Call for three-day extension of Parliament for a full debate on “Are Malays and Islam under threat?” as this concerns not just Malays and Muslims, but all Malaysians who want a successful Malaysia

By Lim Kit Siang Blog

With the approach of the UMNO General Assemblies 2014 from Nov. 25 to 29, there is a build-up of the rhetoric and hysteria that “Malays and Islam are under threat”.

National laureate A. Samad Said made a most pertinent point when he pointed out that despite claims of a growing threat against the Malay community, the country’s leadership has remained in the hands of Malays and is still led by a party which claims to represent the Malay community.

I agree with Pak Samad that it is most peculiar that allegations of Malays under threat are constantly being played up, which is why he advised the Malay community not to be too obsessed about claims that Malays are under threat.

Pak Samad had asked the most relevant question:

“How are Malays under threat? How can religion (Islam) and Malays be threatened when those in power have been Malay for over five decades?

“What have they (Malay leaders) been doing for five decades (if Malays can be under threat)?”

What Pak Samad prescribed is most apt, and I don’t think it could be gainsaid by anyone, that if the country’s more than five-decade-old UMNO Malay leadership cannot put the Malay community at ease, then it should surrender power to let other Malays rule.

Why should the country’s race relations be held to ransom every time UMNO hold its annual General Assemblies for UMNO leaders to hype the imaginary spectre of Malays and Islam under siege, when what could be under threat is only the continued political rule and survival of UMNO leaders – like the disgraceful paper by the former Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) vice chancellor, Ibrahim Abu Shah warning that “If Umno loses, Malays may never rule again” with the threat that the future of Malays would be “dark and unfortunate” or the insidious and pernicious racialism of the Minister for Communications and Multimedia, Ahmad Shabery Cheek, irresponsibly alleging that Malays were not welcomed in Pakatan Rakyat-run Penang.

All the six Prime Ministers from the nation’s independence in 1957 were Malays – Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir, Tun Abdullah and currently Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Have they all, or some or one of them, betrayed the Malays as Prime Minister to cause the Malays and Islam to be still under siege 57 years after Merdeka?

Of the six Prime Ministers, Tun Mahathir had been Prime Minister for the longest period – 22 years 3 months, compared to Tunku’s 13 years; Razak’s 5 yrs 4 months; Hussein’s 5 years 6 months ; Abdullah’s 5 years 5 months ; and Najib’s more than 5 years 7 months.

Will Mahathir bear the biggest responsibility for Malays and Islam to be under siege in 2014 because of his longest premiership in the past 57 years?

Will UMNO delegates and the country be provided with a checklist as to how each of the six Malay Prime Ministers in the past 57 years had failed to uplift the Malays and Islam as to cause them to be under threat at present?

If Malays and Islam are under threat, it is not just the concern of Malays and Muslims, but the concern of all Malaysians regardless of ethnicity and faith, because we are all one people who want a successful Malaysia to rise from our diverse races and religions.

Patriotic Malaysians do not want Malays and Islam under threat, just as we do not want non-Malays in Malaysia, whether Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans, Orang Asli or Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, Taoism to be under threat.

If Malays and Islam are under threat, they should be the concern of all non-Malays and non-Muslims, just as any problem of Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans, Orang Asli or Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, Taoism under threat in Malaysia should be the concern of all Malays and Muslims in Malaysia!

I would in fact call for three-day extension of Parliament for a full debate on “Are Malays and Islam under threat?” for we must build a Malaysia where the Malays and Islam are not under threat – just as the non-Malays and non-Muslim religions are not under threat.

Otherwise, Malaysia would have failed in our constitutional compact to create a an independent and sovereign democratic State founded upon liberty and justice, where “Islam is the religion of the Federation but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony”, ever seeking to defend and uphold peace and harmony among its people and to perpetuate peace among nations.

Ambiga to challenge ‘ridiculous’ Sabah travel ban

Malay Mail
by PATHMA SUBRAMANIAM

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan has vowed to challenge the latest ban on her entry into Sabah, insisting that the state authorities have no valid reason to stop her from traveling to the east Malaysian state.

 

The renowned lawyer and human rights activist labelled the travel ban “ridiculous” and accused the state authorities of being overly paranoid of her presence in Sabah.

“The grounds to deny entry are very narrow, it is not to be used at their whims and fancy, so I will challenge this,” she told Malay Mail Online when contacted.

“I don’t know what they are paranoid about... in this day and age, these types of restrictions are meaningless, when there are other ways to go about it,” she added.

According to the former Malaysian Bar president, she was informed of the travel ban through correspondence with the Sabah Immigration Department last Friday.

She explained that she had written to the department on November 11 to inform the agency of her trip to Sabah on November 25 for an event by pro-unity group Negara-Ku, of which she is a patron.

The human rights activist was scheduled to attend the event along with the group’s co-patron Tan Sri Simon Sipaun and prominent Sabah politician Datuk Dr Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan.

In response, Ambiga said the department’s director-general Noor Alam Khan A Wahid Khad wrote back to say that she would not be permitted into the east Malaysian state.

No reasons were cited, she added.

“I was not seeking for permission, I wrote to them informing them of my visit so that I don’t waste time traveling,” said Ambiga, who was also the co-chair of the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0).

She said the ban appeared quite out of the blue as prior to Election 2013, she had similarly written in to the department and was informed then that there were no restrictions on her entry into Sabah.

“This is my country and I want to have the freedom to go around... there are very specific grounds in refusing entry but my objective is for the sole purpose of engaging in non-partisan community activity,” said Ambiga.

Despite her travel ban, the activist said Negara-Ku will proceed with its programme as scheduled and she will participate in the forum via video conferencing or Skype.

Negara-Ku’s nationwide roadshow began two weeks ago in Malacca, and will be taking place in Perak, Johor, Negri Sembilan, Penang, Sabah and Kuala Lumpur.

This is not the first time Ambiga has been barred from East Malaysia.

On April 15, 2011, she was refused entry into Sarawak upon arrival at the Kuching Airport during the state’s election to partake in a 10-day election campaign. She was forced to leave on the next available return flight.

Ambiga has also been unsuccessful in seeking for a judicial review over Sarawak government’s decision, as the Federal Court felt that she ought to have taken up the judicial review at the High Court in Sarawak.

Investment Commitments Worth RM3.57 Bln In The Offing In ECER

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 (Bernama) -- Investment commitments worth RM3.57 billion are in the offing in the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) in the fourth quarter of this year.

They were pledged by 16 companies, including eight beneficiaries of the government's Unit Peneraju Agenda Bumiputera (Teraju) initiatives, the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) announced Monday.

"To date, 29 companies in ECER with an overall investment value of RM646.5 million have benefitted from Teraju's facilitation fund worth RM84.1 million while 65 companies have been identified as high-performing Bumiputera companies (TeraS)," it said in its fourth quarter announcement here Monday.


Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Maybank chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Farid Alias and ECERDC chief executive officer Datuk Jebasingam Issace John were present.

At the event, Najib, who is also ECERDC chairman, witnessed the exchange of document between Maybank and ECERDC to establish ECER-Maybank Entrepreneur that will provide financial assistance to local entrepreneurs in ECER.

For a start, Maybank and Maybank Islamic will allocate RM100 million for business financing while ECERDC will allocate RM10 million to top up the interest or profit rate charges.

ECERDC said the move is expected to benefit 2,000 micro and small and medium entrepreneurs in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Mersing, Johor by the end of 2015.

It said the collaboration will be continued under the 11th Malaysia Plan, which commences next year, for the benefit 6,000 entrepreneurs in ECER by 2020.

ECERDC said the scheme will be implemented this month, offering four types of financial assistance, namely SME Portfolio Guarantee-i, SME Property Business Financing-i, SME Micro Financing, and Retail Micro Financing.

It said the Retail Micro-Financing Scheme is offered exclusively to women entrepreneurs with a maximum loan amount of RM10,000 while the other there schemes offered financing amount which varies from RM20,000 to RM50,000.

Under the schemes, it said ECERDC will top up the interest/profit rate charges by up to 50 per cent.

ECERDC, together with Maybank, is planning to organise outreach activities to promote the programme to the public starting this month.

