Pornography, Prostitution will Surge if Women Drive: Saudi Clerics

By Aparajita Das 

A "scientific" report published in Saudi Arabia has claimed that lifting the ban on women drivers would result in "no more virgins".

The report also warned that such a move would also make more Saudis, both men and women, turn to homosexuality and pornography. The study also predicted a surge in prostitution and divorce.

Such startling conclusions were drawn by Muslim scholars at the Majlis al-Ifta' al-A'ala, Saudi Arabia's highest religious council, working in conjunction with Kamal Subhi, a former professor at the King Fahd University, according to the Daily Mail.

The study was made to assess the possible impact of repealing the ban in Saudi Arabia. The country is the only place in the world where women are not allowed to drive a vehicle.

The report was submitted to all 150 members of the Shura Council, the legislative body.

Within 10 years of the ban being lifted, the scholars said, there would be "no more virgins" in the Islamic kingdom.

The religious group pointed to is visible "moral decline" in other Muslim countries where women are allowed to drive.

"All the women were looking at me," Subhi writes of how women behave in other Arab countries, while he sat at a coffee shop in an unnamed state.

"One made a gesture that made it clear she was available. ... This is what happens when women are allowed to drive."

The study was undertaken after Shaima Jastaniya, a 34-year-old Saudi woman, was sentenced to 10 lashes with a whip after she was caught driving in Jeddah.

Despite strong protests in the country about the sentence and the law in general, there has been little hope for any reforms among conservative royals and clerics.

Umno can ‘overcome’ PKR and PAS but not DAP, says minister

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 — An Umno minister admitted today his party viewed DAP as its biggest threat in the next general election, but he confidently predicted that PKR and PAS could be beaten.

Pasir Gudang MP Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin reasoned that this was why delegates had focused their attacks on DAP when speaking about Pakatan Rakyat (PR) throughout the Umno annual general assembly so far.

“Because they believe, and it has been some sort of perception, whether real or imaginary, that the dominant force (in the opposition) is not PKR — it is DAP.

“Therefore, Umno members have been focusing (on) and criticising DAP ... because Umno feels they can overcome the other Malay-based parties,” he told The Malaysian Insider when approached on the sidelines of the party’s AGM today.

The higher education minister was commenting on the direction of debates during the assembly so far and how delegates have been targeting DAP in their criticisms.

Attacks against the opposition party have served as a focal point for this year’s Umno assembly, with delegates accusing DAP leaders of marginalising Malays in PR states, and challenging the sanctity of Islam as the country’s “official religion”.

While some have dismissed renewed attacks against DAP as mere “Pakatan bashing,” some Umno leaders have insisted that DAP poses a “real threat” to Malays, and that a future with DAP in power would spell disaster for the community.

“The party (Umno) is a platform. Our main concern is the future of Malays and Islam.

“This goes beyond political differences between PAS and PKR. Malays have a right to be worried. The position of Malays and our religion has been challenged subliminally and one day before we realise it, it will be too late to do anything,” said Umno delegate Abdul Rahim Kamarudin.

Khaled agreed today, pointing to how DAP has made significant inroads in the Chinese community.

During the Sarawak state polls in April, DAP chalked up the biggest win among its PR partners, snapping up 12 out of the 15 seats it contested.

“They (delegates) see that DAP has gained significant support from the Chinese,” he said.

But Khaled added it was important for delegates to heed their president Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s message of unity, saying it was crucial that the party stand together to face the coming polls.

In his opening message to delegates, Najib had urged them to stand united and be willing to face sacrifices to guarantee victory for the ruling pact in an “extraordinary” general election expected soon.

“I think the president’s request must be given serious consideration because this is the basis of our strength ... it will help us overcome the challenges that lie before us,” said Khaled.

Stupid of DAP to call Indians stupid

How far can it go in politics by making issues out of race, colour and language?
COMMENT

The DAP, at least in Perak, is getting into the news for all the wrong reasons these days.

First, Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming ventilated his ignorance on the science of colour by making derogatory references to Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir’s dark complexion. This was at a ceramah in Kamunting in September. The recording of it has just made YouTube in a belated broadcast.

Now we have Perak DAP chairman Ngeh Koo Kam dismissing Indians – in his tweet message – as stupid in politics “but not as stupid as they think they are”.

Obviously, he is saying that Indians have a lower opinion of themselves in politics than they should, “given the reality of the facts”.

Given the above two incidents, Hindraf Makkal Sakthi Chairman P Waythamoorthy is unlikely to pursue any plan to field candidates under DAP in many of the 15 parliamentary seats and 38 state seats since identified by the Human Rights Party Malaysia (HRP), its political wing. All bets are off.

Waythamoorthy, reportedly, had been toying with the idea of fielding candidates under the DAP banner since HRP was denied registration by the authorities.

Hindraf and HRP are more than likely now to call on the Indian community to abstain from voting during the coming general election, the 13th, and prepare themselves for the 14th.

The idea is to make the eventual winners realise that they won because the Indians did not vote against them and the losers to realise they lost because the Indians did not vote for them.

How far is DAP prepared to go? Indeed, how far can it go in politics by making issues out of race, colour and language?

We can fall back on history a little to educate ourselves.

The last straw

DAP’s recent faux pas reminds us of May 10, 1969, when its leaders drove on open lorries through Kuala Lumpur, broom in hand, to declare that they would soon “sweep the Malays back to the kampungs”.

They could hardly contain themselves after picking up half the state seats in Perak and Selangor and making impressive electoral gains elsewhere.

That “sweep” remark was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Umno, just waiting for the right moment and an excuse, lashed back by unleashing the searing Sino-Malay race riots of May 13, 1969.

Elections in Sabah and Sarawak were suspended over strong protests in the two Borneo states. Parliament was suspended and replaced by the National Consultative Council. The Federal Cabinet was replaced by the National Operations Council headed by Abdul Razak Hussein, the father of current prime minister Najib.

Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman was sent packing into retirement for being “too pro-Chinese”. The New Economic Policy (1970-90) was launched and observed more often than not in the breach.

It is precisely because Indians are not stupid that DAP finds it a great problem making further headway in politics. The party wants to add the strength of the Indians to its current strength, but it is clear that this is not going to happen unless it can somehow persuade the community to be stupid under the guise of being smart.

There is no doubt that the Chinese community on both sides of the South China Sea are united under Lim Kit Siang and DAP. They see a historical opportunity to walk in the corridors of power and supplement and complement and protect their economic power.

