Sanjeevan arrives in Serdang hospital under heavy security

MyWatch chairperson R Seri Sanjeevan, who survived a murder attempt, has finally been transferred to Serdang Hospital under heavy police guard.

His ambulance arrived at Serdang Hospital at 4.20pm today from Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital in Seremban.

The ambulance was escorted by three police vehicles as they zoomed into the hospital's emergency area.

At least seven police officers alighted from the vehicle during the transfer.

Sanjeevan was seen unconscious as hospital personnel help unload his bed and brought him into the hospital.

At least two police officers armed with shotguns have positioned themselves at the entrance of the emergency ward.

Members of the media and the public were not allowed into the emergency ward except for family members.

On Saturday, Sanjeevan was shot at a road junction in Bahau, Negeri Sembilan, by two men on a motorcycle but survived by speeding off although he had been hit by the first bullet.

Arab-Malaysia Bank founder shot dead, wife injured

Arab-Malaysian Bank founder Hussain Ahmad Najadi (pic) was shot dead in a car park at Lorong Ceylon in Kuala Lumpur today, several hundred metres away from the bank headquarters.

The 75-year-old was walking towards his vehicle with his wife when a gunman approached him and fired several shots at his back, killing him on the spot in the 1.30pm incident.
 
Where the shooting took place this afternoon. - The Malaysian Insider pic by Muzliza Mustafa, July 
29, 2013.

 Hussain was shot in the chest and ribs while his wife Cheong Mei Kuen, 49, was injured after being hit on the hand, police said.

Closed-circuit television cameras showed the assailant was a man wearing a long sleeve checked shirt and khaki pants.

Dang Wangi police chief Assistant Commissioner Zainuddin Ahmad confirmed the incident saying it has been classified as murder.

It is believed that three suspects were involved in the incident, using a Proton Waja taxi.
An eyewitness, who declined to reveal his name, said he was at his food stall when he saw a man walking towards the couple.

"Then I heard gunshots and saw the couple crumple. I ran to safety when I saw the gunman running towards me," he said.
The shooting comes just days after crime watchdog activist R. Sri Sanjeevan was shot in the ribs in his hometown Bahau. There has also been a spate of shootings over the past month.

AmBank Group was founded in 1975 as Arab-Malaysian Development Bank, by Hussain via his Holding company AIAK (Arab Investments for Asia Kuwait). He brought the bank public via the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) in 1981. - July 29, 2013.

HM accused of telling students to 'balik India, China'

 

Coming hot on the heels of the shower room canteen imbroglio is another allegation that a principal of a secondary school in Shah Alam hurled racial abuses at her students.

It is claimed that the principal told her Chinese and Indian students to return to their respective ancestral lands.

Shah Alam MIC deputy division chief A Prakash Rao said the incident allegedly took place during the school assembly last Monday.

"Based on the complaints I received from the parents, the principal was furious because the students were making a racket during her speech.

"She then scolded all the students but later targeted the Chinese and Indian students, telling them to 'Balik India dan China' (Go back to India and China)," he told Malaysiakini.

Prakash said that the students then informed their parents, who later brought it to his attention.

In an attempt to verify the allegation, the MIC leader led a delegation to the school this morning but the principal was on leave.

"When we told the school management that we would return tomorrow, they informed us that the principal had a meeting elsewhere and won't be in... so we told them that we would return on Wednesday then.

"We  intend to get to the bottom of this matter," he stressed.

Parents afraid of lodging report
Responding to a question, the MIC leader said that the parents were afraid of lodging a police report following what transpired after the SK Sri Pristana incident was exposed.

A parent who uploaded photographs of SK Sri Pristina students eating in the shower room had received phone calls from unknown individuals threatening to kidnap her daughter.

"So these parents are worried about their safety and the safety of their children," said Prakash.

He said the disgruntled parents had complained that while Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak promoted the 1Malaysia agenda, it was not practiced on the ground.

"This is becoming a never-ending saga...

"It is like that Tamil proverb...'God grants us a boon but the priest stands in our way'," he said, referring to Najib's 1Malaysia slogan and the civil service's failure to implement it.

If the latest incident was true, Prakash said the Education Ministry must take severe action against the principal.

"How could a person tasked with overseeing both teachers and students do this. If the principal herself utters such things, imagine what the students would think?

"These students would also resort to such racist rants thinking that it was justified to do so given that a principal could do it. This culture must be stopped," he added.

Since Malaysiakini could not reach the principal or the school authorities for comment, the name of the school would be withheld for now.

Sanjeevan being moved to Serdang for surgery

The condition of MyWatch chairperson R Seri Sanjeevan, who was shot last Saturday, is said to be deteriorating.

MyWatch adviser S Gobi Krishnan (right) said arrangements have been made to transfer him to Serdang Hospital for immediate surgery to remove the bullet lodged in his rib cage.

"His condition is getting bad and we are arranging his transfer to Serdang Hospital by ambulance. He has fever and it has got worse," Gobi said when contacted.

He was speaking from the Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital in Seremban, where Sanjeevan had been warded for the last two days.

"They have kept him here for two days because they said Serdang Hospital was yet to give the green light for the transfer,” he said.

"I have just met the hospital director to press for his transfer (and it is being done now).”

'Step up security'

Earlier today, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim urged the police to step up security at the hospital as Sanjeevan’s life is still under threat.

“We call on the (police chief) to beef up the security arrangements at the hospital where Sanjeevan is being treated,” Anwar told a press conference today.

“Without going too much into the details, we know that the current security detail is grossly inadequate.

“We are certain that the threat still remains and the police must therefore step up security for his safety immediately.”

In a statement later, Anwar pointed out that Sanjeevan had allegedly been attached by four parang-wielding men on April 11 at a hotel basement in Kuala Lumpur. A few suspicious-looking men had then allegedly tailed him at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal in Sepang.

Anwar called on the police to investigate Sanjeevan's claim that police personnel are involved in drug syndicates, adding that mafia-styles execution are becoming rampant.

On April 26, Customs deputy director-general Shahruddin Ibrahim, like Sanjeevan, had been shot by two men on a motorcycle at a junction in Putrajaya. Shahruddin did not survive the attack.

Sanjeevan 'didn't file police report' on threat

MyWatch chairperson R Sri Sanjeevan, who survived a shooting on Saturday, did not lodge a police report on an alleged threat against him and his family as was claimed in his Twitter post, police have said.

“Sanjeevan did mention in social media some 12 hours before the shooting about the threat to him and his family. However, he did not file a report,” Negri Sembilan police chief Osman Salleh was quoted as saying in The Star.

Osman said the police did, however, investigate a report Sanjeevan made last January regarding threats he allegedly received from an officer at the Jelebu police station.

He said the case was then referred to the deputy public prosecutor and that it was classified as 'No Further Action'.

“The problem is that, apart from the Jelebu case, Sanjeevan was not specific in his allegations,” Osman reportedly said.

Sanjeevan (left), 29, was shot in the chest about 4.30pm on Saturday in Jelebu, while driving to his hometown of Bahau in Negri Sembilan.

He is reportedly stable and recuperating after an operation at the Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital in Seremban, where police say he is being given round-the-clock protection.

At 8.16am on Saturday, Sanjeevan had claimed on Twitter that a police officer had told a crime syndicate member that he would provide firearms so that the criminals could intimidate Sanjeevan and his family.

Former police chief Musa Hassan, who is also MyWatch patron, said the shooting may be linked to the expose Sanjeevan had made about alleged police involvement in crime gangs.

The shooting is being investigated by Bukit Aman, under the supervision of federal criminal investigations department director Hadi Ho Abdullah.

IGP: Don't prematurely blame cops for Sanjeevan's shooting

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar has urged the public not to finger the police over the attempted murder of R Sri Sanjeevan until investigations are concluded.

