Status quo if elections called in six months, survey reveals

Islam in Denmark: Muslima's secret wife discovers her husband has also married his cousin from the U.S., burns her alive

Muslim immigration includes the importation of exotic and barbaric crimes. Modern family disputes within Islamic families often turn more cruel than anything we have seen in the West for hundreds of years. And though Islamic law sanctions polygamy, it cannot eradicate jealous rage from the human soul. Translated from Danish in Den Korte Avis: "Afghan woman burned to death":

Thirty-year-old Faruk Rooma, a Pakistani national, was sentenced to life imprisonment and deportation for life, while her two accomplices, her 19-year-old nephew, Aafaq Alam Khan and his friend, 17-year-old Noureddine El Yousfi, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison.

All three appealed on the spot.

Because of the now-violent family of the now-convicted persons, the public hearings were held under heavy police protection....

On Friday, September 14 in the early afternoon, a woman and two young men broke into the apartment where the murder victim was home alone. While the two men held on to the terrified woman, the Pakistani woman doused her with gasoline and set a match to her.

During the explosive fire that occurred, the now two convicted young men succeeded in getting out of the apartment, while the Pakistani woman had to jump out of a window with her dress in flames. She was in an unconscious state and was admitted to a hospital with severe injuries and burns on her arms.

During the hearings, the now lifetime convict and deportee Faruk Rooma stated that since May 2001, she had been secretly married to the murdered woman's husband.

The marriage had taken place in a parking lot in Ringsted, where an imam married them. The man's family was not allowed to know anything about marriage, and she was furious and had a shock when on June 22, following his family's orders, he suddenly married his cousin from the U.S.

Nicolai Sennels is a psychologist and editor of 10news.dk.

Majority of Malays think ‘Allah’ exclusive to Muslims, says survey

The term “Allah” should not be used by non-Muslims, say 77% of Malays polled by Universiti Malaya’s Centre for Democracy and Elections (UMCEDEL).

"The issue of Allah is still sensitive in the peninsula. Regardless of their political beliefs, it is obvious that Malays still think that the term 'Allah' is exclusive to Muslims," said UMCEDEL director Prof Datuk Dr Redzuan Othman.

The poll also showed that the same number of Malay respondents disagreed that Christians in Sabah and Sarawak could use the term.

The survey, conducted from December 6 to 8, covering only the peninsula also showed that a mere 11% of the Malays polled agreed to the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims. On October 14, 2013, a three-man panel of judges in the Court of Appeal overturned a 2009 landmark High Court judgment allowing the Catholic Church to use the word “Allah” in the Bahasa Malaysia section of its weekly Herald.

According to the leading judge’s grounds of judgment, the use of the word “Allah” was exclusive to Muslims and not integral to Christian worship, contrary to the church’s arguments that the word was irreplaceable and vital to their religious doctrine.

Two-thirds of Christians in Malaysia are Bumiputera, who are largely based in Sabah and Sarawak and number some 1.6 million.

The Catholic church has applied for leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal ruling.

The Federal Court has fixed the leave application for hearing on February 24.

The church had filed its leave application on November 12 by submitting questions on the Federal Constitution, administrative law, as well as the power of the court to allow the minister to ban the use of a theological word.

The constitutional questions framed by the church lawyers were to debate on Islam as the religion of the federation, freedom of speech and religion, and the right to religious education.

The questions on administrative law centred on the home minister and his powers.

They also said that the home minister's decision to ban the Herald from using the word “Allah” was illegal and irrational. – The Malaysian Insider

From new economic model back to old

MP SPEAKS Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak reversed the New Economic Model (NEM) on Sept 14, 2013, following pressure from right wing Malay extremist group Perkasa, and he went on to launch the Bumiputera Economic Empowerment Programme (BEE).

Najib’s experiments with moderate politics ended when he declared: “Therefore, the Malays and bumiputeras, as the core of the national agenda, cannot be denied by anybody. Indeed, any matter which is national in nature, which does not take into account or neglects the agenda of the Malays and bumiputeras is not fair and just.

“…[for] the support given by Malays and bumiputeras at the 13th general election recently, today the government decides to make a big shift to implement concrete and total strategies and approaches.

“... All these we undertake to look after the lot of the Malay and bumiputera communities, since the past, present and forever.”

David A Lake and Donald Rothchild said ethnic conflict is most often caused by collective “fears of the future, lived through the past”. They suggest it is important to reassure the different groups of both their physical and cultural security by demonstrations of respect and confidence building measures.