Apart from the ECER-Maybank Entrepreneurship Scheme, ECERDC is also collaborating with Agrobank and Sirim Bhd in the Entrepreneur ECER programme which has benefitted 1,365 entrepreneurs in the economic region to date.

Meanwhile, at the event, ECERDC named three anchor companies to operate and manage large-scale commercial agriculture projects in ECER, namely The Holstein Milk Company Sdn Bhd, CSC Integrated Herbal Farm Sdn Bhd, and Genetic Improvement and Farm Technologies Sdn Bhd (GIFT).

ECERDC said The Holstein Milk Company Sdn Bhd will invest RM30 million to operate and manage the Muadzam Shah Cattle Research and Innovation Centre built by ECERDC that will create 100 satellite farmers as part of its support networks.

CSC Integrated Herbal Farm Sdn Bhd will invest RM20 million by 2020 to operate and manage ECER's Herbal Integrated Cluster Development in Chegar Perah, Pahang and cultivate various herbal plants.

"This project is expected to create 36 contract farmers and entrepreneurs among the locals, who have the potential of earning RM5,000 per month," it added.

Another anchor company, GIFT will invest RM10 million to enhance and develop an efficient and sustainable sheep breeding programme through the Kuala Berang Sheep Breeding and Innovation Centre built by ECERDC in Terengganu.

Since 2007, ECERDC has attracted investments worth RM72.26 billion, marking 66 per cent of ECER's investment target of RM110 billion by 2020, and created 73,281 jobs.

Pahang led the way in term of investments with RM35.23 billion, followed by Terengganu (RM24.24 billion), Kelantan (RM11.17 billion), and Mersing (RM1.61 billion).

Bagaimana Melayu terancam jika mereka sedang berkuasa?

Jihadi John Leads Systematic Beheading of Peter Kassig and 18 Syrian Pilots

Up to 18 prisoners are beheaded in one of the most graphic videos from Islamic State

By Thomas Wyke

Isis's new video has featured Jihadi John leading two different beheadings for the first time.

As well as being shown standing over the severed head of American aid worker Abdul Rahman Kassig, the British Islamic State fighter also appears in a graphic mass beheading earlier in the video.

Jihadi John – the nickname of an unnamed British Islamic State militant – is shown alongside 18 other Islamic State militants, leading the systematic beheadings of up to 18 prisoners.

The video, released by al-Furqan Media Foundation, the Islamic State's media and propaganda organisation, states the victims are officers and pilots from the Syrian Arab Army of President Assad. The executed men are wearing matching blue uniforms and shown being led in a line, each prisoner being dragged by an Islamic State fighter.

None of the executors, apart from Jihadi John, are masked and all appear to be wearing khaki desert fatigues. Each fighter drags their victim in a line before collecting a matching black hunting knife from a wooden box.

The victims are walked by their executors in a line through the arid terrain and are forced to bend down on the ground in front of their executors.

Jihadi John is shown standing in the middle of the line, with his own victim kneeling before him. It is the first time he has featured beheading prisoners from the Assad army, rather than journalists and aid workers from America and Great Britain.

Jihadi John declares: "To Obama, the dog of war. Today we are slaughtering the soldiers of Bashar and tomorrow we will slaughter your soldiers.

"With Allah's permission, we will break this final and last crusade and the Islamic State will soon, as your puppet David Cameron said, begin to slaughter your people on your streets."

His voice appears to have been distorted deliberately in an attempt to hide his identity.

Slow-motion camera work is used to show close-ups of the terrified victims. Jihadi John gives a single word order in Arabic and all of the Islamic State fighters crouch down. They force their victims to the lie flat on the ground, pulling up their victims' heads to expose their necks.

The camera focuses on Jihadi John, as he and all the other militants begin to cut off the heads of the Syrian Army soldiers in a synchronised mass beheading.

Jihadi John stops to peer up at the camera as his victim is shown dying.

The horrific scene is concluded with very graphic close-up shots of the beheading, before a final shot showing the bodies lying in a line with the victims' severed heads lying on top of the bodies.

The executioner are all shown holding clean knives and each is shown in a close-up shot. Their identities are not currently confirmed, but they appear to be nationals from around the world. One of the executioners in the video is believed to be a French fighter, known by the nom de guerre Abu Abdullah al-Firansi.

The beheading of the Syrian pilots is concluded with a voiceover statement from Islamic State's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who boastfully says: "Know that we have armies in Iraq and an army in Sham (Syria) of hungry lions whose drink is blood and play is carnage."

The location of the video is currently unconfirmed, but it is alleged that the mass beheadings were carried out in Dabiq, a small town in the countryside in Syria's Aleppo province.

Dabiq is deeply symbolic to Islamic State as they have previously referred to it being the place for "the Final Hour" – the location where Armageddon will begin – according to the deeds of the Prophet, the Hadith.

A US official has confirmed that the video is authentic. The Kassig family have asked for privacy to mourn for the loss of their son, Abdul Rahman.

Provide clear remedy in civil law when spouse converts to Islam, says DAP

The DAP wants amendments made to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act to stop unilateral conversion of minors by a spouse who has embraced Islam.

Its national vice-chairman M. Kulasegaran (pic) said a long lasting solution must be found or else cases of such nature would recur.

"Section 51 of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act must be clarified to give a proper remedy to the non-converting spouse," the Ipoh Barat MP told a forum on Tamil awakening in Butterworth today.

Kulasegaran, a lawyer, is the counsel for kindergarten teacher M. Indira Gandhi, who is embroiled in a custody battle with her ex-husband Muhammad Ridzuan Abdullah.

Ridzuan has refused to hand over their youngest daughter, Prasana Diksa, to Indira, despite a 2010 High Court order awarding her custody of their three children.

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

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

On May 30, the court which found Ridzuan guilty of contempt of court for failing to return Prasana to Indira, also granted her a recovery order and warrant of arrest against the ex-husband.

On September 12 the High Court also granted Indira a mandamus order to compel Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar to arrest Ridzuan and to locate Prasana.

However, Khalid obtained a stay pending a decision by the Court of Appeal.

Kulasegaran said section 51 stated that the High Court, upon dissolving the marriage, may make provision for a spouse and for the support, care and custody of the children of the marriage, maintenance and division of property.

He said the civil court may also attach any conditions to the dissolution as it thinks fit.

However, he said section 51 of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act was unclear when one of the spouses converted to Islam.

A non-Muslim spouse could not go to the Shariah Court as the religious court was exclusive to persons professing the religion of Islam.

"Section 51 should be strengthened as it is the only remedy for a spouse when the other partner in the civil marriage has converted to Islam," he added.

Attorney-General, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, who delivered a keynote address at a national conference organised by the Judicial and Legal Service Training Institute last week, said unilateral conversion had resulted a new conflict between civil and Shariah laws.

"The increasing number of cases has also raised allegations of racial discrimination by the courts and authorities," he said.

He said the failure of the converting spouses to resolve the family arrangements prior to conversion, as well as attempts to use the the civil and Shariah courts to their advantage, had jeopardised family and national harmony.

"Consequentially, the integrity of the police and the Attorney General’s Chambers is also called into question due to the issue of enforcement of conflicting court orders," he said.

Gani said that in 2009, amendments were proposed to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act, the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act 1984 and the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993 to ensure that issues like child custody would be determined by the court in which the marriage was registered.

"These amendments, however, remain pending," he said. – November 16, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/provide-clear-remedy-in-civil-law-when-spouse-converts-to-islam-says-dap#sthash.8hOZ4YnK.dpuf

Srikanth beats Lin Dan to win China Open title

Indian duo Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal clinched the singles titles at the China Open today, with Srikanth overcoming superstar Lin Dan in straight games to take the men's crown.

The world number 16, who was appearing in only his first World Superseries final, took 46 minutes to defeat China's double Olympic champion and seize a 21-19, 21-17 win.

The 21-year-old was 17-19 down in the first game, before taking the final four points to march to an early lead over the five-time world champion.

Srikanth then finished strongly in the second game, dropping only two of the final nine points as he closed in on a famous victory against the home favourite.

In the women's singles, Olympic bronze medallist Nehwal won her first China Open title as she overcame Japanese teenager Akane Yamaguchi.