“Do not immediately accuse the police for being involved in the shooting of the MyWatch president.

“I have said, we will investigate the matter from all angles,” Khalid told a press conference at the Bukit Aman police headquarters this morning.

He added that if indeed there were police involved in the case, none of them would be spared.

“We have never protected anyone that has committed a crime.

“Have you remembered any case where the police protected any personnel or officer who had been involved (in crime)?” he asked.
Khalid lamented that there had even been posting on the social media accusing the authorities of issuing instructions for Sanjeevan's assassination.

"We will be calling the person who made the claim. We want to know which authority gave the so-called instruction to shoot Sanjeevan," he said, adding that the people should not speculate on the matter.

Asked about Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli's claim that Sanjeevan was on the verge of revealing an internal police investigation against its own personnel for alleged links to drug syndicates, Khalid did not confirm or deny the internal probe.

"We always probe when there is any complaint against our officers. That is the purpose of having the disciplinary division. It is their duty to probe all accusations from members of the public or anyone else," he replied.

However, he said, if Rafizi has any knowledge on the matter, he should come forward to assist in the police investigation.

"We also hope that Sanjeevan will quickly recover so that we can also interview him," Khalid said.

Khalid: I spoke to Sanjeevan

Asked if Sanjeevan had made any police report prior to his shooting, Khalid replied: "He made all kinds of police reports, we will review all of them."

Khalid added that before this, he had personally spoken to Sanjeevan and the anti-crime activist had also engaged with the narcotics and disciplinary divisions of the police force.

"But he (Sanjeevan) was not prepared to provide the source of his information, so we cannot do a complete investigation," he said.

The top cop said Sanjeevan's condition was now stable and that he was expected to undergo surgery to remove a bullet from his ribcage today.

Sanjeevan was shot at a road junction in Bahau, Negeri Sembilan, last Saturday by two men on a motorcycle.

He survived the attack by speeding off after being hit by the first bullet. He is now being treated at the Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital in Seremban.

'Sanjeevan was to release leaked police memo'

 

A leaked police memo shedding light on its officers linked to drugs syndicates was due to be released this week by anti-crime activist R Sri Sanjeevan, who was shot in Negeri Sembilan last Saturday.

Revealing this today, PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli added: "Sanjeevan said he obtained an internal police memo, which lists the police personnel who are being investigated internally for (allegedly) being involved in drug syndicates."

Elaborating on his 20-minute meeting with Sanjeevan a day before he was shot, Rafizi told a press conference at the PKR headquarters today that the MyWatch chairperson confided to him that the offences were very serious, for which there were mandatory sentences upon conviction.

However, Rafizi added, Sanjeevan did not disclose the names of the police officers involved at that time.

He said it was "fortunate" that Sanjeevan, who was shot in the rib cage, had not revealed the names to him.

Rafizi suspect that Sanjeevan's access to the leaked memo was a "very probable" reason for him being shot in Bahau last Saturday.

"It's very probable. I mean, he was not working on anything else, .... he talks only to the Home Ministry, police and underworld... it is only reasonable to think (this was the reason)," he said.

 Read More :http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/237028

'Custodial death' - Cop to be charged today

The fourth suspect in custodial death victim N Dhamendran's case is expected to be charged this afternoon.
Although Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar (right) said earlier that police officer Hare Krishnan would be charged tomorrow, it is learnt that he would be brought to the Kuala Lumpur High Court this afternoon. 
Hare Krishnan surrendered at the Bukit Aman police headquarters at 10am this morning and was taken to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters.

Prior to his surrender, Hare Krishnan had informed his family that he might be charged in connection with Dhamendran's death.
"He turned himself in to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director (Hadi Ho Abdullah) with his lawyer," Khalid told a press conference at Bukit Aman.

Read more : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/237004

Hare Krishnan was never on the run, says wife

Inspector S Hare Krishnan, the fourth suspect in the custodial death of N Dhamendran, was never on the run, his wife has claimed.

Shaarmini Balakrishnan (right in photo) told Malaysiakini today that Hare Krishnan did not turn up for work after his leave expired on June 15 because he had been told that he was suspended from duty.

Since then, she said, Hare Krishnan had engaged a lawyer who has sent numerous letters to the police but there has been no reply.

“He was never on the run. The lawyer was available (for the police) to contact,” she said.

Hare Krishnan turned himself in at Dang Wangi at 11am today.

Shaarmini further said that he has made a Statutory Declaration claiming his innocence in the Dhamendran’s case.

She said she was in the house with Hare Krishnan (right) when he received a call from the Dang Wangi police district headquarters informing him about Dhamendran's death.

"He was at home resting. And I heard him shout when he was informed about Dhamendran's death," she said.

Shaarmini said the inspector-general of police had assured Hare Krishnan of justice if he surrenders.

"In fact, the police asked him to surrender and rejoin work. He was only asked to give a statement," she said.
'Waiting for statement'
Shaarmini said that, all the while, Hare Krishnan had been waiting for a written statement from the police that they would investigate the claims he had made in a police report on June 1.

In the same report, he had declared his innocence and said he was not even at the police station on the day Dhamendran died, on May 21.

"It was only after Malaysiakini reported on the matter that the police issued a statement that they would investigate his police report," she added.

On June 5, three police personnel, a sergeant and two corporals, were charged with the murder of Dhamendran.

R.Sri Sanjeevan the crime watcher

KUALA LUMPUR:

Together with the former Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan, the Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force or MyWatch chairman R.Sri Sanjeevan rose to fame with their crusade by highlighting crime cases.

MyWatch aims protect the people in Malaysia from crime and all forms of criminal harm.  It is an initiative to bust the trespassers and to bring the crime rate under control in this growing and rapidly changing environment.

Sanjeevan is no stranger to fighting against crime or highlighting injustice. Previously, Sanjeevan was the Aasthivaram Foundation Vice President and Negri Sembilan People’s Welfare Party (Kita) Chairman.

In the recent years, Sanjeevan has handled and highlighted a few cases which were reported by Free Malysian Today portal. Here are some of them:

• July 2013 - A former drug pusher claiming he paid between RM30,000 and RM50,000 a month to the police in Negeri Sembilan and Malacca for information on police stakeouts.

• July 2013 – Sanjeevan lodged a report at the Sepang police station claiming harassment by several individuals. He was also followed by a group of five men when he was having drink with his friend in LCCT.

• February 2013 - Workers at an illegal gambling outlet are being tipped off by policemen on impending raids.

• January 2013 - A policeman from the Jelebu police headquarters allegedly threatened to shoot Sanjeevan minutes after he informed Bukit Aman of illegal gambling outlets operating in the area.

• January 2013 - Alleged that the Royal Malaysian Police has been instructed not to engage with the NGO in any of its programmes.Two state police chiefs refused to attend programmes on crime prevention arranged by his NGO.

• January 2013 - Sanjeevan said that crimes such as vehicle theft, abduction and extortion were categorised under non index offences thus claiming gangsterism has prevalent.

• December 2012 – My Watch claimed that it has in its possession evidence that top police officers are involved in criminal activities and threatened to make public the information unless the Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar agrees to meet with the group so that an open, high-profile investigation can be carried out immediately.

• May 2012 - Puchong PKR chief S.Murali attacked by several people, believed to be members of MIC Youth outside the Prime Minister’s Office, where a PKR delegation had gathered to deliver a memorandum over the issue of stateless Indians in Malaysia.

• March 2012 - 13-year-old S.Sunther who was tortured by two policemen in Jempol. Sunther was arrested on Feb 26 on suspicion of stealing jewellery.

• December 2011 - Residents from the Seremban Jaya township have complained about the rising number of illegal gaming, illegal massage parlours offering sexual services outlets in residential areas which are causing social problems.