DAP cannot depend too much on getting Malay support since the community has other avenues like Umno, PAS and PKR. That leaves the Indian community as one logical new territory, besides the Dayaks, Dusuns and the Orang Asli.

But insulting Indians out of frustration is not going to endear the party to the community. To their credit, Umno and other Barisan Nasional (BN) parties have never referred to the Indian community in the same derogatory terms as DAP does.

Indian politics, unlike that of DAP, is not about taking power directly. So, what is good for the Chinese is not necessarily good for the Indians.

The Indian community is more inclined towards allowing the Orang Asli and Malays in Peninsular Malaysia, Dayaks in Sarawak and the Dusuns in Sabah taking and wielding power.

Any Indian who would sit in power would most likely want to get there from working under one of the local labels.

Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad (Malayalee), current prime minister Najib (Indian-Bugis), former Sabah chief minister Harris Salleh (Indian-Barunai), current Sabah chief minister Musa Aman (Pathan-Dusun) and Zambry himself are a few examples which readily come to mind. Unfortunately, unlike the others, Mahathir did great damage to the Indian community.

DAP has to accept that the current thrust of Indian politics is to undo the damage to the community during the 22 years that Mahathir was in power.

Third Force

Enter Hindraf and HRP.

The plight of the Indians in Malaysia has become so critical that it calls for the intervention of the international community through Washington and other forums.

Back at home, Hindraf’s current pre-occupation includes getting others on board as well under the banner of the Third Force. This force includes, besides Hindraf, the Orang Asli, Christians, Portuguese, Siamese, Chittys, Babas, Dusuns, Dayaks, Sabah and Sarawak in general, and all those who reject both the BN and Pakatan Rakyat.

The Third Force is still a work in progress. Its eventual realisation will be as a solid voting bloc in Parliament, for example, that is poised evenly between BN and PR. It can back either BN or PR to form the government without itself being part of one.

The Third Force will never subscribe to a “government of national unity’. It will be in government only when it can take the initiative to form and lead the federal government.

All this is of course anathema to DAP, hence its labelling of the Indians as stupid.

After May 13, there cannot be another May to teach DAP or its supporters a lesson. If the army takes power one day in Malaysia, we can be sure that DAP would have provided Umno the perfect excuse.

India could be China if it was less democratic: Dr Mahathir

(Bernama) - India could have achieved as much as China in terms of development had it been less democratic, former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said here Friday.
Dr Mahathir, who ruled Malaysia for 22 years, said though democracy was the best form of government, it was not the easiest way to govern, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
If India is not too democratic it will be like China in terms of development," PTI quoted him as saying in an interactive session at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi.
Minister of state for commerce and industry Jyotiraditya Scindia and BJD MP Jay Panda, however, disagreed with Mahathir's contention arguing that India looked towards development as a marathon and not a sprint.
Panda said the Indian democratic system was evolving and there were plenty of countries in the world which do not have democracy and have not developed.
"As far as whether democracy is more of a hindrance to India, it is certainly more difficult. Our system is evolving, our trajectory of growth is certainly better than it was in earlier decades. We do need to tweak our system, but we do not need to change our system," Panda said.
Dr Mahathir said though India has been a democracy for a long time but its socialist leaning had come in the path of growth.
Suggesting a model of a strong Centre and less powerful provinces for India, he said such an approach would help promote development.
"You need a much stronger central government and less powers to the provincial governments, because there will never be an agreement between the Centre and the provinces. This makes it difficult for the government to promote any policy," Mahathir said.
The Hindustan Times Leadership Summit is an annual event hosted under the auspices of India's HT group of newspapers. Prominent national and international personalities are invited to take part in the summit.

India, Inc Trains Its Eyes Abroad

We're a leavin', on a jet plane, not sure when we'll be back again

Strangled by red tape and other problems, India’s emerging multinationals buy overseas
Policy paralysis, bureaucratic delays, a shambolic national infrastructure and a fraught political environment are propelling India Inc’s cash-rich emerging multinational enterprises on a search for big-ticket investments overseas.

With the Congress-led ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) buffeted by corruption scandals, policy U-turns and the inability to get on with the basic task of governance, the pace has picked up, with disenchanted Indian companies going abroad for investment in countries as far flung as Argentina, Africa and Abu Dhabi.

Reserve Bank of India data show that Indian companies carried out more than 400 overseas investment transactions that resulted in outward foreign direct investment of US$3.46 billion during September 2011 alone. Outward investment by India companies or entities was at US$19 billion for the first six months of the fiscal year 2011-12.

It is a depressingly familiar phenomenon, stretching back to the days when the country was ruled by the import-substitution philosophy, according to Prema-chandra Athukorala, writing in a 2009 research paper for the Asian Development Bank:

“There is evidence that the constraining effects of government policy on business operations played a pivotal role in the emergence of Indian MNEs,” Athukorala writes. “During this period, many big industrial houses in India felt constrained not by the lack of profitable market opportunities at home, but by government legislation that created market imperfections and distortions affecting their ability to expand, diversify, and export.”

According to the India Brand Equity Foundation, a trust established by the Ministry of Commerce and the Confederation of Indian Industry, Indian companies are on a continuing search for new investment destinations.

“Despite India's vast opportunities across under-penetrated sectors, companies are venturing abroad for inorganic growth," HDFC Securities analyst Anupam Gupta wrote in a 2011 report. “While this is also partly driven by rising global aspirations for Indian companies, another reason for this is a tough competitive field, made no easier by the unpredictable regulatory environment."

However, an official with the consultancy Bain & Co points out that “these outreach initiatives by Indian companies shouldn’t be misread as the `dynamism’ of a rising power. “It is fuelled largely by frustrations back home while doing business.”

World Bank’s `Doing Business’ 2012 data ranks India at a lowly 132 in the overall "Ease of Doing Business" of 183 economies surveyed. Is it any surprise then that it took seven months to get the $7.2 billion RIL-BP deal cleared and more than a year to approve the Vedanta-Cairn $6 billion transaction? asks the Bain official. Even Posco's US$12 billion proposed investment, the largest FDI proposal in India, says the expert, is stuck in a quagmire awaiting land clearances.

What is driving Indian companies to foreign shores are the perpetually high bank interest rates, inflation and ferocious competition in Asia's third-largest economy. Small wonder that two of the country’s largest conglomerates -- Reliance Industries and the Tatas – earn more than half their revenue abroad.