Eighteen-year-old Yamaguchi has had a fairytale tournament, knocking out top seed Wang Shixian in the second round before defeating South Korean fifth seed Bae Yeon-Ju in the semis to claim her place in the final.

But Nehwal proved too much for the rising star as the world number five secured a 21-12, 22-20 victory in 42 minutes.

The Indian was sixth seed in Fuzhou and playing her second World Superseries final of the year, after beating Spain's Carolina Marin to take the Australian Open title in June. – AFP, November 16, 2014.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sports/article/srikanth-beats-lin-dan-to-win-china-open-title#sthash.hLXFWKtF.dpuf

Don’t anger Muslims, Perkasa warns MCA

 

Malay rights NGO Perkasa has warned MCA against "interfering" on the issue of Syariah Court.

Responding to MCA’s religious harmony bureau chief Ti Lian Ker, Perkasa Youth said MCA has "no right" to dispute anything on syariah law.

"Don’t try to stoke anger among Muslims and challenge syariah law in this country. Don’t be insulting for the sake of garnering support…

"We will make sure that no individual will take Islam and Malay sensitivities lightly. Remember that!

"The sultan is the head of Islam, and this too is stated in the federal constitution. Don’t challenge that!" Perkasa Youth chief Irwan Fahmi Idris said in a statement.

He also accused Ti (left) of making such statements to "seek sympathy" after MCA failed to get votes from the Chinese community.

Ti yesterday raised concern over the the government’s proposal to form a Federal Syariah Court, which is higher than the civil Court of Appeal.

He said that this contravenes Articles 4(1) and 74(3) of the federal constitution, with the former stating that the constitution is the highest law of the land.

He said that this could lead to problems, for example in custody disputes when one of parents converts to Islam.

Ti said it is wrong to see "God’s law" as greater than secular law as human beings cannot act for God.

'I am bapuk and mak nyah, so what?'

 

They won in the court of law, but not in the court of public opinion.

And when tongues wag, what exactly plays in the hearts and in the minds of these transgender individuals, the ones referred to as bapuk (transvestite), mak nyah (drag queen) or pondan (effeminate men) in society?

Muhammad Izat Hasmi, a transgender from the small town of Batang Kali, Selangor is the first to admit that it has never been easy.

Facing a gender crisis ever since she was a child, Izat chose to dress as a woman when she turned 18.

When met, the 25-year-old was dressed in a red tank top and black jacket, with immaculately groomed hair and make up like any other woman.

Unlike the general perception that transgender individuals are sex workers, Izat, fondly known as Girl-girl, is trained in the sciences and was employed as a lab assistant at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur.

But pressure at work due to her gender identity eventually forced her to quit her job.

"People would try to advise me, but in a rude way like they were purposely trying to hurt my feelings.

"They told me that pondan won’t enter heaven. Are they God?" she asks, fixing her long hair.

Girl-girl says that the harassment also extends to when she has to face officials to renew her drivers’ licence or identity card.

"When it comes to things where I have to declare my gender, the officials will look at me from head to toe.

"But maybe that’s just because I am different,” she says, a smile always on her lips.

Not criminals

Despite her cheery persona, Girl-girl is not optimistic about her future in Malaysia due to the prevailing laws against transgender individuals.

"I know that people like us we don’t have much of a choice, but I hope the authorities can be bit more relaxed in its enforcement and not just arrest us.

"What exactly have we done? We didn’t commit any crime," she says.

Perhaps, she says, the authorities should try to understand them first.

Although outwardly a woman, Girl-girl, a Muslim, has opted not to undertake a sex change operation, and is unlikely to do so in the future due to her religion.

"I can tell you honestly that I still have a penis. I have only taken hormones (to change my appearance to that of a woman).

“I know that our religion does not allow us to make changes to our genitalia as when we die, we should return to Him, as how we were created,” she says.

She says that she has also come to terms with the unkindness that society has shown to her.

"At first I was angry, but what can I do? The fact is, people look down on us.

"But I am bapuk,  I am mak nyah. So what?" she says, inviting laughter from her friends.

The Nov 7 the Court of Appeal verdict that a Negri Sembilan syariah enactment banning cross-dressing is unconstitutional is seen as an indirect acknowledgement of the transgender community.

Girl-girl welcomes the decision and believes that the court has finally heard the cries of the transgender.

Pausing for a moment, she smiles.

"This is a new hope for the transgender community."

Melaka zoo animals: The walking dead?

Conservationists are up in arms over the importation of wild animals from South Africa to stock the notorious Melaka zoo.

FMT

PETALING JAYA: Wildlife conservationists from various non-governmental organisations have spoken out vehemently against the decision of the Melaka Zoo to import 24 species of animals from South Africa to restock what it claims is to be an “improved zoo”.

Sean Whyte from Nature Alert who is a long-time campaigner for improved conditions in Malaysia’s zoos added, “Just when we thought Perhilitan could not possibly make any more stupid decisions, they go and approve of wild animals in Africa being caught so they can be transported thousands of miles to be stuffed in a Malaysian zoo of disrepute.

“Perhilitan is incompetent, leaderless and clueless. It would be impossible to exaggerate how badly this government department is managed and it’s a scandal how Minister G. Palanivel (Natural Resources and Environment Ministry) accepts such poor standards from his wildlife department. It’s like the blind leading the blind.”

The zoo, once managed by Perhilitan but now owned by KAJ Development Sdn Bhd is notorious for being evasive about the many dead and missing wildlife in its care apart from the deplorable living conditions of those still living with them.

Jennifer Yeap from Malaysian Friends of the Animals said, “We have been made aware of many animals at the zoo dying due to poor treatment. As part of a cost-cutting programme animals are also being fed less food.”

Yeap also said that based on regular visits to Melaka Zoo, it was obvious there were less animals on display, leading her to wonder if they had been killed or relocated.

She also noted that some of the animals there were suffering from zoochosis, or psychological stress.

She added, “Instead of importing animals from Africa, Malaysia needs to focus on its own wildlife and provide better, more humane conditions for its existing animals.”

Anyone visiting Melaka Zoo today will see for themselves how run down and poorly managed it is with no conservation or educational content including a host of disinterested keepers.

Director of Friends of the Orangutans, Upreshpal Singh said: “We heard two orangutans died at this zoo earlier this year. This came as no surprise to us.

“The orangutan enclosure does not meet the apes’ needs and massive improvements to it are needed. The orangutans don’t appear to receive enrichment and consequently can be seen to be bored and listless.”

Upreshpal also said visitors kept feeding the orangutans junk food as none of the zoo’s staff bothered to monitor this bad habit.

He added, “We are also worried about the health of Mardia the female orangutan who is very obese due to lack of physical activity and this urgently needs to be addressed.

“We are more than happy to help the zoo management if they will allow us to improve the lives of the orangutans at the zoo.”

Melaka Zoo is a member of the Malaysian Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria. (MAZPA). All attempts to find out from them why so many animal have died or disappeared at this zoo have proven unsuccessful.

“The import of animals from Africa must be cancelled and the lives of the animals now suffering must be urgently improved. As one of the oldest zoos in Malaysia, it brings a lot of embarrassment to the Melaka state,” added Yeap.

All three wildlife NGOs hope conservationists in Africa will band together to protest this exploitation of their natural heritage and stop the export of animals from Africa to Malaysia.

“Sending their animals to Malaysian zoos is most probably sending them to an early death,” Whyte said.

All attempts by FMT to contact either Perhilitan or Melaka Zoo regarding this issue have proved fruitless.

Stop BN blame game, Guan Eng told

Penang Umno says the Penang CM should be man enough to accept some blame that PR has failed to rectify the island’s many issues.

FMT

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Umno today said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng should stop blaming the previous Barisan Nasional administration whenever controversial issues popped-up pertaining to state governance.

Its chief Zainal Abidin Osman said Lim could not go on hiding behind a “blame game on BN” since Pakatan Rakyat had been governing the state for six years already.

He pointed out that Penangites rejected BN in the past two general elections as punishment of the previous administration’s mistakes.

Saying Penangites had now given PR the mandate to govern the state, it was unprofessional of Lim to continue using BN as a shield to fend off criticisms and escape responsibility and accountability.