• April 2011 - S.Devan was handcuffed and beaten by several plainclothes individuals claiming to be policemen after they failed to locate a friend.  R.Sanjeevan called upon Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar to put an immediate end to such brutality.

IGP vows to probe Sanjeevan's rogue cop claim

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar has pledged a thorough investigation into the shooting of anti-crime NGO MyWatch chairperson R Sri Sanjeevan, including his claim that rogue cops were out to get him.

"I assure the family and public that our investigations will be thorough and will look into all aspect including those alleged by SS (Sri Sanjeevan) earlier," Khalid said in a Twitter posting this morning.

In another tweet, Khalid also gave an assurance that Bukit Aman will monitor the investigations and the CID director will "personally supervise" investigations.

Allegations of errant cop involvement surfaced as Sanjeevan had foretold his fate in a tweet, just hours before he was shot.

Sanjeevan was shot at about 4.30pm in Jempol, Negri Sembilan. He was reported to be in stable but critical condition after undergoing surgery.
DAP: Cops should be vigilant

He rose to fame late last year when he organised a series of press conferences featuring former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan.

Among others, Musa had claimed that there are currently high-ranking police officials with underworld links.

Following this, Sanjeevan had received several death threats and was assaulted in Kuala Lumpur in April.
Meanwhile, DAP's Gobind Singh Deo urged the police to set up a special team to investigate the matter, to consist of persons unrelated to the complaints made by Sanjeevan in the past.

"The question is having been informed about the attempt on his life or harm upon him and his family and knowing that there were previous attempts on his life, did the police take any steps to protect him before he was shot?" Gobind, who is also Puchong MP, wrote in a press release.

Ex-IGP links Jempol shootings to expose on cops

The attempt to murder anti-crime NGO MyWatch chairperson R Sri Sanjeevan is likely linked to his recent exposé on police personnel with crime syndicates links, former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan said.

"I hope the police will do a thorough investigation to trace (the) suspect as he (Sanjeevan) had received several threats... (due to) his revelation on police involvement with activities of syndicated crime and illegal activities," he said on Twitter late Saturday night.

Sanjeevan, himself, appeared to have foretold his fate in a tweet hours before he was gunned down.

He also appeared to have tried to alert current Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar on the imminent threat.

"A cop told some syndicate fellow that he'll get them firearm(s) and told them to fire shots at my house to scare me or my family," he said, in the tweet, which tags both Khalid's and the official Royal Police Force's Twitter handles.

According to the Star, Sanjeevan was gunned down at about 4.30pm yesterday in Jempol, Negri Sembilan.

He is reportedly in stable but critical condition after undergoing surgery at the Kuala Pilah Hospital.

Shot in the chest

Astro Awani, meanwhile, reports that the 29-year-old was shot in a cold-blooded fashion by two motorcyclists while he was driving, at a junction near Taman Cempaka there.

"He was apparently smoking and has his windshield was down when two men on a red motorcycle came from behind.

"The pillion rider then took out a gun and shot at Sanjeevan. He was injured in his right chest by one bullet but it is unclear how many shots were fired," read the report.

It also quoted a source as saying that the pillion rider got off the motorcycle after the shots were fired, but the victim managed to drive off.

His friend, who was in the silver BMW with Sanjeevan took over the wheel several hundred meters later and rushed the victim to the hospital.

Sanjeevan had received death threats since last January and was assaulted in Kuala Lumpur in April.

He was accompanied by Musa, who is MyWatch's patron, when he lodged a police report on the assault.

Ominously, Sanjeevan then said that he had also received a call allegedly from a police officer from the Jempol police station, claiming that some gangs were ready to "kill" him.

7 killed in Florida hostage standoff

(CNN) -- A gunman killed six people overnight at a Florida apartment complex before police shot him dead in a shootout, authorities said early Saturday.

The man barricaded himself in an apartment in Hialeah, a Miami suburb, where he was holding a man and a woman hostage, city police spokesman Sgt. Eddie Rodriguez said.

Hialeah police received a call at 6:30 p.m. of a shooting.

When they arrived at the scene, they found two people dead from gunshot wounds and heard additional shots in the area, Rodriguez said.

After negotiations failed, a SWAT team entered the dwelling, rescued the hostages and killed the gunman, who fired on them, police said.

When officers went through the apartment complex, they found several bodies. One was across the street, and Rodriguez said that victim may have died from a stray bullet.

The victims are three women and three men, Rodriguez said.

Authorities believe that while the gunman was not a resident of that apartment complex, his mother is a tenant, said Carl Zogby of the Hialeah Police Department.

Islamic attitude towards infidel kids is epitomic. Better generate right aversion to Islam in your children to resist it.

Islamic attitude towards infidel kids is epitomic in case of conspiratory conversion of non Muslims or to confine them into school bathroom at the time of break while they take food in the month of Ramadan. Islam does not consider and care ignorant children, if they don’t belong to Muslim community. The children are just infidel according to Islamic belief. So covert them as Muslim without considering the children’s universal attitude of love and to get love. Better generate right aversion to Islam in your children to resist it. Islam is dangerous. If the coming generation is not quite aware about the barbaric Islam like some examples below, Islam will capture them with all evils towards a doom. [Editor- Hindu Existence].

Malaysia court quashes Hindu kids’ conversion to Islam

KUALA LUMPUR  | AFP | 25  July 2013 ::   A Malaysian court on Thursday ruled against the 2009 conversion of three Hindu children to Islam without their mother’s knowledge, a verdict welcomed by non-Muslim groups.

A high court in the northern city of Ipoh declared the conversion of Indira Gandhi’s children, now aged five, 15 and 16, by their father to be unconstitutional, said Indira’s lawyer K. Shanmuga.

The judge ruled that the father had failed to take the mother and children to Islamic authorities for their consent to the conversion, in a rare verdict in the multiracial but Muslim-majority nation, Shanmuga said.

“It is the first time ever that a child’s conversion certificate has been quashed by a high court,” he told AFP.

Indira, a kindergarten teacher in her late 30s, faced losing custody of her children after her husband converted himself and them without her knowledge.

Under Malaysian sharia law, which governs civil matters for Muslims, a non-Muslim parent cannot share custody of converted children.

Indira, a Hindu, got a 2010 high court verdict to award her custody. But her husband went into hiding with their youngest daughter and the conversion remained in dispute.

Earlier this month Malaysia withdrew an Islamic law which allows one parent to give consent for a child’s conversion, after an outcry.

Opponents said it discriminated against minorities despite government promises to address their grievances.

Religious groups welcomed Thursday’s verdict.

“We are very happy about that decision. But it must be accepted by all the Islamic and other government agencies,” said Mohan Shan, an official with the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism.

Conversions of children and “body-snatching” cases — in which Islamic authorities tussle with families over the remains of people whose religion is disputed — have previously raised tensions.

More than 60 percent of Malaysia’s 28 million people are Muslim ethnic Malays, but it also has sizeable Chinese and Indian minorities who are non-Muslims. [eFox News].

Malaysia court dismisses conversion of three Hindu children to Islam

Kuala Lumpur | PTI | 25 July 2013 :: In a landmark ruling, a Malaysian court on Thursday dismissed the 2009 conversion of three Hindu children to Islam without their mother’s consent. Judicial Commissioner Lee Swee Seng at a Hight Court in the northern city of Ipoh ruled the certificates of conversion null and void because it was unconstitutional, against the right of natural justice, and it was given without hearing the mother or children. He also said it was unlawful as Sharia law in Perak state itself says that the children must be present to utter the affirmation of faith. Read more here… [eNDTV].