In Malaysia, there is no chance of this happening because we are not dealing with just individual racism but also institutional racism.

Administrative officers often are at the very least sympathetic to the Umno cause. The close relationship between the bureaucracy and the party dates back to Umno’s founding. In the 1955 elections, 80 percent of the Umno candidates were former civil service officers. Of the seven Malays in Tunku Abdul Rahman’s cabinet, six were former civil servants.

Based on complaints received, the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) civics course trains graduates to implement racist and religious-discriminating policies. In the Mid-Term Review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan, it is reported that 1,016,749 participants benefited from the BTN programmes.

Too fearful to speak out for their rights

Those who viewed the ‘Listen, Listen, Listen’ video will note that the majority of the students applauded Suara Wanita 1Malaysia president Sharifah Zohra Jabeen Syed Shah Miskin’s castigation of K Bawani, the lone objector to Sharifah’s arguments.

The others, Bawani said, were too fearful to stand up and speak out for their rights.

To counter ethnic politics, right thinking Malaysians must break the chains of fear and ignorance holding back the 47 percent. Malaysians have to undergo a personal internal reformation.

Pakatan Rakyat holding more public rallies and giving speeches will come to naught if Malaysians are unable to make this internal reform. This is the key factor. We have to make this change in order to touch the hearts of those that Umno is holding in its grasp.

Lip-service and fine cosmetic words cannot do it. We must remember that “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”. Meaning that not only our words, but our attitudes toward one another must come from our genuine heart-felt feelings.

All the talk of wanting our country to change will not happen if our emotions and feelings toward another of a different race are not changed. The most effective and lasting change in racial politics can only take place when we reform in our hearts.

It’s our heart that needs to change

It is not our mind that so much needs to change as our heart, to excise the prejudgment, preconceived notions and predisposition we have of another race. There must be a paradigm shift in us. This type of change emerges from an understanding and practice of genuine justice.

Genuine justice is based on fairness. John Rawls in his book, ‘A Theory of Justice’, advocated distributive justice to compensate for social and economic inequalities. Thus genuine justice is based on need.

Racism, on the other hand, is nothing but the systemic indifference justified by biological or cultural differences. Since people’s needs differ due to differing socio-historical circumstances, true justice springs from what they need.

Oliver Wendell Homes said: “There is no greater equality than the equal treatment of unequals.”

At the heart of justice is affirmative action based on need. It is based on the principle of redress that undeserved inequalities call for rectification. Since inequalities of birth are undeserved, these inequalities must be compensated for.

Therefore, in order to treat all persons equally and provide genuine equality of opportunity, society must give more attention to those born into or placed in less favourable social-economic positions. It cannot be based on discredited and debunked notions of racial supremacy or inferiority. It is only when Malaysians can get to this point will Malaysia be able to change.

To get to this point requires compassion. Compassion is the counter to racism. At the heart of compassion lies ‘respect”, the process whereby the other person is treated with deference, courtesy and compassion in an endeavour to safeguard the integrity, dignity, value and social worth of the individual. It means treating people they way they want to be treated.

To counter Umno’s racial politics, Malaysians have to find the compassion to reach out to the less fortunate Malays and bBumiputeras, especially those in the rural areas and in the interior of Sabah and Sarawak.

The best way to unmask the racial lies and clean up bigotry is to show Malaysia is a caring society assisting all irrespective of race or religion.

I commend the Rotary Club of Petaling Jaya in organising a health clinic in Batu Arang village, where all residents in need, irrespective of race, were given free health, dental and eyesight tests.

If more people follow this example, the long walk to freedom for all Malaysians will be one more step closer to its destination.

---

WILLIAM LEONG JEE KEEN is the Member of Parliament for Selayang.

'Education blueprint nudging towards monolingualism' - Malaysiakini

Chinese education group Dong Zong yesterday said that the national education blueprint was a way to implement the "ultimate objective" of the 1956 Razak Report, which is to push the country in the direction of "monolingual education".

They made the claim in a statement in response to Deputy Education Minister Mary Yap's recent allegation that Dong Zong members "do not understand" the education blueprint.

Mary had claimed that Dong Zong's fear of mother tongue schools being pushed away through the blueprint holds no water, because there is a specific chapter in the blueprint on mother tongue schools.

However Dong Zong begs to differ, and maintains that they have not misunderstood the blueprint.

"When announcing the formulation and implementation of the education development blueprint, Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has on successive occasions expressed that he would pay close attention to whether the policies and objectives of the Razak Report 1956 could be fully implemented," the group said.