He also accused Lim of not being man enough to admit his administration’s own shortcomings.

Zainal, who is also the state BN deputy chairman, pointed out that prior to the 2008 general election, DAP and PKR had heavily criticised the previous BN administration on 12 major issues and rallied the people to change the state government.

However he said that from BN’s observation, the issues “not only remained unresolved but had become worse.”

Among the issues were graft, cronyism, flooding and a host of other issues like housing, hillside development, traffic congestion and high parking rates among others.

At the state party liaison committee meeting that Zainal was charing today, Penang Umno also decided to fully back the state government’s application to the federal government to upgrade Penang Island’s status from current municipality to city.

“A city status for Penang Island would bring more benefits to all,” said Zainal.

Video claims ISIS militants have beheaded American hostage Peter Kassig

By Ben Brumfield, CNN

(CNN)President Barack Obama on Sunday confirmed that Peter Kassig, also known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig, was beheaded by ISIS. Kassig "was taken from us in an act of pure evil by a terrorist group that the world rightly associates with inhumanity," Obama said in a statement.

Militants claim to have beheaded American hostage Peter Kassig in a video published to the Internet on Sunday, purportedly from terror group ISIS.

The video shows the aftermath of a beheading, in which the victim is not clearly recognizable. CNN has not been able to confirm the authenticity of the video nor the identity of the victim.

Kassig, 26, who converted to Islam in captivity, also went by the name Abdul-Rahman Kassig.

He went to the Middle East as a U.S. soldier and returned as a medical worker, feeling compelled to help victims of war.

He did aid work in Syria, where he was captured. He was held hostage for over a year.

Kassig's parents, Ed and Paula Kassig, acknowledged the reports of their son's death in a statement and said they would wait for government confirmation of their authenticity. They asked for privacy.

Condemnation

The White House issued a statement condemning the purported killing and said intelligence officials were working to determine the video's authenticity.

"If confirmed, we are appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American aid worker and we express our deepest condolences to his family and friends," said National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan.

British Prime Minister David Cameron also condemned ISIS over the purported killing.

"I'm horrified by the cold blooded murder of Abdul-Rahman Kassig. ISIL have again shown their depravity. My thoughts are with his family," Cameron said on Twitter.

ISIL is another term for the group ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which calls itself simply the Islamic State.

The video

A familiar figure appeared in Sunday's video claim, dressed in all black and speaking with what sounds like an English accent.

A man fitting the same description appeared in previous videos of the apparent beheadings of other Westerners.

But this recording is different from previously released ones. It is longer, almost 16 minutes, and does not include a statement by the victim, as previous ones had.

And it is utterly brutal, showing in graphic detail the beheadings of other men, whom militants claim are pilots for the Syrian government.

The narration spends much time on ISIS' history and the figure taunts U.S. President Barack Obama, saying he will have to return troops to Iraq in greater numbers than before.

And for the first time in such a video, the speaker names the place where he is standing with the victim -- in the town of Dabiq in Aleppo province, Syria.

The fifth Westerner

Kassig is the fifth Westerner whom ISIS claims to have beheaded via video messages.

The first was U.S. journalist James Foley. A video of his killing was posted online in mid-August, just over a week after Obama approved "targeted airstrikes" against ISIS.

In early September, ISIS released a video showing the beheading of U.S. journalist Steven Sotloff. Sotloff's apparent killer spoke in what sounded like the same British accent as the man who purportedly killed Foley.

Less than two weeks later, ISIS announced in a video the apparent killing of British aid worker David Haines.

And on October 3, ISIS released a video showing the apparent beheading of hostage Alan Henning.

Plea for mercy

Kassig's life was threatened in that last video.

A week after its release, Kassig's family released a YouTube video of its own, asking his captors to show mercy and free him.

Kassig's mother, Paula, addressed her son in the video. "We are so very proud of you and the work you have done to bring humanitarian aid to the Syrian people," she said.

The couple noted they were releasing the video on the day of Islam's Eid al-Adha, or the Festival of Sacrifice, when Muslims slaughter lambs, goats, sheep and cattle and distribute the meat to the poor and their families.

A native of Indiana, Peter Kassig founded Special Emergency Response and Assistance, a nongovernmental organization aiding Syrians fleeing the civil war there.

From 2012, he delivered food and medical supplies within and outside Syria and provided trauma care and training, his family said.

Soldier, helper, captive

Kassig's journey began when he joined the U.S. Army Rangers in 2006 and deployed to Iraq in 2007. He was honorably discharged for medical reasons after a brief tour and returned to the United States to study political science and train for 1,500-meter races. But something wasn't right.

"I was going to school with kids who look the same, were the same age as me, but we weren't the same," he said in an interview with CNN in 2012. "I wanted more of a challenge, a sense of purpose."

In 2010, Kassig took time off and began his certification as an emergency medical technician.

In the two years that followed, he fell in love, got married and quickly divorced. Devastated and heartbroken, he went back to school, but he couldn't shake his depression.

"I needed a game changer," he said.

He eventually traveled to Lebanon, and founded SERA to deliver food and medical supplies to swelling refugee camps.

On October 1, 2013, he was "detained" on his way to Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria, his family said.

"Peter really believed that an individual can make a difference in the world through their love and compassion and intelligence," said Margaret Brabant, Kassig's college adviser and a professor at Butler Univeristy. "... That is the message that I think Peter would want me to convey."

White Widow suffered 'slow and agonising death' after being 'gunned down in Ukraine'

A BRITISH terror suspect known as the 'White Widow' suffered a slow and agonising death after reportedly being shot by a sniper in east Ukraine, it was alleged today.

By: Will Stewart

British authorities are urgently trying to verify the shock claims that Samantha Lewthwaite, 30, was gunned down by pro-Russian rebel forces, as reported by Regnum news agency in Moscow.

One of Britain's most wanted people, the 30-year-old was reported last month as fighting for the so-called Islamic State terror group in Syria.

Lewthwaite was married to 7/7 suicide bomber Germaine Lindsay, 19, a Jamaican-born Yorkshireman, and allegedly left Britain in 2009 before being linked to atrocities in Africa.

The journalist behind the story, Alexey Toporov, a supporter of the separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine, today claimed: "It is said that her death was not quick - which was the right way to do it."

His words implied that the jihadist suffered a lingering death after being shot by "a young but already experienced sniper volunteer
from Russia".

The journalist, Regnum News Agency and rebels forces in Ukraine have failed so far to provide any evidence for Lewthwaite's presence in the eastern European country, or of her death.

No pictures have been released of her body, nor any personal papers indicating she was in Ukraine.

Nor is it clear how the rebels knew her identity.

Toporov claimed today on a social media site that Lewthwaite had come to Ukraine under a false name and was deployed as a sniper in the Donetsk region.

"The White Widow ended in a bad way. To be more exact, she ended up killing people," he added.

"This viper, who organised the attack on a shopping centre in Nairobi where people including women and children were shot dead because they could not tell the name of Muhammad's first wife, was using false name and fighting in Donbass.

"She was a sniper in one of the [Ukrainian] punishment battalions, supposedly Aidar. She killed many of our guys.

"At the end, she was shot by a young but already very experienced sniper volunteer from Russia.

"He did not even care for the $5million [£3.2million] promised by Interpol for the head of this viper."

Toporov is a former editor from Kazan, capital of the Russian republic of Tatarstan, and was previously involved in a street fight with an alleged extremist Tatar figure.

This year he served as press officer for the self-styled Lugansk People's Republic in rebel-held eastern Ukraine.

He quit and went back to Russia, but has now returned to Lugansk as a journalist.

Once seen as a innocent home counties wife, Lewthwaite has since become one of the most notorious fugitives on the planet.

For the last three years British, American and Kenyan security services have been chasing her, with some reports suggesting she may have employed plastic surgery to evade capture.

Born in Northern Ireland and schooled in Aylesbury, she was not previously linked to Ukraine.

‘Melayu benar-benar Islam akan lawan ketidak-adilan’

Muslim Imam Allowed to Praise Allah on House Floor

The United States House of Representatives allowed a Muslim imam to give the opening prayer on Thursday morning, in which he praised Allah, the demonic god of Islam, who is the enemy of Christ and America.