Mumbai stocks are among the world's worst performers this year, with the Sensex down more than 9 percent. This week, the country’s leading business chambers, the Confederation of Indian Industry, sounded the alarm over the slowdown and emphasized that the government and the RBI need to do something quick to revive the economy.

“A significant pull-down in investments is apparent and this can take the overall economy down further since there are very few developments in the country which can be termed as confidence boosters,” said CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry estimates that GDP growth in the current fiscal year will now be in the range of 7- 7.1 per cent with significant downside risks as against 7.6 forecast earlier by the RBI.

Due to near double-digit inflation, the cost of raw materials has ratcheted up, resulting in slowing factory output. India Inc has also blamed the tight monetary policy, which has increased the cost of borrowing, for hindering fresh investment and crimping industrial growth.

The RBI has hiked interest rates 13 times since March, 2010, to seek to tame demand and curb inflation. Despite that, headline inflation has remained above the 9 percent mark since December 2010. The decline in the mining sector is worrisome too and could trigger higher input costs for many companies, economists say.

HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh recently told an Indian daily that many top industrial houses have admitted that it's “much easier” to invest abroad. Their aim or strategy, said Parekh, is to now have 50 percent of their turnover from abroad. “Take the top five to seven group—the Tatas, Birlas, Ambanis, Ruias,” Parekh said. “Some have already achieved their target. These are industrialists who have established their reputation, capacity and stature in India."

A new report by the Macquarie Group identifies 80 key pieces of legislation languishing in Parliament. In recent weeks, prominent business leaders, including Ratan Tata, have warned that the lack of reforms is causing Indian companies to concentrate their investments abroad “as government chokes the economy.”

Tata has also argued that the government has to “remove barriers and constraints that are making it difficult for the country’s economy to flourish”.

India Inc is also demanding a more transparent and coherent tax regime that can whittle down red tape and facilitate investment in the country. Unfortunately, at the moment at least, there is little to suggest that the Indian government is pushing through any of the reforms urgently needed to uplift the economy and prevent billions from leaving the country’s shores.

A list of the emerging multinationals that have recently invested overseas includes these:

• Fortis Healthcare (India) is to acquire Singapore-based Fortis Healthcare International for US$665 million. The purchase, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close by mid-December.

• The Hyderabad-based GVK Power has invested US$1.41 billion in its Singapore-based joint venture with GVK Coal Developers (Singapore) which is involved in transport, storage and communication services. GVK has also signed a memorandum of understanding to invest US$3-5 billion to build airports on the Indonesian islands of Bali and Java.

• ETHL Communications Holdings has committed US$776.88 million in its Mauritius-based wholly owned subsidiary ETHL Communications Mauritius, which is engaged in financial, insurance, real estate and business services.

• Tata Steel has invested US$173.55 million in its Singapore-based subsidiary, Tata Steel Asia Holdings Pte, which is also engaged in financial, insurance, real estate and business services.

• RHC Holding investments invested US$113.62 million to its Mauritius-based wholly owned subsidiary.

• Jindal Saw invested US$ 78.64 million in its Cyprus-based manufacturing unit, Ralael Holdings Ltd. Jindal has also committed an investment of US$48.31 million in its UAE-based unit Jindal Saw Holdings FZE.

• In October this year, two companies from the US$83 billion salt-to-steel conglomerate Tata Group as well as Larsen &Toubro and the Aditya Birla group clinched agreements with Kizad, an Abu Dhabi government-owned industrial zone to set up projects worth billions there. Kizad is setting up one of biggest industrial zones in the UAE and has signed 40 deals worth US$10 billion. Almost half of it is said to be from Indian investors.

• Australia has emerged as a favored destination with Lanco Infratech acquiring Griffin Coal for A$730 million. The Adani Group snapped up Australia’s Abbot Port for A$1.8 billion while GVK acquired Hancock Coal and Infra of Australia forA$1.21 billion.

• In far-flung Africa, Essar Steel has acquired Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (ZISCO) with a commitment to invest US$750 million. Religare Capital Markets acquires majority stake in South African broking firm Noah Financial Innovation. Godrej Consumer Products acquired 51 percent of a leading pan-African hair care company, Darling Group Holdings, for over Rs5 billion. Tata Chemicals acquired the US-based potash miner EPM Mining Ventures for an undisclosed sum.

• Indian home and personal care goods makers Godrej Consumer Products , Dabur India Ltd and Marico are also searching for properties in Africa amidst fierce competition back home

(Neeta Lal is a New Delhi-based senior journalist; neetalal@hotmail.com.)

Umno People: Najib's Reminder To Those Who Forgot About Umno's Struggles

By Ahmad Shukran Shaharudin

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 (Bernama) -- In just six days, not once, but twice had Umno President Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak reminded Umno members to become Umno people.

The first time was during a special interview with Bernama last Saturday and the second time was during his policy speech at the opening of the 2011 Umno General Assembly Thursday.

In his speech, Najib talked about the struggles of Umno people since the party's inception in 1946, including the decision made by the founder of Umno, Datuk Onn Jaafar, to quit the party in 1951 and the transition of power from Tunku Abdul Rahman to Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.

Even more than that, Najib, who had taken over the party' and the government's leadership in 2009, also underlined three elements to be upheld to become Umno people, namely loyalty, love for the party and the willingness to serve and sacrifice for the party.

The motive? That is for Umno people to think, both implicit and explicitly.

Cheras Umno chief Datuk Syed Ali Al-Habshee said what was wanted by the president was to have Umno people who would sacrifice their all for the party in its struggles to defend Islam, the Malays and the country.

"Umno members or Umno people must always uphold the principles of truth, trust and Umno's struggles.

"Umno people are the people who had been empowering the nation. The spirit must be preserved as requested by the president," said Syed Ali, who is also Federal Territories Umno Liaison Committee secretary.

For Umno leaders at the grassroot level like Datuk Mohamed Soffi Abdul Razak from Lipis, Pahang, Umno people would "read" the message with regards to the 13th general election, which would determine the direction of Islam, the Malays, the country and the party.

"Although he did not make any clear statement on election, but the speech focused mainly on the party's struggles in facing the next general election.

"Every election is important, but the next general election will be the one that will determine how strong the government will be and which parties are supporting it," he said.

Mohamed Soffi, who is also Benta assemblyman, said although Najib's message was conveyed to Umno members, it was indirectly extended to "Umno people" outside the party.