Malaysia withdraws bill allowing unilateral conversion

Kuala Lumpur | PTI | 8 July 2013 :: Malaysia on Monday withdrew a controversial bill that allows one parent to give consent for the conversion of a child, following an outcry over two minor ethnic Indian Hindu children embracing Islam without their mother’s permission. The controversial Administration of the Religion of Islam (Federal Territories) Bill 2013 was withdrawn from parliament following a motion by Minister in the Prime Minister’s department Jamil Khir Baharom. Mr. Baharom moved the motion to withdraw the bill for its second third and fourth reading and from being debated on. The bill was tabled for the first reading in Parliament on June 26. On Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had said the bill would be withdrawn until an agreement was reached with all stakeholders. He said the Cabinet decided to withdraw the bill from the current parliament meeting following concerns from various quarters, including the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional’s component party members. The component party include Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC). Read more here… [eThe Hindu].

Non-Muslim school children forced to eat in bathroom during Ramazan

Kuala Lumpur | HJS | 23 July 2013 :: The report gives us an account  of a Muslim dominated school in Malaysia where children eating in the bathroom are taken from Facebook and they were posted by a mother whose kids go to the same school. As the mother claims, all these school children are non-Muslims and they are forced to eat during breaks in bathroom during the month of Ramazan (the Islamic month of both fasting and feasting ). Read more here… [eHJS].

 

 

Pakistan bomb attacks kill at least 57 and injure many more

guardian.co.uk

Two bomb attacks in a busy marketplace in north-west Pakistan have killed 57 people and injured 167, local officials said on Saturday.

The authorities believe the bomb blasts in Parachinar, in the predominantly Shia Kurram tribal area, on Friday night were a co-ordinated sectarian attack by Sunni militants.

Hospital official Shabir Hussain said almost all the dead and wounded were Shias.

Shia leader Hamid Ali said the market was full of Shias, who were buying items for their evening meal that breaks the daytime fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

"We demand protection. We request the government to take action against those who routinely kill our people," he told Associated Press.

Another doctor, Zahid Hussain, earlier said the dead bodies quickly overwhelmed Parachinar's main hospital, where a large numbers of people sought medical attention after the blasts. "We have no place to keep the wounded," he said on Friday night. "Many of them are lying on the hospital floor and on the lawn."

The apparently co-ordinated bombs hit the main bazaar as people were doing their evening shopping before the iftar meal, police spokesman Fazal Naeem Khan said. One bomb was believed to have been planted on a motorcycle, he said.

The second bomb detonated about four minutes after the first, about 400 yards away from the initial blast, according to government official Javed Ali.

One man, Said Hussain, who was in the area where the second blast struck, reported seeing a teenage boy shout: "God is great!" just moments before the explosion.

Pakistan is a majority Sunni Muslim state, but around 15% percent of the population are Shias. Most Sunnis and Shias live together peacefully in Pakistan, though tensions have existed for decades.

Meanwhile, assailants attacked a Pakistani border guard post near the south-western town of Sunsater, near Iran, early on Saturday, killing seven security personnel and wounding as many others, senior government officer Akbar Hussain Durrani said.

Putrajaya to defend Seri Pristana headmaster if not guilty, says Ku Nan

 
Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor mingling with residents during the breaking of fast organised by the ministry today. The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim

Putrajaya will defend Mohd Nasir Mohd Noor, who moved his non-Muslim pupils to the school’s shower room for recess, if the SK Seri Pristana headmaster is not guilty of wrongdoing, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said tonight.

The Federal Territories Minister blamed the opposition for distorting the SK Seri Pristana canteen issue by putting the blame on the school authorities and the education ministry.

“The headmaster wants to protect the students from being exposed to the sun, so he purposely put the students in the shower room,” Tengku Adnan told a press conference after breaking fast in Kuala Lumpur today.

The Sungai Buloh primary school had recently come under fire when a picture of non-Muslim students eating in a shower room went viral on Facebook.

The newly-appointed Federal Territories Umno liaison chief said he will work hard to improve the performance of Umno and Barisan National (BN) in Kepong to restore the glory of the party's leadership.

He said he would be helping the party to regain the lost seats from the opposition, namely Segambut, Bandar Tun Razak, Wangsa Maju and Lembah Pantai.

He added that Umno should find out the cause of BN's defeat in these seats in the last general election and understand the needs of the people.

"It is time for the party to talk with the public in order to win back the people's trust.

"It does not matter which race, we should go house to house, and to every village so that they will continue to support us," he said.

During the breaking-of-fast at the Amaniah mosque in Kepong, Tengku Adnan made a contribution of RM10,000 to the mosque for the upgrading of its facilities and RM100 along with a pair of clothes to married couples in the low-income group in the area. - July 27, 2013.

MyWatch Sanjeevan shot; critical in hospital

Anti-crime NGO MyWatch chief R Sri Sanjeevan is said to be in a critical but stable condition at the Kuala Pilah Hospital.

PETALING JAYA: MyWatch chairman R Sri Sanjeevan was shot by unknown gunmen in Bahau, Negeri Sembilan at about 4.30pm today.

His condition is reported to be critical but stable. Sanjeevan is now warded at the Kuala Pilah Hospital.

Speaking to FMT, MIC central working committee member G Kumar Aamaan confirmed the matter, saying he received the news from Sanjeevan’s father about three hours ago.

Elaborating on the incident, Kumar said that Sanjeevan and his friend B Ramesh, were driving on his car in Bahau town, and was shot at when the vehicle stopped at a traffic light.

“It seems that two unknown men arrived on motorcycle, stopped near Sanjeevan’s car, and fired a shot on his chest.

“But Sanjeevan somehow managed to drive himself from the place and went straight to Jempol Hospital,” said the MIC leader, who is also Sanjeevan’s colleague in another NGO, Aastivaram Foundation.

MyWatch advisor S Gobi Krishnan also confirmed the matter, saying Sanjeevan is now warded at the Kuala Pilah Hospital.

“He was initially receiving treatment at the Jempol Hospital before being transfered to Kuala Pilah,” he said.

FMT was unable to get any comment from Negeri Sembilan CID chief Hamdan Majid.

Sanjeevan has been in the news recently for exposing corruption in the police force. Previously he had informed FMT that he had received many death threats.

Rights of non-converted spouse must be upheld

Many objected strongly when the government tabled the Administration of the Religion of Islam (Federal Territories) Bill 2013 late last month.

The Bill allowed for the unilateral conversion to Islam of a child by one parent, presumably after that parent converts himself or herself to Islam.

We are glad that these strong objections have caused the Bill to be withdrawn, for now. Many have emphasised too that withdrawing the bill does not address the problem as existing state religious laws and the Bahasa Malaysia version of the federal constitution must be amended to ensure that the consent of both parents is necessary for a child’s conversion.

But unilateral conversion of the child is not the only issue to worry about when one spouse converts to Islam. 

In Women's Aid Organisation's (AO) direct experience with women whose husbands convert opportunistically, other rights of the non-converted women have been eroded.

Right to inherit from a family member who converts to Islam

If one spouse converts to Islam, the non-converted spouse and other non-Muslim next-of-kin are not entitled to inherit from the converted spouse.

The Distribution Act 1958 does not apply to the estate of any person professing Islam, and non-Muslims are generally not allowed to inherit under faraid principles of asset distribution.

Non-Muslim family members can only receive at most one-third of the converted person’s estate, if the converted person chooses to bequeath anything at all.

The Distribution Act 1958 should be amended to safeguard the right of the deceased’s non-Muslim next-of-kin to inherit.

Right to have all issues relating to a civil law marriage settled according to civil laws and adjudicated only in civil courts

Shamala Sathiyaseelan is a Hindu mother whose husband converted to Islam and converted their two infant children without her knowledge or consent.