Imam Hamad Ahmad Chebli of the Islamic Society of New Jersey was invited by Democrat Rep. Rush Holt (NJ).

Chebli praised Allah as, "The most gracious, the most merciful" and then declared "Praise be to Allah, the cherisher, the sustainer of the world; the most gracious, the most merciful master of the day of judgment."

He then went on to declare, "Thee do we worship and thine do we seek. Guide us to the safe path."

Inconsistent with the biblical prophets and the Lord Jesus Christ, Chebli deceptively said that Allah is the "god of the prophets and the messenger says in the koran, he does not place a responsibility on you greater than you can bear. Everyone will receive the good they have earned and vice versa."

Then, the imam finally got around to his prayer.

"O god, bless us as we begin a new day," he said. "Bless this assembly. Bless the people and nation it represents. O god, at this time in our history, the challenges for our nation and the world are many. O god, grant these men and women the wisdom, the guidance and the strength to pursue compassion, justice and sound judgment. O god, in your wisdom, you have placed upon them great responsibility and honor. O god, please help them with your guidance and your light."

He concluded, "O god, O god, improve the well-being of all inhabitants of this great nation and beyond. Amen."

How can a false, non-existing god do any of these things, especially in light of the history of Islam? Their history is replete with violence, tyranny and bloodshed as they have been commanded to perform in the Koran.

America, Islam is your enemy, not your friend. America has invited the judgment of God into its government and now thinks it appropriate to call upon a god promoted by a demon possessed, murdering, thieving pedophile named Mohamed. America's leaders have not lifted a finger to stop the infiltration of Muslims into key positions in our government and only a few are willing to call them out.

Men like Chebli hold to the same ideology as those who are killing your sons and daughters overseas. They are of the same ideology as those who have murdered your fellow Americans on our own soil. Are we just going to stand by and watch this disgrace without a peep? You know the email addresses of your representatives. You know their phone numbers. You know their address. Demand that Islam be banned from entering the House or Senate ever again and that their be a forthcoming apology to the American people and repentance before God for bringing such a man into Congress.

There are professed Christians in the House of Representatives and yet, not one peep from them while a demonic deity was praised and petitioned. Shame on you!

Elijah would have been mocking this man and then calling for his removal and subsequent execution by the people (1 Kings 18). The longer Islam is tolerated in America, the more dangerous for the people and the more we provoke the true and living God to wrath against us.

Where is the Church? Where are her cries here as they have been against the lesbian mayor in Houston? Where is the outrage America that the "religion of pieces" is allowed to utter anything in the halls of our government? And don't give me "freedom of religion" or any such nonsense of an appeal towards the First Amendment, recalling that none of that was purposed in its writing.

This came just ahead of Friday's first ever Muslim call to prayer at the Washington National Cathedral.

America, judgment is at the door and you continue to sleep thinking that God will not bring the hammer down. Arise, wake from your slumber and put down the enemies of God and our country while there is still time to do it. Repent!

UN Report: ISIS Savages Denying Food, Medicine To Hundreds Of Thousands In Syria

GENEVA – The Islamic State group has denied food and medicine to hundreds of thousands of people and hidden its fighters among civilians since a U.S.-led coalition began launching airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, a U.N. panel investigating war crimes in Syria reported Friday.

The panel said Syrians and Iraqis are subjected to an Islamic State “rule of terror” from its calculated use of public brutality and indoctrination to ensure the submission of communities under its control, and that the tactics include repeated violations against children and women.

The conclusions from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, a four-member panel of independent experts, are based on more than 300 interviews with people who fled or are living in IS-controlled areas and on collected video and photographic evidence.

“Those that fled consistently described being subjected to acts that terrorize and aim to silence the population,” said Brazilian diplomat and scholar Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, who chairs the panel. He said whatever “services” the group provides to civilians is “always in the framework of this rule of terror,” similar to criminal organizations that use such means to control populations.

Commission member Vitit Muntarbhorn told reporters in Geneva the report is meant to amplify the voices of victims, who describe executions, amputations, public lashings and the use of sexual slavery, child soldiers and widespread indoctrination.

The group has “become synonymous with extreme violence directed against civilians and captured fighters,” the report said.

Humanitarian groups have been unable to reach almost 600,000 people in IS-controlled Deir el-Zour and Raqqa provinces, it says, and the group has obstructed the flow of medicine, doctors and nurses into Hassakeh province.

“The group deploys its fighters and materiel in close proximity to civilian areas,” the report concludes, adding that since U.S.-led airstrikes began civilians living in the northern Syrian town of Manbij have described IS fighters positioning themselves in local homes and farms.

The 47-nation Human Rights Council in Geneva authorized the commission to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law since March 2011 in Syria and to identify whenever possible those responsible, so that they can be prosecuted.

Over the past three months, 1250 wounded ISIS terrorists were hospitalized in Turkey

Many Turkish physicians and nurses are disgruntled and tired of treating savage Islamist terrorists who are responsible for ultimate brutality and horrible bloodshed in Syria and neighboring Iraq.


Jiar Gol, BBC’s Kurdish service correspondent in Turkish Kurdish-populated provinces, reported that the injured high-ranking ISIS commanders escaping the war-ravaging Syria are entering the Turkish territory through the porous Syria-Turkey border and later being admitted into Turkish army’s military hospitals and rehabilitation centers in Gaziantep, Mardin and Adana southern provinces.

Dr. Othman Bayraktar, a well-known neurologist in southern city of Kilis near the border with Syria divulged that the hospitals in which he works, have so far received near to 1200 severely injured terrorists whom have been treated for a long time in heavily guarded hospitals and after a while they return to Syria to resume their barbaric and heinous crimes against the innocent civilian populations. Dr. Bayraktar further added that many hospital staffs are seriously distressed and “ashamed” of offering medical treatments for criminal and thuggish Islamist fighters.

Turkey, a Muslim member of NATO and a U.S. close ally has importuned the West to prepare
groundwork for establishing a buffer-zone stretching along the Turkey –Syria border areas to host and support all sort of Syrian militants.

Earlier, Kurdish officials in Iraqi Kurdistan Autonomous Region had warned about Turkey’s dangerous agendas and said that Ankara by creating a buffer-zone would eradicate all independent Kurdish political parties to cement its grip over Kurdish-populated northern Syria and Iraq.

Jakim: All must respect Article 121 (1A) of the Federal Constitution

(Bernama) – The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) wants all to respect Article 121 (1A) of the Federal Constitution which provides that the civil court cannot interfere in the syariah court.

Its director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha said failure to abide by the provision could cause confusions in society when a court decision was made.

“The provision on the matter is clear. It is there and other courts cannot discuss matters related to Islamic law. But, because it has been requested, let’s wait for the appeal by the Negeri Sembilan Islamic Religious Council.

“As the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom had said prior to this, the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council and those from other states will intervene in the appeal proceedings later,” he said when met after attending a national level Quran and Islamic personal obligation gathering here, yesterday.

He said this when asked to comment on the decision of the Appeals Court on Friday which declared Section 66 of the Syariah Criminal Enactment (Negeri Sembilan) 1992 as invalid under the constitution because it discriminated against Muslim men who suffered from a condition known as gender identity disorder.

Big budget for education but standards remain poor, says Ku Li

Annual allocations by the government for the education sector increases yearly but the country's quality of education remains poor, said former cabinet minister and Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

Speaking at Kolej Yayasan Saad in Malacca today, the former finance minister said Malaysia has been spending more than its Asean neighbours on education as well as South Korea and Japan.

He said the country was placed at the 16th spot among 102 nations in government expenditure for education at all levels.

"Unfortunately, in terms of gross domestic product ratio, the big spending is not worth it, at least it does not show the results in terms of improvement in education quality," said Razaleigh in the text of his speech released to the media.

He cited the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), which found Malaysian students' score in Mathematics plunge from 520 in 1999 to 440 in 2011.

In science, Malaysian students also dropped from 510 in 2003 to 426 in 2011.

Similarly, the Programme for International Student Achievement (Pisa) found Malaysian students performing below average compared with countries in the same economic ranking.