Dong Zong said that despite a specific mention in the blueprint, there is an increase in "unfavourable policies" that "marginalise" Chinese and Tamil primary schools.

"They have, in greater space and length, emphasised the role of the national language and national schools as a tool for national unity, and the national language as the main medium of instruction for all educational institutions," it said.

It pointed out, among others, that the increased teaching hours of Bahasa Malaysia even in vernacular schools was being done with the purpose of establishing a "mono-racial country".

MIC asks Umno to make stand on Perkasa clear

MIC leader urges the Umno leaders to make their stand clear on "extremist" Perkasa.

PETALING JAYA: S Murugesan today urged Umno to clarify their stand on Malay rights group Perkasa, which he described as having “extremist” views.

The MIC central working committee member was responding to Umno leader Isa Samad’s confession that Umno “protects” and provides “benefits” to Perkasa.

“Perkasa has been taking very extremist stands on certain issues and that has not gone down well with multi-racial Malaysia, especially the non-Malays,” he told FMT.

“With this revelation, it is now time for Umno to make their stand very clear and state categorically whether they are supporting or behind Perkasa,” he added.

Murugesan said that there was no “direct link” between Perkasa and BN, and said the revelation would not effect other BN component parties “per se”.

“However, it is not good for BN because some of their views expressed are very extremist,” he lamented.

“Even MIC have criticised some of their stands and distanced ourselves from them. That is why it is important for Umno to make their stand clear,” he reiterated.

MCA vice-president Chua Tee Yong, however, dismissed the revelation and said that Putrajaya had more pressing matters to focus on.

“I think what is more pressing now is how the government will implement the measures to cushion those that need assistance in view of the restructering of subsidies,” he said.

He pointed out that Isa was no longer in the Umno Supreme Council or mainstream leadership line-up.

Yesterday, PKR vice-president N Surendran demanded Umno leaders explain what “benefits” it had provided to Perkasa, and whether it involved using government authority.

Surendran told FMT that there was no doubt at all that when Umno talked about protecting Perkasa, it was admitting to abusing its government authority so that the vocal group escaped prosecution.

In a press conference on Monday, former Umno vice president Isa Samad told reporters that Perkasa could not replace Umno in looking after the Malays because Perkasa itself relied on Umno.

Nepalis denounce visa fee hike

Representatives of employment agencies stage a sit-in outside Malaysian embassy.

PETALING JAYA: Nepali employment agents yesterday staged a demonstration outside the Malaysian embassy in Pulchowk to protest against a visa fee hike for Malaysia-bound workers.

According to Nepal-based English daily The Himalayan Times, the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) had a sit-in over the embassy’s decision to outsource visa processing, which is expected to raise the fee by more than RM100.

Representatives from over 80 agencies took part in the protest, displaying banners and placards denouncing the Malaysian government’s decision.

“We had to resort to this as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs turned deaf ears towards our request of mediating talks with the Malaysian government,” said NAFEA president Bal Bahadur Tamang.

Tamang added that the matter would be taken to the International Labour Organisation if it was not addressed soon by the Nepali and Malaysian governments.

The Malaysian embassy had indicated it would soon outsource visa processing to a company called FOSA, and the fee is expected to go up by at least RM106. This came after a hike from RM23 to RM130 on Nov 1, after the work had been outsourced to a company called Malaysia VLN Nepal.

“If the visa processing work is outsourced to FOSA, Nepali workers seeking jobs in Malaysia will end up paying RM236 for visa fee,” Tamang said.

The protestors were also unhappy that the Malaysian embassy had made it mandatory for all medical centres conducting health checks on Malaysia-bound workers to install a software developed by Malaysian IT firm Bestinet.

Once medical centres start using the software, the medical check-up cost for each worker will go up by RM50 to RM140.

With all these hikes, a Nepali seeking work in Malaysia will soon end up

Beri lesen judi kepada Bumiputera Bukan Islam

Sudah tentu ramai Bumiputera Sabah dan Sarawak yang berkemampuan untuk mengendalikan kelab-kelab judi yang begitu banyak di Sabah.
COMMENT

Saya begitu tertarik dengan cadangan seorang bekas menteri kabinet supaya kerajaan yang amalkan konsep “economic liberalisation” memberi peluang kepada peniaga Melayu dalam perniagaan judi dan perniagaan hiburan.

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim berkata dengan menghadkan perniagaan orang kepada perniagaan halal sahaja menyebabkan orang Melayu terlepas peluang mendapatkan peluang keuntungan yang lebih besar hasil daripada pemberian lesen judi dan hiburan.