"They are also "Umno people". They may not be registered Umno members, but they had been there for Umno, supported Umno and had helped Umno. These people are categorised as Umno sympathiser.

"They are better than those in the party but had secretly supported the opposition," he added.

Samy, not Palanivel, made me, says Subra

However, MIC’s No 2 dismisses rumours of a rift with the party president.
INTERVIEW

PETALING JAYA: MIC deputy president Dr S Subramaniam has again dismissed talk of a rift between him and the party boss, G Palanivel, but has not shied from rejecting the latter’s claim of responsibility for the rise in his political fortune.

In a recent interview with FMT, Subramaniam chose instead to thank former MIC president S Samy Vellu for his government and party posts.

However, he referred to rumours about him and Palanivel plotting the downfall of each other as the “creation of imaginative minds aimed at sowing discord”.

He said he had a good working relationship with Palanivel and accused the media of fanning rumours about plots and counter-plots.

“We’ve got no problems,” he said. “We communicate with each other quite well. We frequently discuss Indian issues and party matters.

“You can ask him. He will tell you the same thing.”

Asked whether he would consider vying for the presidency in the next MIC polls, he said: “I’ve never thought of that.”

However, he confirmed reports that there are groups in the party that want him to seek election as party president.

His decision, he added, would be based on what would be good for MIC and the Indian community.

He said the party’s current focus should be on the 13th general election.

Recently, Palanivel, while denying that his relationship with Dr Subramaniam was rocky, hinted that not everything was rosy.

Realities of politics

Speaking to FMT, the party president expressed confidence of emerging victorious if Dr Subramaniam were to go against him.

“I was the person who brought him in,” he said. “I made him a MP and secretary-general.”

Subramaniam said Samy Vellu was the one who brought all the current top leaders into MIC and gave them the opportunity to rise to their current positions.

“Everybody now, including the present president, are people who were supported, brought in, and developed by the past president. We can’t deny it.”

He also said that all the current party leaders were still close to Samy Vellu.

Asked to rate Palanivel’s leadership in comparison to Samy Vellu’s, Subramaniam praised the current president’s acumen as a “strategist and planner” and described his predecessor as a fighter.

“We can’t say who is better. At the end of the day, it’s the results that matter.”

Subramaniam also addressed criticism –by those who support him – that he was being too soft about making a bid for the party presidency.

“I think that is the wrong measurement” for toughness, he laughed. “Putting your neck out to challenge should not be the criterion on which you determine whether a person is soft or strong.

“It is more on a person’s ability to analyse ideas and do things in the correct manner, taking into consideration the realities of politics.”

Below are excerpts from the interview:

Is there a rift between you and the president?

We’ve got no problems. This is all is what you read in the media, you know. At present, the relationship between top MIC leaders is cordial. We communicate with each other quite well. We frequently discuss Indian issues and party matters. There are no issues. Rumours of a rift between us are the creation of imaginative minds aimed at sowing discord. In politics, there will always be people who pit one person against another, and that probably is the reason why that kind of perception is there. In reality, there is no such thing. The accusations of plotting and counter-plotting have no basis. You can ask him, he will tell you the same thing.

Ok. Is there a plan to “kill you off”, as some have put it? Have you heard of such a thing?

I have not seen real evidence that that is being done. So I don’t want to hear rumours from people who are not in official positions, trying to say things like that.

Will MIC be giving more opportunities to more of the younger leaders?

It is happening, isn’t it? With the present group, virtually all are new. In this election, more new faces will come out. That transformation and transition is an ongoing process.

Would you be vying for the post of party president at the next party polls?

I’ve never thought of that.

Never thought of that?

Yes. Of course, people will suggest all sorts of things, but we will make decisions based on the interest of the community and the party.

Have you been receiving a lot of support to go for the presidency?

Well, there are always, in politics, people who will say this and that. We live with it, and we make our own decisions based on what we think is right.

You’ve not given it any thought?

For most of us, the main concern is meeting the challenge of the next general election. To a great extent, the political future of the party and many people in the party will be determined by the results of the next general election. Only after that will the other things fall in place. So I think it’s important that everybody focuses on the election.

There are rumours that you are supported by the former president

I’m close to him, as all of us are. Everybody now, including the present president, are people who were supported, brought in, and developed by the past president. We can’t deny it. He gave us the opportunity. He gave all of us an opportunity, he gave me the opportunity, he gave the present president the opportunity, he gave the present vice-presidents opportunity. Everybody. He gave the opportunity, for us to be in whatever position in which we are now.

Palanivel said in a recent interview with FMT that he was confident in a one-on-one situation against you.

Because you guys asked him that question. So he had to respond. I’m not going to. I’ve already told you I’ve not thought of it. So I don’t want to give you the answer to the next part.

How do you see Palanivel as the party boss in comparison with Samy Vellu?

Different styles, definitely different styles. No two leaders are the same. Each will have his individual style and be equally effective. Samy Vellu was outspoken, the fighting kind, visibly fighting kind of leader, whereas the present president is more of a strategist and planner. And he goes for planning and implementation.

So I cannot compare two different systems. At the end of the day it is which produces the best results.

Of course, in the big portion of his political life, Samy Vellu was respected as the single leader of the Indian community. Of course, towards the last few years, when the political tide changed, the opposition to him grew, you see. But in the initial years, he came in as a change for Indians and MIC’s future. He did bring some major transformations. He gained the trust for a long time. Of course, the last few years, in the change of political climates, he faced some problems.

We can’t ask who is better. At the end of the day, it’s the results that matter.

So, based on the current results?

Takes time for us to wait and see because we are faced with the transformation of the community. Only time will tell to what extent we have been able to solve problems of the Indian community.

There are rumours of the return of former deputy presidency contender S Sothinathan to MIC.

He was a former vice-president, former deputy minister. Of course, he lost in the last election. I think he met the president and requested that he given another opportunity for the constituency of Teluk Kemang. And the president has suggested that he has a role to play in politics. The president has communicated with me that those discussions have occurred.

MIC has two full ministers. How has that benefited the Indian community?

Still very early to see the results. It’s just been three months since we’ve had that. It definitely will create better opportunities for us to get the government programmes connected to the Indian community. Of course, it gives both of us the ears of the top leadership of the country, brings us closer to them. Obviously, it has given us a wider spectrum for putting forward the community’s agenda. This will, over a period of time, translate into bringing a more rapid transformation of the community.