Pisa ranked Malaysia at 39 with a mean score of 422 after assessing students in 2012 on creative problem-solving, while neighbouring Singapore came out tops with a mean score of 562.

The overall mean score for all countries was 500.

Razaleigh said there was a lack of emphasis in critical thinking in the country's education system, which is too exam-oriented.

"Rote learning will not improve students' thinking and problem solving skills which are crucial in the working world, and to be students who are thinking, disciplined and responsible.

"Teachers and parents should not glorify results such as scoring 13 As in PMR and SPM. This only encourages rote-learning which is mechanical and unable to open the students' mind," he added.

He also expressed worries over the rising unemployment rate among local graduates, which according to the World Bank, stood at 21% in 2013.

He said excluding Indonesia, the unemployment rate among young people in Malaysia was the highest in Asia.

"It doesn't matter if the situation is worse in Europe. We should not be happy about this situation. If there is an economic crisis which we expect in the near future, unemployment among youths is very worrying."

He urged Putrajaya to pay more attention to improving primary and secondary education especially on skills development, saying this was crucial if the country were to achieve high wage economy as opposed to high income economy.

He also underlined the importance of mastering the English language among college and university graduates, saying it was the world economy's "lingua franca".

He said mastering English has been emphasised since the Razak Report, a blueprint on the future Malayan education system released in 1956 and named after then education minister Tun Abdul Razak.

"What has happened that we now have problem with this medium of international communication?" he asked. – November 15, 2014.

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Family of ex-MAS steward held in Paris appeals to Putrajaya for help

Breaking their silence for the first time, the tearful family of a former Malaysia Airlines flight steward detained in Paris since August for alleged sexual assault on a passenger, today appealed to Putrajaya to bring him home..

The former MAS employee’s eldest daughter Syaza, 24, said under Article 3 of the Tokyo Convention 1963, her father should be brought back to Malaysia instead of being held in France.

Both Malaysia and France are signatories to the Tokyo Convention 1963, which is a multilateral treaty on offences and certain other acts committed on board an aircraft.

Article 3 states that the state of registration of the aircraft is competent to exercise jurisdiction over offences and acts committed on board.

Therefore, Syaza said, there were grounds for her father to be brought back to Malaysia to be investigated for the offence which he had been accused of.

The former MAS flight steward had been accused of sexually assaulting an Australian passenger during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Paris.

The alleged assault occurred aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH20 on August 7. The steward was detained by French authorities upon arrival in Paris.

A hastily convened press conference was held today by the National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) at Holiday Villa in Subang Jaya.

Also present were Syaza and her husband Mohamad Faiq Ilhan, their legal counsel Shailender Bhar and Nufam president Ismail Nasaruddin.

Despite being detained since August, the former flight steward, who had served MAS for 32 years, has not been charged or tried by French authorities.

Syaza said that she, her mother, an aunt and Faiq had flown to Paris last month and met with her father three times for about 30 to 45 minutes.

"When we met my father for the first time in two months, we did not speak much as we were all overcome with emotion.

"My father looked so sad and depressed, he had also lost about 20kg. The weight loss was due to dietary issues in the prison," Syaza said, as tears rolled down her cheeks.

She suggested that one of the "dietary issues" involved the availability of halal food, as the same food is provided to all detainees.

"He is being detained in a prison where he is confined in a cell with other suspects, most of whom are French."

Syaza also expressed scepticism over the accusations levelled against her father by the passenger, saying it did not sound logical.

"My father is the sole male in our household as he has three daughters besides my mother. So I do not believe he would behave inappropriately."

Syaza said the saddest moment was their third and final meeting with their father, as the family knew they had to return to Malaysia.

"As winter is approaching, we bought some warm clothing for him as he has been borrowing clothing from his colleagues," she said.

Shailender told reporters that under French law, the 54-year-old former steward could be detained for up to 10 years without being tried.

"I have asked around and the average detention period is about four years," Shailender said.

"Just imagine if you were to go for a holiday and get detained for up to 10 years in a foreign country based on a mere accusation," he said.

Meanwhile, Ismail (pic, left) took aim at Malaysia Airlines, saying the national carrier was trying to wash its hands of the incident.

On Thursday, MAS confirmed that it had sacked the flight steward, despite the fact that he had not been charged or tried for the alleged incident.

Ismail said the letter of dismissal had been sent to the flight steward while he was still languishing in an overseas detention centre.

Ismail said MAS gave the flight steward 60 days to appeal against the termination on grounds of "misconduct", but added that he could not appeal as he had no idea he had been sacked.

The union has since referred the matter to the Industrial Relations Department. – November 15, 2014

Compulsory for Malaysians to separate rubbish from next year

The plan for all households to do mandatory solid waste separation at source looks set to begin in September next year.

All Malaysian households will have to separate their solid waste according to categories, the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government ministry announced today.

In a statement, its minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said that this mandatory move will see household solid waste be separated in several compositions including plastic, paper, cardboard, glass, metal, food waste, lump waste and farm waste.

"The collection of the separated waste will be implemented according to a schedule which will be determined by a concession company that will be appointed," he said.

The concept, he added, has been fully implemented in states that use Act 672 of the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act 2007, that is Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Kuantan, Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Perlis dan Kedah from September 2014.

In 2009, Alam Flora chief executive officer Zahri Abdul Ghani had said that it would begin in June that year in Kuala Lumpur, with two rubbish bins given to each household in the federal territory to separate organic from inorganic waste.

Zahri had said that failure to separate waste into the correct bins would result in uncollected rubbish.

Then, in 2011, the then housing and local government minister Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung said the household waste segregation system would begin the following year in stages.

It has taken some time for household waste separation at source to be implemented across the board, as local by-laws had to be streamlined.

In his statement today, Rahman also said that the National Solid Waste Management Department will launch campaigns, awareness programmes and education nationwide.

The government will also ensure that solid waste management facilities and operation centres are upgraded to ensure the success of this new initiative.

"The implementation of this new rule is part of the government's effort to reduce the amount of solid waste sent to waste disposal sites, which is becoming serious. The current sites are now inadequate following the sudden increase in waste," he said.

"The separation at source will also help reduce the amount of solid waste sent to disposal sites which will then increase the lifespan of the sites."

A study by Putrajaya last year showed that an average Malaysian produced 800 grammes of solid waste per day while those in urban areas produce 450gm of waste more than the daily average.

It said that about 30,000 to 33,000 tonnes of waste were produced each day last year last year, compared with 22,000 tonnes of solid waste produced per day in 2012. – November 15, 2014.

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Negara-ku says Sabah ban on Ambiga uncalled for, mulls other options

Disappointed over Sabah’s entry ban imposed on Negara-ku patron Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, the non-governmental organisation said it is looking at other ways, such as Skype webcam, to enable her to speak at its forum in the state later this month.

“We are disappointed and feel that the ban is inappropriate. After all, she has been given a datukship, as a recognition for her contributions to the country," said Negara-ku co-founder Zaid Kamaruddin.

He said the people’s movement might consider using other options to enable Ambiga to participate in the November 25 forum.

"For now, we have no plans yet but we will consider the practicality of using Skype as an option," he added.

Ambiga, who formerly headed the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), was informed yesterday via a letter from the Sabah Immigration Department that she was not allowed to enter the state.

She had earlier written to the department to enquire if she would be restricted from entering the state to speak at a forum on national unity, which will also feature Tan Sri Simon Sipaun and Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan.

Zaid said that as far as he knew, no other Negara-ku member has been barred from entering the East Malaysian state for the forum.

The visit to Sabah is part of Negara-Ku's nationwide road show to "reclaim Malaysia" and return rationality, open and civil discussion, moderation and harmony to the country.

The roadshow began on Wednesday night in Malacca, and will cover six other states: Perak, Johor, Negri Sembilan, Penang, Sabah and Kuala Lumpur.

Endorsed by over 60 civil society groups, the movement's patrons are Ambiga, national laureate Datuk A. Samad Said and former vice-chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), Tan Sri Simon Sipaun.

The ban on Ambiga has been criticised by politicians, including Penampang MP Darell Leiking, who said the Sabah government should not abuse its power to deter people who do not pose any security problems to enter the state.

"I must emphasise that I fully support the autonomy of Sabah on being able to decide who can enter Sabah. But it must be used in the right manner," he said.

