP, said this was a public interest matter and her application should be allowed.

Outside the court after the verdict, Kulasegaran said this case differed from Deepa's case as the Ipoh Syariah High Court did not order the police to trace the children, unlike the Seremban case where orders are made.

Hence, Kulasegaran said, there was no conflict.

“With today's decision, the IGP has to find Ridhuan within 48 hours and bring the child back. We will see what happens in Ipoh on Friday,” he said.

“If he fails, the IGP will have to explain why he and his men failed to do so,” he said.

IGP Khalid had cited a “middle path” solution to custodial dispute following a conflict in the orders from the civil High Court and Syariah High Court, and he proposed that the child be placed in a welfare home until the dispute is resolved.

Interfaith custody battles have been a thorn in Malaysian society and the cabinet in 2009 issued an order disallowing unilateral conversion by a single converted parent.