Polis tutup pekung skandal lembu

Naib Presiden PKR N Surendran menyoal kenapa perlu mengeluarkan kenyataan sedemikian pada hal siasatan masih berjalan.

PETALING JAYA: PKR membidas kenyataan Timbalan Ketua Polis Negara Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar semalam bahawa siasatan polis sehingga kini tidak mendapati sebarang elemen pecah amanah dalam pengurusan National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFC).

Naib Presiden N Surendran menyoal kenapa perlu mengeluarkan kenyataan sedemikian pada hal siasatan masih berjalan. Adalah tidak masuk akal apabila pihak polis membuat kesimpulan sedemikian sebelum tamatnya siasatan.

NFC diurus tadbir oleh suami kepada Ketua Wanita Umno dan juga Menteri Pembangunan Wanita, Kebajikan dan Masyarakat, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, iaitu Datuk Dr Mohammad Salleh Ismail dan tiga anak mereka.

Surendran menyifatkan kenyataan Khalid ini sebagai percubaan untuk menutup pekung skandal ini ketika berlangsungnya Perhimpunan Agung Umno 2011 di Putra Dagangan Dunia Putra (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur dewasa ini.

“Lebih memeranjatkan apabila pihak polis mengesahkan bahawa mereka belum lagi mengambil keterangan daripada Shahrizat, tokoh utama dalam kontroversi projek lembu ini.

“Kenapa pihak polis tidak memanggil Shahrizat untuk memberi keterangan? Saya kira pihak polis mahu mencuci tangan dalam skandal ini. Sikap polis ini memeranjatkan kerana skandal ini melibatkan penyelewengan dana awam,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan media.

Menurutnya, tindakan Khalid mengeluarkan kenyataan itu ialah supaya orang ramai percaya bahawa tidak berlaku sebarang kes pecah amanah, walaupun dana awam itu digunakan untuk membeli dua buah kondominium mewah, lawatan ke luar negara, kereta-kereta mewah dan tanah strategik.

Semalam, PKR mendedahkan bahawa NFC telah membeli sebidang tanah yang strategik di Putrajaya dan sebuah kereta mewah dengan menggunakan wang pinjaman mudah dari dana awam yang berjumlah RM250 juta itu.

High Court upholds open verdict

The New Straits Times

SHAH ALAM: The High Court yesterday upheld the open verdict delivered in Teoh Beng Hock's inquest.

He said the coroner's duty was to decide whether there was any criminality based on the facts produced before him.

"His function is limited. He cannot make his own assumptions. The coroner had evaluated the testimonies of all the witnesses in the inquest and found there was not enough evidence  to lead him to a homicide finding."

Rahim said although there were suspicious grounds which might lead to homicide, suspicion alone was insufficient under the law.

"There was no fact which could lead the coroner to say 'Yes, he was the one who committed it'."

He said there was a lacuna in the case, for example who inflicted the "pre-fall injuries" on Teoh's neck.

Rahim said there was no evidence to prove there was a third party involved.  

"Hence, I agree with the coroner's decision in ruling out homicide. The deputy public prosecutor had also said there were no screams or defensive wounds to prove signs of struggle," he said, adding that there was also no evidence to prove Teoh had committed suicide.

"He showed no signs of depression and was normal and cooperative during investigations."

He said  an open verdict was not satisfactory as it was neither here nor there, but that was the only option the coroner had.

After proceedings, Gobind said he would need to take instructions from Teoh's family  whether to apply for leave to appeal against the High Court's decision.

On Jan 5, coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas delivered an open verdict in Teoh's inquest.

Due to public outcry, a Royal Commission of Inquiry was set up and on July 21, the panel ruled Teoh was driven to suicide due to aggressive questioning by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission officers.

Teoh, 30, a political aide to Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead on July 16, 2009, on the fifth floor corridor of Plaza Masalam here.

Umno General Assembly Continues With Debate On President's Speech

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 2 (Bernama) -- The 2011 Umno General Assembly continued on Friday with the debate on the policy speech of Umno President Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Yesterday, eight delegates debated the motion of thanks on the president's speech tabled by Kok Lanas assemblyman, Datuk Md Alwi Che Ahmad.

Seven other delegates are expected to debate the motion today.

Najib, in his speech at the opening of the assembly yesterday, among others, called on party members to close ranks to face the next general election.

Apart from that, 14 other delegates are also scheduled to debate the motion on the economy tabled by Perak's delegate Datuk Idris Hashim and seconded by Puteri Umno delegate Jamilah Hanim Othman.

The five-day assembly began on Tuesday night with a simultaneous launching of the Wanita, Youth and Puteri Umno wing assemblies by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also Umno Deputy President.

Lynas: Australian Opposition to raise issue

The Australian Opposition will be raising the issue of Lynas’ rare earth refinery in Pahang with the Australian government, which is “ultimately responsible for issuing the export licences required by the company”.
See letter from the Leader of the Opposition in Australia (click to enlarge):

Africa Investigates - Fool's Gold

With the price of precious metals surging on the world market, Ghana is experiencing a new gold rush as more people try and get access to its most famous export. Unfortunately, much of that effort revolves around unlicensed - and hence illegal - mining operations, known locally as galamsey, which are often funded by foreign speculators and criminals. The potential profits are huge but few if any of the groups and individuals involved will spare a thought for the environmental destruction illegal mining causes or for the safety of workers they hire, on pitiful salaries, to extract the gold on their behalf.

As Ghanaian investigative reporter, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, has been discovering, the consequences of this indifference can be tragic. In June 2010 for example, one galamsey operation near Dunkwa-on-Offin, in central Ghana, went disastrously wrong when the mine flooded and 150 people were killed. It devastated the local community, but it was by no means an isolated incident. Often accidents occur when miners build unstable river dams to create a large pool of water, which they can then drain to allow digging down into the soft exposed soil. Unfortunately, the dams can burst and the miners are trapped in oozing mud without any means of getting themselves to safety. Or it can result in widespread local flooding, which devastates local communities.

Galamsey also causes serious environmental problems and water pollution. Many mining operators are now focusing their efforts on the rivers themselves, using specialist imported machinery to suck up mud from the river bed. This is then treated with chemicals, including poisons such as cyanide, lead and mercury, to extract the gold before the waste is deposited back into the rivers. Aside from the dreadful consequences this has for aquatic life, the toxins are absorbed by humans because fish is a necessary food source and the rivers are often the only source of water for drinking and bathing. Dozens of people have died and hundreds more have been poisoned because of the after effects.