"It should be used against real criminal elements who pose security concerns such as Datuk Ibrahim Ali (Perkasa president), who had threatened to burn Bibles."

He said the state was using its right as a "political tool" against Ambiga, who was bringing "constitutional enlightenment" to the people of Sabah.

"I don't know what they are so afraid of. What about the vast number of illegals entering Sabah, which is a huge problem. That is more of a concern than people who want to educate and help," he added.

Earlier, Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng said the ban on Ambiga showed that the Barisan Nasional government have lost their power of reason and their sense of what is right and wrong, pointing at their "siege mentality".

"Laws are meant to ensure the interests and security of Sabah, and she is only going to be speaking about the rule of law. She is a lawyer.

"How can the rule of law and upholding what is right and wrong be a threat to Sabah's security?

"Obviously this is a travesty of justice and we hope they will respect the rule of law and democracy by reversing the ban," Lim said. – November 15, 2014.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/negara-ku-says-sabah-ban-on-ambiga-uncalled-for-mulls-other-options#sthash.ufwRfgjK.dpuf

Dr M out of line with criticisms on BR1M

Salleh Keruak says it does seem that everything Najib does is wrong in the eyes of Mahathir.

FMT

PETALING JAYA: After giving prime minister Najib Razak a tongue lashing over the gross mismanagement of the 1Malaysia Development Board (1MDB) recently, former premier Mahathir Mohamad has now criticised Najib over the BR1M handout to low-income earners, saying it was a form of bribery.

In his latest blog entry, former Sabah chief minister Salleh Keruak commented on this, saying that while criticism was something all democracies had to “tolerate”, what was actually needed was “constructive criticism”.

Summing up Mahathir’s remarks over BR1M as “a case of damned if you do and damned if you don’t”, Salleh explained how Najib could not do nothing right in the eyes of Mahathir.

He wrote, “Soon after the 2013 general election, Dr Mahathir accused the Prime Minister of pandering too much to the Chinese and of not giving enough attention to the Malays, who form the backbone of Umno’s support.”

Salleh noted however that despite Najib making amends by giving out BR1M payments to the poor, Mahathir had condemned this initiative as a form of bribery instead.

“Now, when the Prime Minister introduces BRIM, which goes to the needy, and hence benefits the Malays since more of them are amongst the needy group, the Prime Minister is accused of an attempt to bribe the people,” Salleh wrote in a direct hit at Mahathir.

Hiding his own cynicism behind a professional tone, Salleh spoke on behalf of Najib, inviting Mahathir to offer any suggestion “on how aid can be given to the people”.

He added that “constructive criticism where we also offer alternative views on how to improve what we view as weaknesses in the present system”, was something the present administration under Najib would greatly welcome instead of just empty criticism.

Hindraf: Commissioner didn’t do enough to save Ashram

Hindraf says the heritage commissioner did not use full extent of the law to save Vivekananda Ashram.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: Non-governmental organisation Hindraf has initiated legal action against Heritage Commissioner Zainah Ibrahim, seeking an explanation as to why she failed to gazette the Vivekananda Ashram as a national treasure even if its board of trustees objected to it.

In a statement, Hindraf said the Heritage commissioner still had the legal right to go ahead and gazette the Ashram as a national heritage but that she failed to use the full extent of the law for that purpose.

The statement explained, “…if it was determined the Ashram site is of cultural heritage significance, then the onus was on the commissioner to designate and gazette the site as a heritage site/building.

Hindraf said the commissioner should have conducted a hearing to determine whether the objections of the board, made in 2008 and 2009, had any legitimate grounds under Section 29 of the National Heritage Act 2005.

With moves now being made to re-develop the site into a 23-storey residential complex, Hindraf, through their lawyers, has given the commissioner two weeks for an explanation, failing which legal action will be initiated to compel the commissioner to gazette the site as a national treasure.

Saying the Vivekananda Ashram was deemed a national treasure as far as Hindraf was concerned, the building then “did not solely belong to the trustees of the said ashram to do as it pleases.”

RCI Report public next month

Sabah Deputy Chief Minister and Huguan Siou Joseph Pairin Kitingan will head a committee to look into the findings.

FMT

KOTA KINABALU: Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced at the Upko Convention in the Sabah capital on Sat that the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) Report on illegal immigrants in Sabah will be made public next month.

“Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan will head a committee to look into the findings and come up with the next course of action,” he said in adding that this must be within the context of esprit de corps, without elaborating what he meant by using the term.

Najib said he was aware how important the issue was to Sabahans. He made the decision to make the Report public after discussing with his Federal Cabinet colleagues, he stressed.

The RCI Report was handed over to the King and Najib six months ago.

The RCI headed by Steve Shim Lip Kiong, a former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, was set up on 21 Sept, 2012 and closed on 20 Sept last year.

It summoned 211 witnesses including former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, Pairin and his younger brother Jeffrey Kitingan, the Assemblyman for Bingkor.

Najib’s career hangs in the balance if Anwar not jailed

Zainuddin Maidin hits back at pro-Chinese media who think Najib’s days are over if Anwar is jailed.

FMT

PETALING JAYA: Former chief editor of Malay-daily Utusan Melayu has said that if opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is not jailed for sodomy, it could very well spell the last days of prime minister Najib Razak’s career.

In his latest blog posting, Zainuddin Maidin said that contrary to what some pro-Chinese media thought, jailing Anwar was the only right thing to do if Najib wanted to fix the “crisis in confidence” he was suffering from among Umno members and the Malays.

He also cautioned that if Anwar walked free, Najib’s days would be numbered as he would be forced to step down before his term was up.

Without mentioning names, Zainuddin hinted at “another candidate” already waiting on the sidelines and ready to pounce on Najib should the unacceptable happen.

He wrote, “If Anwar is not jailed, the president of Umno and the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib will be challenged before his term is up by a candidate that is waiting on the sidelines”.

Saying Najib had lost the confidence of Umno and the Malays, he listed the premier’s weaknesses as being too soft on opposition parties, and giving too much leeway to the Chinese and ultra-liberals to do as they pleased.

Attacking The Edge for a commentary saying that jailing Anwar would hurt Najib more than it did former premier Mahathir Mohamad, Zainuddin said their arguments were baseless, did not reflect reality and were pro-Chinese and DAP.

Saying the Chinese only wanted Anwar free so he could be used for political mileage, Zainuddin said they continued to believe that only Anwar had the capacity to bring down the Malay-led Barisan Nasional.

He also said the comments disregarded how influential the Malays were from a political standpoint, but treated them as if they “did not even exist in this country”.

Saying the Kajang Move had “destroyed Anwar’s political integrity”, he also criticised the commentary for its complete refusal to acknowledge the damaging spilt in PKR in the aftermath of the Kajang Move which he said was a blunder that also resulted in a total loss of confidence among Pakatan Rakyat supporters for the coalition.

ISIS uses beheadings, other violent acts to crush civilians, UN report says

By ZACHARY R. DOWDY

UNITED NATIONS -- Beheadings, stonings and mutilation are common weapons of terror employed by the Islamic State in its campaign to subdue civilian populations that have come under its control in Syria, according to a UN monitoring group.

"ISIS has perpetrated murder and other inhumane acts, enslavement, rape, sexual slavery and violence, forcible displacement, enforced disappearance and torture," according to a 15-page report released Friday by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic. "These acts have been committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population in Aleppo, Ar-Raqqah, Al-Hasakah and Dayr Az-Zawr governorates."

It documents the group's violation of international humanitarian law and commission of both war crimes and crimes against humanity as defined by the Geneva Convention.

The report is among the most extensive to document the savagery attributed to the Sunni Islamic group whose origins, the report said, stem from the evolution of an Al Qaida offshoot, Al Qaida in Iraq, which established itself in 2004 and rebranded itself as Islamic State in Iraq in 2006.

That group crossed the Iraq-Syria border after Syria's civil war broke out in March 2011 and joined other rebel forces aiming to overthrow the Shia-dominated government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. It emerged as one of the most fearsome of the hundreds of groups aligned against Assad and withdrew into northern Syria and relaunched attacks against the Shia-dominated government forces in Iraq earlier this year, marching toward Baghdad and gaining money, oil fields and materiel as it captured cities.