She went to the High Court to seek redress, but the Court ruled that since the children were now Muslims, the Syariah Court was the only qualified forum to determine their religious status.

As Shamala was not Muslim, she could not appear in the Syariah Court either, and she was left with no avenue to seek justice.

The Law Reform (Marriage And Divorce) Act 1976 should be amended to ensure that all issues relating to a civil law marriage are settled according to civil laws and adjudicated only in civil courts.

A marriage contract between two non-Muslims is made under civil law. It is therefore unjust for a non-Muslim spouse to unexpectedly find herself or himself subject to laws other than those she or he had agreed to at the time of marriage.

Right to be informed of a spouse’s conversion to Islam

Everyone has a right to embrace a religion of their choice, but there is no legal requirement for a spouse who converts to Islam to inform his or her family members of the conversion.

This is key as the conversion has legal consequences on the marriage and the rights of the non-converted family members.

Before registering a conversion, religious authorities should ensure that the spouse and other family members have been notified through a written acknowledgment.

Irresponsible spouses have been allowed to misuse religion to shirk their moral and legal obligations.

As a community of shared values we must not allow the unconverted spouse and other family members to face the injustices caused by this misuse.

---

WOMEN’S AID ORGANISATION’s (WAO) mission is to promote and create respect, protection and fulfilment of equal rights for women. Arguments in the letter were adopted from the memorandum 'Safeguard Rights of Wives and Children upon Conversion of Husbands to Islam,' published by the Joint Action Group For Gender Equality (JAG) on Feb 5, 2007.

MIC: Indian matriculation seats not met for two years

The allocation of 1,500 matriculation seats for Indian students for 2012 and 2013 that the government had promised was never met, said MIC treasurer-general Jaspal Singh.

Jaspal said that only 1,142 places were given to Indian students in 2013 for matriculation, still falling way below the 1,500 mark promised by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak last March year.

"The 1,500 number was not met last year. We were given the excuse that it was the first year of the programme. This year, this number was again not met!" said Jaspal in a statement today.

"The devil is in the details and the Education Ministry would fall down on what seemed to be the most simplest of implementations," he added.

Jaspal proposed that the quota system be reintroduced for intake in public universities, saying that the current system was not transparent.

"This is because the current ill-named system of meritocracy is un-transparent. It is broke. No one understands how places are allocated under it," he added.

He said that only 442 of the 51,673 students who sat for the STPM examinations obtained a 4.0 CGPA and that special effort must be put in to retain these students in Malaysia, rather than to waste money luring them back later.

"What then is the use of Talent Corp spending RM65 million to bring back talented Malaysians? We must resolve this issue," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the Education Minister, earlier claimed in Parliament that the government never cheated the people and that the 1,500 matriculation seats for Indian students were fulfilled last year and this year.

He said this in a parliamentary reply to a question posted by DAP's Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran on June 27.

Hindraf to protest if Uthaya is not taken to hospital

The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) has threatened to hold a protest in front of the Kajang prison if its leader P Uthayakumar, who has been imprisoned, is not taken for his medical appointment on Aug 1.

More than 500 people, led by Uthayakumar's wife S Indra Devi, may camp in front of the prison if the prison authorities do not comply, Hindraf secretary-general S Thiagarajan (seated, centre) told a press conference today.

The incarcerated leader has appointment with a neurosurgeon at Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM) on that date for his prolapsed disc.

Uthayakumar has already missed a July 18 appointment at the same hospital as a result of his imprisonment last month.

He was on June 5 jailed for two-and-a-half years after being found guilty of making seditious statements in 2007.

Indra, who was also present, could not say how far she would go with her protests, but stressed that she would not give up until Uthayakumar is taken to the hospital for his treatment.

Threat of being put in 'a dark room'

"I'm not asking them to release him. I'm just asking them to give him the medical attention due to him," Indra said, breaking out in tears.

She said she dreaded the possibility of Uthayakumar being put in a "dark room" and or that his right to make weekly telephone calls be taken away.
"I get to see him once a month and I get to speak to him once a week. I hope they don't take those privileges away," Indra (left) added.

Uthayakumar has allegedly been threatened by prison authorities that he will be put in a dark room if he continues spilling the beans on the kind of treatment he has been getting in prison.

The Hindraf leader has reportedly has been complaining about back pains as a result a prolapsed disc and is also suffering a swollen leg. He is seeking proper treatment, but the prison doctor had told Uthayakumar that he has "no power" to refer him to a hospital.

Indra said the prison authorities were still giving him painkillers for his back pain, but she had asked him to stop taking the medication as it could aggravate his diabetes.

"I don't want my husband to have to go through dialysis while in prison," she said.

She also complained that Uthayakumar was still being made to use a dipper for both toiletry and food purposes.

She said that the dipper, which in the prison cell, is used for his toiletry purposes but is also used to serve him with porridge three times a week.

"Diabetes patients are very prone to getting infection. This is not hygienic," she said.

Indra also said that though she was allowed to speak to Uthayakumar 15 minutes every Wednesday morning, the time was reduced to 10 minutes the last time he called.

MIC mulls exposing those harassing whistleblower mum

MIC strategy director S Vell Paari is planning to reveal the phone numbers of those who have threatened the ‘shower room canteen' whistleblower.

He said he was thinking of publishing the numbers in his daily Tamil Nesan "so that the individuals responsible for this cowardly act will get a taste of their own medicine".

According to Vell Paari, he had spoken to the whistleblower, Guneswari Kelly - the mother of a pupil at SK Seri Pristana primary school in Sungai Buloh.

"I have told her to forward me the numbers of those who threatened her and I will deal with them.

"Furthermore, I also told her that if her daughter continues to be harassed by the teachers, then I will go to the school and speak to the teachers myself, " he added.

Photos posted on FB

Vell Paari expressed regret that such incidents of perceived discrimination were taking place in the school.

"It is sad... teachers are supposed to look after the pupils. The Education Ministry and the police must look into Guneswari's complaints," he said.

Guneswari, who uploaded photographs of  non-Muslim pupils of SK Seri Pristana having their recess meals in the shower room, yesterday complained of receiving threatening phone calls.

The photographs posted on her Facebook - which have since been deactivated - ignited a firestorm of protests.

The Education Ministry and school authorities have denied that the issue was related to race or religion.

It was reported that the headmaster - who has since been ordered to go on leave - suggested the use of the shower room since the canteen was under renovation.

Students ‘forced’ to eat meals in toilet area

A primary school in Sungai Buloh cordons off its canteen area with red plastic tape, forcing its non Muslim students to have their meals in the school's shower room

PETALING JAYA: The Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Pristana in Sungai Buloh has come under fire from netizens after a parent posted photos on Facebook of non-Muslim students having their meals in the school’s shower area, next door to the toilets.

It shows students eating food on makeshift tables and benches placed in the shower area, ostensibly a decision made by school because of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Angry netizens poured scorn on the school management for their decision to discriminate against the non-Muslim children by forcing them to have their meals in the shower area during recess.

One Facebook user, Harris Nasril, said that it was ridiculous for the school management to make non-Muslim children to eat in a shower room space next to the toilets as if there were no other rooms available.

“This school is nonsense. As a Muslim, I’m sorry to hear this. Islam never teaches this kind of thing. The headmaster can use any other room, even the library, This is totally unacceptable,” he said.

Another Facebook user, Emy Deen also commented saying that other races do not have to be treated this way just so that the Muslims can fast for Ramadan.

“I’m a Malay and a Muslim. Certainly I don’t agree with this kind of treatment of another race, this is not the teaching of Islam.

“I hope those who are involved in this will be punished accordingly,” she said.

MIC president G Palanivel, via his Facebook posting, meanwhile urged the authorities to take action against those responsible for the matter.