The problem of illegal gold mining has become so serious in some parts of Ghana that President John Atta Mills has said that he will take whatever steps are necessary to stop it. But somehow, despite the best efforts of the authorities, who occasionally launch high profile raids to shut the galamsey operations down, illegal mining continues to thrive. Indeed, as this investigation reveals, the operations have proved so lucrative that in parts of Ghana, a wave of Chinese speculators has moved in to provide the funds to hire the workers and import the necessary machinery. At one point Anas goes undercover to work in an illegal mine run by one of these groups, for less than $6 a day, and finds that children are being employed too and in the most primitive conditions.

Anas also discovers, the single most important reason for all this activity, aside from the promise of big profits for the mining operators, is that corruption is allowing it to flourish, even among those who are supposed to be stopping it. At one point, posing as a would-be mine operator who wants to bring in boats and machinery to dredge a river for gold, he finds it is distressingly easy to bribe local police officials to look the other way.

Muslim Love Jihadist brutally murdered his Hindu Wife.

Muslim guy chopped off his Hindu friend ghastly as the later did not lend money to him.

~Upananda Brahmachari from Kolkata.

Within the time frame of last posting in Hindu Existence up-till , the Bengal Jihadists have completed some of their assigned duties so successfully without any objection from police, administration or the so called secular media.

Irrefutable insurgency like iota in Islam and the multitude menace of Bengali Muslims in the last 72 hours made fatal to the Hindu victims in various parts of South Bengal in West Bengal, the perfected ‘Jihad Land’ by the blessings of Mamta Banerjee, the ‘converted Muslim’ (?) Chief minister of West Bengal. The aggrieved and persecuted Hindus in Bengal now a days call Mamta Banerjee as Mamtaz Banu Arjee. Her Trinmool Congress Party,

TMC is now dis-abbreviated as Total Muslim Congress. And the opposition Communist Party, CPIM is nothing but vacant on-lookers as these Muslim hooligans invading Bengal in the “CHANGE”  scenario, once were their own comrades.

In this span of last few hours and days, we have received dreadful news that :

1. Muslim Love Jihadist brutally murdered his Hindu Wife. (Case of Ankita Mondal of Sonarpur, District: South 24 Parganas, who was murdered by Mohammad Salauddin Gazi on 28th Nov. 2011).

2. Muslim friend chopped off Hindu friend out of negating loan. (Case of Samar Adak, a Cork Craftsman brutally chopped off  by Noor Islam Molla on 24 Nov. 2011 at Baramajhipara, P.S. Singur, District: Hooghly).

3. Muslim areas are made as arsenal. Huge arms and ammunition recovered.(Gun, revolvers, bullets, bombs have been recovered from Nalkar & Moukhali  Village of Jibantala Police Station in Canning sub-division).

4. Muslim Politicians want Madrasha Education to destroy secular education system in Muslim Community. (In a Minority Cell Conference organized by Indian National Congress at Diamond Harbour, South 24 Parganas, the Zilla Parisad Sabhadhipati,  South 24 Pgs. Samima Shiekh of TMC categorically expressed her views to expand Madrasha education with a very communal sentiments).

5. Muslim perpetrators planned to loot every Hindu Temple Treasure if possible. ( In Katiahati under Baduria Police Station, North 24 Parganas, Gold ornaments with a valuation over lac of rupees, were stolen from the Deity from an ancient Kali Temple. In the last three months, 100 of Hindu Temples were robbed off in the dead of nights. Police did worthless without almost any recovery of golden and Silver ornament, image of valuable black stone etc.).

Many thing more must not reach us, but 99% News of Muslim Menace and Mission Bengal Jihad are always uncovered by the purchased media of Bengal. Yes, purchased by the Muslim Operators in Bengal everywhere in every sector of Politics, Education, Business, Press & Media and Everywhere.

One can be traumatized to understand the ghastly Jihad Menace in Bengal rapidly coming to the surface without any hindrance. Read something.

Love Jihad wins ultimately.

Muslim husband murdered his Hindu wife brutally.

 

Ankita Mandal, Hindu woman of 19 years, had a love affair with Salauddin Gazi, Muslim guy of 28 years, 4 years ago that resulted to marriage daring all religious differences but little did she know then that her life would come to an abrupt end and the assassin would be none other than her better half. This tragic incident took place at 7 pm, Monday, at Milanpalli, P.S. Sonarpur, suburban area of Kolkata, District: 24 Paraganas (South) and Salauddin, in accordance with police, is at large.

As stated by Ankita’s parents, there was no dearth of mental and physical tortures on Ankita by Salauddin and his other family members. Ankita, what is more, owing to excessive torturing used to come to her parents’ house at regular intervals but thanks to her parents’ efforts, she would return too.

Since torments of alcohol-dependent Salauddin crossed all limits at this time too, Ankita, as usual, left her husband’s residence in Chakberia, Sonarpur and came to her parents’ abode. Salauddin, to take her back to home, came to his in-law’s house on Monday, November 28, 2010,  but Ankita was adamant to not to return anymore. Getting infuriated, Salauddin started black guarding in front of the house and finding no other option to stop this revilement, Mrs. Rekha Mandal, mother of Ankita, leaving behind her two daughters in the house, went to the police station. Father of Ankita, Mr. Dipak Mandal, was not in the house just then, unfortunately.

When Rekha Devi returned with police, she found that Ankita, already murdered, was lying in a pool of blood. Aditi, her younger daughter informed, the moment she went for the police station, Salauddin and Ankita entered into a bitter squabble and Ankita was thrashed inhumanly once more. Salauddin had a sharp knife within his apparel and with it he chopped up Ankita and fled.

Police has found a chopper, believed to be Salauddin’s murder weapon, from the area. On the word of Kankarprasad Barui, Additional Police Super – District: 24 Paraganas (South), hunting is going on to find Salauddin out. Two brothers of Salauddin, alleged to be accomplices, have been picked up.

Ankita Mandal, without doubt, has become latest epitome of victims of Love Jihad.

Thus ends an inter-religious marriage with the death of a Hindu girl. Love Jihad becomes the greatest victor.

Religious bias overshadows longtime friendship.

Muslim friend chopped ghastly Hindu boy for money.

Friendship between a Kaffir and Momin is absurd. SAMAR WAS ATTACKED BY NOOR ISLAM WITH A SHARP SWORD TO SLIT A KAFFIR'S NECK. (Ref : Q : 47.4).