It all but erased the border between Iraq and Syria and called the new area under its control a caliphate, with Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi claiming to be its caliph, wielding absolute control.

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The report said that while the group has within its ranks thousands of Syrians, it is composed primarily of foreign fighters.

Civilian populations trapped under the Islamic State's control have borne the brunt of horrific levels of violence imposed under the group's interpretation of Sharia law, said the report, which is based on 300 interviews with witnesses. The group employs a kind of "morality police" that conducts constant surveillance of the population, reports violations and metes out punishment.

Suspected adulterers were stoned. In one videotaped case, women accused of the offense were bound at their hands and forced to stand in a shallow grave with veils on as men hurled huge rocks at their heads until they collapsed and died. Enemy fighters or people perceived as traitors were systematically killed by being shot in the head or having their throats cut.

The methods of control, the report said, appear to be systematic and designed to inflict psychological terror on the population to exert maximum control.

Children were forced to watch videos of torture and execution, and to participate in the killings of captured soldiers. Women over the age of 10 must be fully covered when outdoors. Ghastly executions are public and members of ISIS regularly force civilians to attend them. The bodies of the dead are often left on display in public squares for days.
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"Witnesses saw scenes of still-bleeding bodies hanging from crosses and of heads placed on spikes along park railings," the report said.

"The brutal nature and overall scale of abuses is intended to reinforce the group's absolute monopoly on political and social life to enforce compliance and conformity among communities under their control," the report said. "Imposition of severe measures disguised as religious edicts has formed part of the attack against the civilian population, in addition to the perpetration of armed violence against civilians, mistreatment of persons taking no active part in hostilities, and violence against identified communities."

The Commission of Inquiry has also issued reports of abuses committed by the Syrian government's forces, including torture and mass executions.

Read more: http://www.newsday.com/news/world/islamic-state-uses-beheadings-other-violent-acts-to-crush-civilians-un-report-says-1.9619593

Government Will Continue To Implement Programmes That Directly Benefit The Rakyat - Najib

KOTA KINABALU, Nov 15 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the government will continue to implement programmes that directly benefit the rakyat (people).

Launching the Sabah Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) here Saturday night, Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said the setting up of UTCs was one of the major successes of the government with 7.5 million Malaysians who used them expressing satisfaction with the services offered at the one-stop-centres.

In view of UTCs being a bit hit among Malaysians, he said the government would expand the concept to other areas in line with the government's aspiration to further improve its delivery system to the rakyat, investors and also tourists.

"The government will continue with transformation programmes like this because in order for Malaysia to become a top ranked nation, we must further improve our world ranking even though our economy is improving and there is no reason why Malaysia cannot achieve High Income Advanced Economy status," he said.

Najib said Malaysia was on the right track to achieve developed nation status by 2020 as the World Bank had reported the country was in 18th place out of 189 economies currently.

Also present were Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman and Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah.

Najib said the UTC transformation initiative was a sterling example of a programme that directly benefited the rakyat and was done in a short time and at a reasonable cost, including in Sabah.

He also said the government would consider building another UTC for the people of Sabah as requested by Musa.

He thanked Musa's commitment in making the UTC a success which was proof of the close ties between the federal government and the Sabah government in working for Sabahans who had always stood by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.

The Sabah UTC is the sixth UTC in the country and is the most unique because it took just 12 weeks to build from an unused commercial complex that was abandoned more than 20 years ago.

Since the UTC concept was introduced in 2012 under the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS), UTCs are now available in Perak, Pahang, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka, Kedah, Johor dand Sarawak.

At the Sabah UTC, currently there are 41 state and federal government agencies especially counter service agencies such as the National Registration Department (JPN), Road Transport Department, Immigration Department and police operating at the one-stop centre which was opened on Dec 16, 2013.

Other agencies operating at the UTC are 1Malaysia Clinic, 1Malaysia Store, Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority, Pos Malaysia, Sabah State Library, Sabah State Water Department, Kota Kinabalu City Hall and the Inland Revenue Board.

As at Oct 31 2014, 771,375 visitors have called at the centre to obtain various services or an average of 2,000 people daily.

More than 5,000 people attended the opening ceremony. The guests were also entertained to performances by Akademi Fantasia winner 2014, Mohd Firman Bansir or Firman, who is from Sabah.

Bible: PERKASA hormati, ISMA anggap MAIS betulkan keadaan

Kita menerima keputusan ini dan dalam masa yang sama tanggungjawab kita kepada agama telah selesai.

FMT

PETALING JAYA : Beberapa pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO) yang berkaitan dengan perjuangan agama Islam dan Melayu menghormati keputusan penyerahan semula Bible versi bahasa Melayu kepada Persatuan Bible Malaysia (PBM) oleh Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (JAIS).

Menurut Ketua Penerangan PERKASA, Hasan Basri, pihaknya menghormati keputusan yang diambil oleh Sultan Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah dan MAIS serta menyifatkan tanggungjawab PERKASA telah selesai berkenaan isu tersebut.

“Kita menerima keputusan ini dan dalam masa yang sama tanggungjawab kita kepada agama telah selesai. Kita juga menghomati keputusan ini kerana prinsip perjuangan PERKASA adalah untuk mempertahankan rukun negara dan perlembagaan,” katanya ketika dihubungi Free Malaysia Today.

Hassan menegaskan, pihak gereja perlu mematuhi keputusan yang diambil oleh Sultan Selangor dan MAIS agar Bible itu tidak diedarkan di Selangor dan hanya digunakan di Sabah dan Sarawak.

Sementara Presiden Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA) Abdullah Zaik menyifatkan pemulangan kitab itu adalah untuk memperbetulkan keadaan.

“Mungkin MAIS tersilap masa merampasnya dan pemulangan kitab Bible itu barangkali adalah untuk memperbetulkannya,” ujarnya dalam satu sistem pesanan ringkas (SMS).

Uthayakumar dibenar mula prosiding hina mahkamah

Azman mengesahkan perintah yang dikeluarkannya pada 9 September tahun lepas memerintahkan Uthayakumar ditempatkan bersama-sama tahanan politik

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: Mahkamah Tinggi hari ini memberi kebenaran kepada peguam P. Uthayakumar memulakan prosiding menghina mahkamah terhadap Pengarah Penjara Kajang kerana gagal mematuhi perintah mahkamah mengasingkannya daripada banduan tegar.

Lapor Bernama, Hakim Datuk Mohd Azman Husin menetapkan 13 Januari bagi Abdul Wahab Abdul Kassim hadir di hadapan beliau dan menjelaskan kenapa dia tidak boleh dikenakan tindakan menghina mahkamah.

Bagaimanapun, beliau menolak permohonan serupa terhadap dua lagi inspektor penjara, menghadapi tindakan sama.

Azman mengesahkan perintah yang dikeluarkannya pada 9 September tahun lepas, antara lain, memerintahkan Uthayakumar ditempatkan bersama-sama tahanan politik lain dan bukannya banduan tegar.

Uthayakumar telah mengadu dia dipaksa berkongsi sel bersama-sama lima lagi banduan yang disabitkan atas kes merompak dan merogol.

Azman juga memerintahkan Uthayakumar dirujuk kepada pakar Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia untuk merawat “collapsed disc.”

Pada 2007, Uthayakumar, 52, pengasas pergerakan Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) dan bekas tahanan Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) didakwa menerbitkan satu surat berbaur hasutan di laman web Police Watch.

Dia melakukan kesalahan itu di Jalan Toman 7, Kemayan Square, Seremban, pada 15 November 2007.

Peguam itu didapati bersalah dan dijatuhi hukuman penjara dua tahun dan enam bulan oleh Mahkamah Sesyen pada 5 Jun 2013.

Mahkamah Tinggi mengekalkan hukuman itu tetapi Mahkamah Rayuan mengurangkan tempoh penjara daripada 30 kepada 24 bulan.

Beliau selesai menjalani tempoh tahanannya pada 3 Oktober lepas.

Uthayakumar diwakili peguam M. Manoharan dan M. Manogaran, manakala responden diwakili Timbalan Pendakwa Raya Azlina Rasdi