“It is totally unacceptable where a primary school has asked it’s non-Muslim students to have their meals in the toilet. Drastic action has to be taken against those responsible for the inhumane act,” said Natural Resources and Environment minister.

Police report lodged


Chairman of the National Indian-Rights Action Team (NIAT) Thasleem Mohd Ibrahim told FMT that he will be writing a letter to the school immediately to demand an explanation.

“This is really shocking. We tried to call the school but their phone line is engaged. I will be writing to them officially and will also visit the school tomorrow.

“If this is true, the school will have to apologise to the affected students and their parents. This is really absurd,” he added.

A police report has also been lodged in Perak by an angry netizen against the school management and its principal.

Former MIC secretary general S Murugesan also expressed disgust on the school’s action.

“How can they treat our children this way? Are there no other places to give them so they could have a decent meal at school?” he asked.

“Teachers are people who we entrust our children with. The Education Ministry should take stern action on both the school management and principal,” he added.

‘Take severe action’

MIC’s strategic director S Vell Paari also expressed disgust with the way the school was treating its non-Muslim students.

“This is ridiculous! Is this what the children of non-Muslims have been reduced to? Having to hide in washrooms to eat!” he said in a statement.

Lambasting the school authorities for the idiotic behaviour, Vell Paari also expressed disappointment that tax money was being used to pay the salaries of these civil servants.

“Our tax money is used to pay the salaries of the civil service, and if this is the kind of people we get, then we might as well stop paying

“If the ministry fails to take stern action, then I suggest that non-Muslims stop paying taxes,” he added.

“The action taken should not simply be a slap on the wrist, such as transferring the teacher or teachers responsible,” he said.

Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan, meanwhile, said that his ministry will not stay mum on this issue and will take immediate action.

In a Twitter message, Kamalanathan said the school has been instructed to change the location of the eating room. He added that the school’s canteen was under renovation.

Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin meanwhile has been reported as saying that the matter would be investigated.

Pageant organisers meet Jawi, feeling optimistic

Miss Malaysia World 2013 organisers today met religious authorities and believe that Muslim women might be allowed to participate in the pageant after all.

Anna Lim, the pageant's licensee and organiser, said Federal Territories Islamic Department (Jawi) officials have heard her arguments and will decide on the matter by Monday or Tuesday.

"They said that even if they make an announcement on Tuesday, it still wouldn't be too late. Sounds promising isn't it?" Lim told Malaysiakini when contacted.

The meeting, initiated by Lim, took place today at the Jawi headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Jawi was represented, among others, by its director Che Mat Che Ali.

Lim described Che Mat as a "very nice man" who was open to discussions.

During the meeting, Lim said she had brought to the attention of Jawi representatives that the pageant format was tweaked to suit Malaysia.

"Although we have a swimwear session, Muslim women have the option to wear sports attire," she said.

Invite extended to Jawi

She also explained to them that the Miss World 2013 will be held in Indonesia - the world's most populous Muslim nation - and will not feature a bikini competition.

"They will be wearing either a sarong or a pareo as a mark of respect local culture," she said.

The programme details of both Miss Malaysia World and Miss World were also submitted to Jawi.

"I told them that they can attend tha pageant to see for themselves and that we are not going to go against them," she added.

Four Muslim women had made the top 20 finalist of Miss Malaysia World 2013 but were later dropped by organisers upon request from religious authorities.

Jawi has initiated a probe against the four for allegedly insulting Islam.

Court overturns conversion of minors to Islam

In a landmark decision today, the High Court sitting in Ipoh overturned the conversion of three minors, the children of M Indira Gandhi, whose father converted them to Islam without her knowledge.

The decision comes after the predicament of Indira Gandhi entered into the fourth year since the conversion of her children, after another bench of the High Court in Ipoh ruled that her matter cannot be heard until several similar cases of conversion of minors, such as the S Shamala case, are disposed of by the Federal Court.

Shamala's Federal Court case did not come to a conculsion as she left the country with her two converted children before the matter came up.

In today's decision, Justice Lee Swee Seng ruled that Indira's children had not been converted as the 'dua kalimah syahadah' (pronouncement to embrace Islam) was not performed on them and therefore, such an act was unconstitutional.

“It is against the right of natural justice because the conversion was made without hearing from the mother or the children,” Justice Lee said.
"Under the Perak Islamic Administration Enactment, the three children must have the intention to embrace Islam without force.

"In this case, the three children cannot be proved to have recited the syahadah (affirmation of faith) and they, as well as their mother, were not present at the Islamic Religious Office for the conversion purposes," he said.
'Conversion goes against UN convention'

The judge also ruled that the alleged conversion attempt went against the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

"This decision is no victory for anyone, but we have to learn to live in harmony," Justice Lee said in reading his one-hour-40-minute judgment.

There were no orders made on costs. This decision of the civil court means that the three will remain as Hindus.

According to tweets from PusatRakyatLB, who was present when the judgment was read out, Justice Lee said the interpretation of the Federal Constitution says parents have equal rights as this is consistent with the international norm.

There have been a lot of arguments on this issue alone, following several laws being introduced in several states allowing unilateral conversion to Islam by one converting parent.

The Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act Amendment Bill 2013, which was tabled in Parliament for its first reading, was withdrawn following an uproar against it from various groups.

Children were reportedly converted in 2009
Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran, who represented Indira and her children, took to Twitter to express his delight with the decision. The other lawyer representing them was K Shanmuga.

When contacted Kulasegaran (right) and Shanmuga confirmed the landmark decision made by Justice Lee.

Kulasegaran, had tweeted his concern that there could be an appeal over this matter following the landmark decision.

Malaysia has a dual court system, civil and syariah courts, which govern matters pertaining to Islam.

Indira's three children were converted in April 2009 by her estranged husband, Mohd Riduan Abdullah, without her knowledge.

She filed the civil case against the state registrar of conversions, the Perak Religious Department director, the state and federal governments, the Education Ministry and her husband K Patmanathan (now known as Riduan).

She has two daughters, now aged 16 and five years, and a 15-year-old son.

Patmanathan @ Mohd Riduan, who is said to be in Kelantan, has the five-year-old daughter with him, despite a court order instructing him to return the child to the mother.

Shanmuga said today's decision covers the religious status of all three children, including the one held by the father.

In Negri Sembilan last month, the state's Islamic Affairs Department ruled that consent of only one parent who has embraced Islam is needed to have their children converted to the faith.

The department took this position after a mother from Jelubu, aged 29, complained that her estranged husband had secretly converted their two children, aged five and eight, to Islam in April this year.

Negeri Sembilan Islamic Affairs Department director Johani Hassan said the woman's only remedy was to appeal to the syariah court, but this may pose a problem as she is not a Muslim and is therefore not subject to syariah jurisdiction.

I was ordered to go on leave, says HM

The SK Seri Pristana headmaster claims he was ordered to go on leave before the Education Ministry decided on actions to be taken.

PETALING JAYA: The SK Seri Pristana headmaster, Mohd Nasir Mohd Noor had not gone into hiding after all when he surfaced today claiming that he was forced to go on leave while the issue over the school canteen was sorted out.

SK Seri Pristana in Sungai Buloh came under the spot light when photos of students having their meals on makeshift tables in the shower room went viral on the internet.

The issue which sparked anger among netizens and concerned citizens caught the attention of the Education Ministry almost immediately.

According to Utusan Malaysia today, Mohd Nasir said he was ordered to go on leave for a week before the ministry could decide on taking necessary actions.

Mohd Nasir said this when he went to the Saujana Utama police station this morning to lodge a report claiming he had been slandered.

“I lodged a police report because I was disappointed with the behaviour of some parents and other individuals when they slandered me by saying I had behaved like an uncivilised man.