In the district of Hoogly, Samar Adak, a sholapith (Indian Cork)  craftsman by profession, became victim to a wild attack of his Muslim friend (of long duration) Noor Islam on November 24, 2011 evening who was hell-bent to have Rs. 15, 000 Samar was having at that time for his own job. Initially, Noor Islam frantically urged Samar to lend the sum as loan. But Samar could not allow Noor to get the loan as that was withdrawn from Bank by Samar from his own savings for his own business.   Being negated, Noor attacked Samar with a sharp sword targeting Samar’s neck.

The injury as a result of repeated sharp hitting by Noor Islam’s sword was so grave that Samar has been transferred to Calcutta Medical College and his condition is in the balance.

 

Noor Islam has been taken into custody, it’s true. Now the question arises whether Noor gets punished or police considering this as a prank continues to play with Hindu emotion remains to be seen. But the secular preaching of communal harmony by all the Bengal Political Parties and relay any Muslim friends like Noor or Salauddin are very dangerous in all respect to the non-alert Hindus in Bengal.

Arms recovered from Muslim Jihadists in last 72 hours from South Bengal. Report form Police sources : 

1. District-Murshidabad, Police Station-Khargram : Village Surhkhali : Recovered- 3 (Three) Maskets; 13 (Thirteen) Pistols; 8 (Eight) rounds of bullets. Arrested Muslim Criminals : Ainal Shiek (of Mahalandi village), Giyas Sheikh (Gaontala Village), Mansar Shiekh (Gaontala Village). [ Total recovery in November 2011 in Khargram Jihad Dane : Fire Arms 50, 37 bombs/home made grenades, 310 round bullets].             [brt29].

2.  District-South 24 Parganas, Police Station-Jibantala : (a) Village-Nalkara : Recovered- 1 long range Rifle; 25 rounds bullets; 7 live bombs : Arrested Jihadists – Najrul Gayen Molla,  Sayidul Gayen Molla, Saiful Gayen Molla & Sirajul Gayen Molla. (b) Village- Moukhali : Recovered- 3 Rifles; 23 rounds bullets; 7 swords : Arrested Jihadists : Lutfar Molla & Sattar Molla.

As a matter of fact the Muslim perpetrators have fertiled the land of Jihad in West Bengal in the last 34 years of Leftist regime in Bengal. In these last three years of Change phase the ruling TMC is helping the Muslim Jihadists to made a havoc upon the peace loving Hindu people here. Bengal is turning rapidly as a Killing Field of Hindu Kaffirs by the Bangla Jihadists. The graph of Jihad in Mission Bengal Jihad under the camouflage of political rift is so high and drastic, Bengal may be put into a severe situation than Kashmir in a very short span of time.      

“My uncle sold me for 170 dollars to be a suicide bomber”

A senior Afghan intelligence official said up to 60 per cent of the suicide attacks are by minors

By Subel Bhandari & Hares Kakar

Kabul - Sherzai was 13 years old when his uncle sold him to Taliban insurgents for 15,000 Pakistani rupees (170 dollars).

'Then the Taliban told me to carry out a suicide attack,' he said, now in a juvenile correctional facility in Kabul. 'They said I would be a martyr and I would go to paradise.'

Sherzai, a shepherd with no father and a bed-ridden mother, is from Gardez city, the provincial capital of Paktia province that borders Pakistan and is the focus of military operations.

Sherzai escaped shortly after he was sold to the Taliban. But he was arrested, and a court sent him to the centre where he studies and takes vocational training in carpet weaving, tailoring and computers.

He shares his room with nine other children who are in the centre for various offences.

Amanullah, 14, has been there for three months.

He said he was recruited for a suicide mission while studying in a madrassa in the northern province of Kunduz.

Amanullah surrendered to police at the last moment, just before he was to blow up a mosque frequented by Afghan security forces.

Amanullah, like Sherzai, was promised paradise through martyrdom.

'First, I believed but then later I lost my faith,' he told dpa.

'We have evidence that the Taliban have been recruiting children aged 11 to 17 to carry out a range of activities, from armed combat to smuggling of weapons across the Pakistan-Afghan border and planting IEDs (improvised explosive devices),' Dee Brillenburg Wurth, a child rights adviser with the UN in Afghanistan, told the IRIN news website.
On the eve of the Muslim festival Eid-ul Fitr in August, President Hamid Karzai pardoned 20 children, some as young as 7, who were groomed by the Taliban to become suicide bombers.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Nov. 30, 2011

Like Amanullah and Sherzai, many children have been lured or forced to become human bombs in the decade-long war, especially since the insurgents turned increasingly to suicide bombings after 2004.

Last year, 1,141 people were killed in 140 suicide attacks, according to the India-based Institute of Conflict Management.

The United Nations in September said the number of civilian deaths caused by bombs and suicide attacks in the first eight months was 177 per cent higher compared to 2010.

The report also said the UN found 'anti-government elements' recruiting children to carry out suicide attacks, plant bombs and smuggle weapons and uniforms.

'We have evidence that the Taliban have been recruiting children aged 11 to 17 to carry out a range of activities, from armed combat to smuggling of weapons across the Pakistan-Afghan border and planting IEDs (improvised explosive devices),' Dee Brillenburg Wurth, a child rights adviser with the UN in Afghanistan, told the IRIN news website.

On the eve of the Muslim festival Eid-ul Fitr in August, President Hamid Karzai pardoned 20 children, some as young as 7, who were groomed by the Taliban to become suicide bombers.

'Our mullah told us that when we perform the suicide attack, everyone around us dies, but we would stay alive,' 9-year-old Ghulam Farooq said.

A senior Afghan intelligence official said up to 60 per cent of the suicide attacks are by minors.

Authorities arrested about 100 underage would-be bombers this year, said Lutfullah Mashal, spokesman for the National Directorate of Security.

'Militants in Afghanistan have been using children as suicide bombers and there is an increase in suicide attacks by minors in the last six months,' Mashal said.

The US-based Human Rights Watch described the phenomenon as an 'egregious affront to humanity.' It said the trend of recruiting children by the Taliban to use as suicide-bombers was 'increasing alarmingly in recent months.'

'Younger and younger children have been involved,' it said.

The Taliban denies using children in suicide missions. Their code of conduct, the Layha, also forbids the use of children in 'jihadic operations.'

Rebel spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid called the reports 'propaganda conspired by the intelligence network against the movement.'

'Yes, there have been many allegations in the media about children being recruited, but we have our own rules and regulations for jihad, and these rules do not give us the permission to encourage underage child for martyrdom missions,' Mujahid told dpa.

He also said they select only the 'fighters with full beard' to fight in the Taliban ranks.

'We have hundreds of martyrdom seekers waiting for their turn. Martyrdom operations are not the work of children,' he said.

Read more: http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/2011/11/30/my-uncle-sold-me-for-170-dollars-to-be-a-suicide-bomber.html#ixzz1fJff7K5B

Malaysia should be branded an Apartheid state, US lawmakers told

Written by  K Suresh, Malaysia Chronicle 

It was first Malayan Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman who once stormed out of a Commonwealth meet in London in May 1960 after thundering that he would not be seated at the same table as the President of Apartheid South Africa.

Ironically, fifty-odd years later, Hindraf Makkal Sakthi the NGO is lobbying Washington to classify Malaysia as an Apartheid state no different from that which once existed in South Africa and which ultimately degenerated into an international pariah.

This is the plea that went out to the US Government in recent days through the Human Rights Foundation Malaysia (HuRiFoM), a United Kingdom-based NGO newly set up by Hindraf to outsource its broader Malaysian Agenda.

HuRiFoM, like Hindraf, is headed by Kelantan-born lawyer, P. Waythamoorthy, whose elder brother P. Uthayakumar, is the pro-tem secretary-general of the Human Rights Party Malaysia (HuRiPaMa).

Waythamoorthy was granted political asylum in London after the Malaysian Government cancelled his passport while he was abroad – “on the grounds of him having terrorist links with the Tamil Tigers” -- and demanded the document be returned to it by whichever country received him upon landing.

Tracing the source of racism

The thrust of Hindraf’s message in a prepared presentation, “Institutional Racism and Religious Freedom in Malaysia”, for Washington is that “Malaysia is not that bubbling, bustling melting pot of races. In reality, it is a country based on a subtle, pervasive and increasingly aggressive form of racism”.

Three US Government bodies -- the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, the US State Department, and the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission - accepted the Hindraf presentation delivered by HuRiFoM through Waythamoorthy in late Nov.
The conflict that lies just below the artificial calm is so well concealed, according to the presentation, “that someone with not more than a cursory knowledge of Malaysia will find it hard to believe that there exists anything significant otherwise”.

Delving into the source of racism in Malaysia, the presentation belabours the point that the Federal Constitution of Malaysia defines a Malay as a Muslim who habitually speaks the Malay language and practices Malay culture, customs and traditions.

“In reality, as long as a person is a Muslim, he can be Malay, even an illegal immigrant and a foreigner who is a Muslim can be Malay,” points out the presentation.

Syariah Courts take over

At one stroke of the pen, it appears to HuRiFoM, that the Federal Constitution has dispossessed the descendants of the original Malay settlers in Peninsular Malaysia who came after the Orang Asli.

The Malay definition, according to the HuRiFoM presentation, goes hand in hand with a 1988 amendment to Article 121 of the Federal Constitution to make provisions for the recognition of Islamic Syariah Court and/or Laws, and in consequence by deviations and distortions, to implement Syariah laws on non-Muslims whenever there’s a dispute between Muslims and non-Muslims.

HuRiFoM claims that the Judiciary, where the 60 per cent majority Muslims in the country makes up 90 per cent of those on the Bench, “has abdicated its powers to the inferior Syariah Courts”.

The various state policies, in essence, have been creatively crafted and carved into a jigsaw of a reinforcing racist system, continues the presentation. “The state system operates under the protection of official secrecy and a tight hold on the various apparatus of the state”.

There are those who dare to cross the line and when they do, the presentation noted, “they are detained without trial or suffer malicious prosecution”. Evidently, this renders racism in Malaysia opaque and gives the phenomenon a uniquely Malaysian flavour.

The presentation cites various examples of what happens to those who cross the line in Malaysia on religion. Three will suffice:

Rani, 56, was a 16-day old baby when her poverty-stricken Muslim parents gave her up for adoption to a Hindu couple.
When the authorities caught up with Rani several decades after her marriage, Her Hindu husband was forcibly taken away, circumcised and converted after being threatened with a jail sentence. Meanwhile, Rani’s children and grandchildren are all without birth certificates as they are practising Hindus and not Muslims as the authorities want.
S. Banggarma, a mother of two, was “unknowingly” converted to Islam, in contravention of Article 12 of the Federal Constitution, by state religious authorities at the age of 7 while she was housed at a Welfare Home in Penang.
The Civil Court refuses to hear her case and has referred the matter to the Syariah Court. Her marriage to a Hindu, Sockalingam, has not been registered by the authorities and her husband’s name has been excluded from the birth certificates issued to her children. The Syariah Court has yet to hear Banggarma’s case but the decision is expected to be a foregone conclusion against her.
Raimah Bibi is a practising Hindu adopted by Muslim parents.
Her Hindu husband was told 21 years after their marriage that his wife and his six children by her had to be separated from him and placed in a rehabilitation centre by order of the Syariah Court.

Explaining Article 153 and the NEP to Washington

Away from “the creeping Islamisation of Malaysia”, the bulk of HuRiFoM’s presentation is on Article 153 of the Federal Constitution and the New Economic Policy (1970-1990) which had a shelf-life of 15 years and 20 years respectively.
Both Article 153 and the NEP, according to the presentation, not only continue in a deviated and distorted form but cover every aspect of life in Malaysia. Hence, the parallel drawn by Hindraf and HuRiFoM with Apartheid South Africa.

Article 153, it was pointed out, reserves a reasonable proportion for the Orang Asli, the Natives of Sabah and Sarawak and the Malays in four areas only: intake into the civil service, intake into institutions of higher learning owned by the Government and training privileges; government scholarships; opportunities from the Government to do business.

The NEP, an offshoot of the “business opportunities” proviso, was meant among others to ensure that the target groups own, control and manage 30 per cent of the nation’s corporate wealth by 1990.

The reality, complains the presentation, has meant the denial of the legitimate aspirations of the non-Malay communities as pledged under the second prong of Article 153.

Elsewhere, the presentation raises the plight of the Christians in Malaysia, the domination of the civil service and Judiciary by Muslims, rigged elections, illegal immigrants on the electoral rolls, and the continuing disenfranchisement and marginalization of the people of Sabah and Sarawak and Indians.
Malaysia Chronicle