“I even received threatening phone calls, some of them would call just to curse at me,” he said.

Mohd Nasir said the only reason he had ordered the use of the shower room was because there was lack of space in the canteen to accommodate all the students.

“The sun would shine directly into the canteen in the mornings and students often sit by the drains around the canteen as it is much cooler there.

“I felt sorry as it was unhygienic to eat by the drains, So, I decided to put in makeshift tables and benches in the shower room which was not fully utilised,” he added.

“I also put up a notice to ban students from using the shower room to relieve themselves and locked the water pipes too.

“Moreover, the shower room had been cleaned and has sinks for students to wash their hands before and after meal,” he said.

Following the uproar, the Education Ministry has ordered for the school canteen to be renovated so that it could accommodate all the students.

The school had previously stated that the canteen was closed since March as it was undergoing a minor renovation work.

The school and the ministry had also apologised over the use of the shower room as a makeshift canteen. The school canteen was opened for the students’ use today,

Hindu mother wins legal fight to also decide children’s faith after husband converts them to Islam

In a landmark decision, the Ipoh High court today quashed a man’s move to convert his three children to Islam, the latest episode in a combustible issue in Malaysia.

Judicial commissioner Lee Swee Seng said that while K. Patmanathan could convert, he did not have the right to deprive the children and their mothers of the freedom of religion.

He quashed the three certificates in converting the three minors, which were made without their mother M. Indira Gandhi’s knowledge.

Lee made this decision in allowing Patmanathan’s estranged wife, Indira’s judicial review application to quash the certificate issued by the Perak Religious Department.

The state registrar of conversions, the Perak Religious Department director, the state and federal governments, the education ministry and Patmanathan were named as respondents

Lee allowed the application with no order as to cost.

Indira, 38, a kindergarten teacher, filed a judicial review application in 2009.

Patmanathan, 44, had himself converted to Islam on March 2009 and is now known as Muhammad Ridzuan Abdullah.

He then converted his three children on April 2 the same year.

That same month, the Syariah Court granted him custody of his three children, an order which Indira had challenged in the civil courts.

The High Court subsequently granted Indira an interim order for the custody of their children.

She had claimed that Patmanathan had stormed into her house, had used force against her and their children, Tevi Darsiny, Karan Dinish and Prasana Diksa, who were then aged 12, 11 and one, respectively, before leaving with their birth certificates.

Patmanathan then took away their youngest daughter and until now, the police have failed to locate their whereabouts.

In the decision yesterday, Lee said the certificates were null and void as it was unconstitutional because it was given without hearing the mother or children.

“This was unconstitutional because Articles 3, 5 and 11 of the Federal Constitution state that a mother has an equal right to raise her children to follow her own religion,” he said.

“This decision is no victory for anyone, but we have to learn to live in harmony," said the judicial commissioner.

He also said the conversion was unlawful as the Perak Syariah law states that children must be present to utter the affirmation of faith.

Lee also ruled that the conversion attempt was against the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Indira married Patmanathan in 1993 according to Hindu rites. They have been embroiled in a legal tussle over custody of the children for the past four years.

Today's decision comes after Putrajaya bowed to public pressure and was forced to withdraw the Administration of the religion of Islam (Federal Territories) Bill 2013, at the last Parliament meeting to legalise conversion of minors to Islam unilaterally. – July 25, 2013.

Polis akan siasat kes sebar gambar murid makan

Pemangku Ketua Polis Selangor Datuk A Thaiveegan memberi amaran untuk mengenakan tindakan mengikut Akta Hasutan ke atas individu yang menyebar gambar menunjukkan murid bukan Islam makan di bilik persalinan SK Seri Pristana.

Thaiveegan dalam satu laporan Utusan Online berkata, penyebaran gambar berkenaan “boleh menimbulkan isu provokatif dan perbalahan kaum”.

"Polis tidak akan teragak-agak mengenakan tindakan kepada pihak yang menyebarkan maklumat berbaur hasutan di laman sosial berkenaan isu yang membabitkan sekolah berkenaan," katanya seperti dipetik laman tersebut.

Gambar yang berlegar di Facebook itu dilaporkan mencetus kontroversi di kalangan pengguna Internet

Beberapa keping gambar di Facebook yang didakwa memaparkan murid bukan Muslim makan di kawasan bilik air di sebuah sekolah sewaktu bulan puasa mencetuskan kontroversi di kalangan pengguna Internet pada hari Selasa lalu.

Gambar itu dikesan dimuatkan oleh ibu bapa kepada pelajar sekolah terbabit, yang terletak berhampiran Sungai Buloh.

Ia menunjukkan pelajar duduk di meja makan yang terletak dalam kawasan bilik persalinan sekolah tersebut.

Timbalan menteri pendidikan II P Kamalanathan yang meninjau kawasan tersebut keesokan harinya bagaimanapun berkata, tindakan berkenaan tidak melibatkan soal agama atau kaum.

Kamalanathan yang berkata, ia hanya melibatkan lokasi kantin sementara tersebut, yang digunakan sejak Mac tahun ini.

Laporan awal mendakwa hanya pelajar bukan Islam dipaksa makan di kantin sementara tersebut pada bulan Ramadan.

Katanya, ia berlaku memandangkan kerja-kerja menaiktaraf kantin tersebut bermula antara seminggu hingga dua minggu lalu.

Kamalanathan juga berkata Persatuan Ibu Bapa dan Guru sekolah tersebut juga maklum mengenai kantin sementara tersebut sejak Mac kerana ia dibincangkan dalam satu mesyuarat sebelum ia dilaksanakan.

Fourth suspect in custodial death claims innocence

EXCLUSIVE Inspector S Hare Krishnan, the fourth suspect in N Dhamendran’s custodial death, says he is innocent and claims he was dragged into the case to “protect certain parties”.

This was revealed in a police report Hare Krishnan made on June 1, nine days after Dhamendran’s death on May 21, and two weeks before the inspector went into hiding.

A copy of the report obtained by Malaysiakini states that Hare Krishnan was not even in the Dang Wangi police station lock-up on the day Dhamendran died after horrific torture.

Dhamendran (right), 31, was found dead in a cell at the station 10 days after he was arrested over an alleged gunfight. The police initially claimed that he had died from breathing difficulties, but a post-mortem showed he had suffered 52 injuries, including staples in his earlobes.

In his police report, Hare Krishnan says he was on May 21 instructed by a superior officer to “release and re-arrest” Dhamendran while he was having lunch at a restaurant in Cheras.

The inspector said he subsequently ordered his subordinates to do so, but later discovered that Dhamendran’s re-arrest was done using his (Hare Krishnan’s) identification, without his consent.

“The officers made the arrest report using my PRS ID without my approval,” Hare Krishnan says in the report, which also states that he had gone back home right after lunch as he had a night raid to conduct that day.

He was notified of Dhamendran’s death at 4.30pm that day.

Hare Krishnan claims that there was an instruction to include his name in the lock-up diary, something which was also done without his knowledge and permission.

“All the entries of me in the lock-up diary are untrue and were done to implicate me and protect certain parties,” he says in his police report.

Police confirm report

According to Hare Krishnan, he did not “touch or beat” Dhamendran that day, and claims to know who “beat him, who was there and who knew about it”.

“I only got to know about the interrogation orders (on Dhamendran) when I reached the office later in the day, at 5.45pm,” the report says.

Hare Krishnan’s report was lodged at the Brickfields police station at 7pm on June 1.

Although the report is filed under the Dang Wangi police station, it is being investigated by the Tun HS Lee police station in Kuala Lumpur.

When contacted by KiniTV, police confirmed Hare Krishnan’s report.

However, KiniTV was told that the officer assigned to investigate the report is working for the D9 Unit, coincidentally the same unit that Hare Krishnan was working for.

Hare Krishnan is currently on the run, and the police released his photograph last Tuesday, in an effort to seek public help to track him down.

The police have claimed that he has gone missing from duty since June 15.
Three other suspects - police officers Jaffri Jaafar, 44, Mohd Nahar Abd Rahman, 45, and Mohd Haswadi Zamri Shaari, 32 - were on June 5 charged with the murder of Dhamendran.

Prison threatens to put Uthaya in 'dark room'

Prison authorities have granted imprisoned Hindraf leader P Uthayakumar needed items to alleviate his severe back pain but have threatened to put him in a “dark room” if he complains further, says his wife S Indra Devi.

“He was given a pillow last Thursday and a chair on Monday.

“But they said if he makes any more complaints they will put him in a dark room and take away his phone rights,” she told Malaysiakini when contacted.

Indra is allowed to speak to her husband, who is in Kajang Prison, for 15 minutes every Wednesday.

Despite the items given to Uthayakumar, Indra says her husband’s prolapsed disc, a degenerative disc disease of the spinal lumbar area, has yet to be properly addressed.

“He was taken to the prison clinic but the doctor said he has no power to refer Uthayakumar to a hospital.

“Uthayakumar is getting sicker and he told me his legs are swollen now. I just want him to be taken to Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia for his prolapsed disc appointment on Aug 1,” she said.

Last Sunday, Indra had expressed concern that Uthayakumar may be struck by paralysis if his prolapsed disc is not properly treated by his doctors.

Indra also complained that Uthayakumar’s notes to his lawyer for the submission of his sedition case had been confiscated.

“Those notes are very important as he needs to prepared for his sedition case,” she said.

Uthayakumar was on June 5 jailed for two years and six months for sedition over remarks on discrimination against the Indian community and sent to Kajang Prison.

Prior to this, he was also detained for one-and-a-half years under the Internal Security Act for similar reasons.

Utahayakumar’s lawyer, M Manoharan, had said that he plans to appeal the sentence.

Parents insist shower room only used during fast, contradicting Deputy Minister

‘Jihad to convert Hindu girls is continued unabated’ by Muslim Fanatics in Pakistan – AHRC Report.

PAKISTAN: Jihad to convert Hindu girls to Islam rages on.

AHRC (Asian Human Rights Commission) | Karachi | 19 July 2013:: The Jihad to convert Hindu girls is continued unabated under the indifferent attitude of Pakistani authorities. In recent months, seven Hindu girls have been targeted in the conversion to Islam campaign. Of the seven, five have been abducted and converted by Muslim goons. One Hindu girl was abducted and forced to convert to Islam, but she has been subsequently recovered by the police. In one case, the attempted abduction was foiled by the passer-byes.

The Muslim abductors have also begun using new modus operandi. In one case, a Muslim man first became the ‘brother’ of a Hindu girl, and also observed the Rakhi Bandhan, a custom cementing the bond between brothers and sisters. Later, the same ‘brother’ abducted his ‘sister’. After the abduction, he married her. Perhaps, as the prevailing understanding goes, he will be extra pleased with the idea that he will be rewarded after death for converting one Hindu girl to Islam.

Incidents of abduction of teenage Hindu girls are of no concern to the Sindh provincial government. And, such abductions are music to the ears of Muslim fundamentalists and powerful local elements that operate freely within and around the local administration.

According to advocate Veerji Kolhi, President of Progressive Hindu Alliance and Council for the Defense of Bonded Laborers, two Hindu sisters belonging to a low Hindu caste were abducted on 7 July 2013 by armed men from their village Kohli Vairi, located in Nangar Parka Taluka, Tharparkar District, Sindh. The girls, Ms. Tarki aged 16 years and Ms. Beena aged 14, daughters of Vanoon Kohli, were abducted by Hanif Nohri, Inayat Nohri, Majnoon Nohri , Jamal Nohri and Ismail Khoso, residents of Bado and Jud’dan villages located in the same taluka and district. They forcibly entered the house of the Kohli family in the night at 8 p.m. Mrs. Savarian Kohli, mother to the girls, was taking dinner with her children when the armed men entered her house. The abductors are alleged to be henchmen of the former chief minister of Sindh who has now joined the ruling party, the PML-N.

Watch some revealing videos: Najam sethi on forced conversion of Hindu girls in Pakistan…



Tragedy of Hindus in Pakistan Part 1 - 4






Mrs. Kohli fears that her daughters will be moved to another location, converted to Islam forcibly, and be killed by her abductors, as they are powerful and have great influence in the area. Demonstrators also appealed to the authorities to search the madressas for the recovery of the girls.

The Daily Awami Aawaz has recently reported that the case of Hindu Girl from Tendo Jam village who was kidnapped on the pretext of a ‘love marriage’ has been solved. Police have arrested a man, Mr. Mohammad Ali Machi, along with a woman, said to be his sister. There was an emotional scene in the police station as the girl, upon seeing her father Lilaram and mother Laxmibai, embraced her mother and started crying. In her statement the girl said that she came to Korti with her maternal uncle. She visited a dargah to seek blessings, after which she proceed to the Md. Ali Machi residence where she was forcibly taken to Kinri, converted to Islam, and married to Md. Ali Machi. She pleaded to be handed over to her parents. After recording the statement of the girl, the police arrested Md. Ali Machi, along with his sister Zarina. A case of kidnapping has been registered against them Read the rest of this entry »

Child sees parents slain in Narathiwat

• Online news: Security

A four-year-old boy was left crying beside his parents' bodies on a road after they were murdered by a motorcycle gunman in Tak Bai district of Narathiwat on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

They slain couple were identified as Chuay Dermmuak, 52, and his wife, Prapa Sanguanphan, 43, residents of Narathiwat’s Sungai Kolok district. Both were Buddhists.

Pol Col Prayong Khotesakha, chief of Tak Bai police station, said the shooting occurred on the Tak Bai-Sungai Kolok road at Ban Khok Buema in tambon Kosit.

According to witnesses, Chuay, his wife and  their four-year-old son were travelling along the road on a motorcycle when two men on another motorcycle called on them to pull over, pretending to ask for directions to some place.

The man riding pillion then produced a pistol and fired four shots at them at close range.

The couple died on the spot .The gunman got of the bike, collected the spent cartridges and fled on the victims’ motorcycle,  leaving the young boy sitting, crying near his parents' bodies.
Police blamed separatist militants.

Pakistan takes 'immoral' condom ad off air

Pakistan's media regulator pulled the plug on a condom commercial starring one of the country's biggest female stars on Tuesday, calling it "immoral", after public complaints.

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) wrote to broadcasters ordering them to take the advert for Josh condoms off air immediately.

The 50-second advertisement stars Pakistani model and actress Mathira, one of the country's most popular stars, as a newlywed bride who makes a neighbouring couple jealous by pampering her husband.

Finally the neighbour asks the rather nerdy-looking husband how he keeps his glamorous wife so sweet and he replies: "Bring Josh into your life."

Pemra spokesman Fakhar-ud-Din Mughal said the watchdog's letter pointed out that the advertisement was generally being seen as "indecent, immoral and in sheer disregard to our socio-cultural and religious values."

"Airing of such immoral advertisement on Pakistani channels and that too in the holy month of Ramadan warrants serious action," he said.

Discussing contraception in public is taboo in Pakistan's deeply conservative Muslim society, though some experts warn the population is growing too fast for the country's natural resources to support.

According to the United Nations a third of Pakistanis have no access to birth control and its 180 million population is growing by more than two per cent a year.

Around a third of Pakistanis who want birth control have no access to it, according to UN and government statistics.

Josh condoms are marketed in Pakistan by DKT International, a US-based non-profit organisation that works to promote family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention in the developing world.