“Keuntungan yang besar itu digunakan membeli hartanah, hotel, resorts di Kuala Lumpur dan Singapura. Manakala orang Melayu begitu sukar untuk membeli tanah dan rumah dalam bandar.” katanya lagi.

Cadangan Zaid itu bagaimanapun mendapat kecaman hebat daripada pemimpin-pemimpin Umno. Mereka dengan tegas berkata pemberian lesen judi dan lesen hiburan tidak boleh diberikan kepada orang Melayu kerana bertentangan dengan hukum Islam.

Saya setuju dengan Zaid, dan saya selalu berhujah bahawa peluang perniagaan judi dan hiburan adalah peniagaan yang begitu menguntungkan dan tidak seharusnya diberikan kepada peniaga-peniaga kaum Tionghua sahaja. Dari segi pemilikan kekayaan, kaum itu semakin jauh meninggalkan kaum Bumiputera.

Bukan itu sahaja, keuntungan berlipat ganda daripada perniagaan judi adalah sumber dana untuk membina sekolah-sekolah swasta, sekolah-sekolah tuisyen, tadika milik masyarakat Tionghua. Secara langsung dalam bidang pelajaran, mereka juga semakin jauh dihadapan kaum Bumiputera.

Jika perniagaan judi bertentangan dengan Islam, kenapa lesen judi tidak diberikan kepada peniaga Bumiputera bukan Islam dari Sabah dan Sarawak?

Sudah tentu ramai Bumiputera Sabah dan Sarawak yang berkemampuan untuk mengendalikan kelab-kelab judi yang begitu banyak di Sabah. Malang sekali lesen-lesen judi jackpot yang berlesen di Sabah dan Sarawak hanya diberikan kepada peniaga Cina.

‘Selangor can’t stop toll hikes’

Experts say the decision lies with all shareholders in the highway companies.

PETALING JAYA: Experts have poured cold water on the Selangor government’s plans to reject the impending toll hike, pointing out that the final decision would lie with all shareholders in the highway companies.

“As minority shareholders, the Selangor government can object to the toll hike, but ultimately the decision would be put to a vote, and it may even be rejected,” Yeah Kim Leng, group chief economist of RAM Holdings, told FMT.

“So they actually have no ultimate power. They can only exercise their rights as a shareholder, and will have to go through due process by tabling their objection at the shareholder’s meeting.”

Subramaniam Pillay, an economist and associate professor at Taylor’s university, concurred with this, saying that “normally, the majority shareholder makes the final decision.”

But he added that the concession agreements might have allowed for an exception to allow minority stakeholders to make decisions.

Last week, Selangor economic advisor Anwar Ibrahim announced that the state government, through the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) and Kumpulan Perangsang, would oppose the toll hike. PKNS owns 30% of the Kesas highway and Kumpulan Perangsang owns 20% in Sprint and Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong (LDP)

Anwar said the state would use its stake in the highway companies to protect the people’s interest and rejected statements by Barisan Nasional leaders that the hike could not be avoided as it was provided for in the concession agreements.

“I understand that the issue will be brought to the state exco meeting today and orders will be given out to government representatives in the highway consortium involved to reject the toll hike,” Anwar told a press conference on Dec 18.

“They have a right to object as minority shareholders.”

Yeah said that while Selangor’s planned action would not necessarily result in Kesas, Sprint and LDP maintaining current toll rates, Anwar was right in saying that the government could avoid implementing the toll hikes.

He said the government, even if it could not order the toll concessionaires to delay or cancel the hikes, could exert influence on government-linked companies that had shares in the firms.

PKR’s Rafizi Ramli disclosed last week that the North-South Expressway Project is wholly-owned by government funds such as Khazanah Nasional Bhd and the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF).

The second largest operator, Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings Sdn Bhd (Prolintas), is wholly owned by Putrajaya’s fund manager Permodalan Nasional Bhd. Prolintas operates the Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway and Guthrie Corridor Expressway.

Gamuda Bhd, which operates the Damansara-Puchong Expresswayand the Sprint Highway, is the only privately-owned highway firm, but 22.59% of its shares are held by EPF, Tabung Haji and other government funds.

“The government can influence the GLCs which own shares in highway companies to vote for a delay in the toll hike,” Yeah said. “It can even persuade the GLCs to not demand compensation for the delay.”

He added the delay should be applied to highway tolls that were already congested and generating profit.

“If the toll revenue is not sufficient to cover costs, then the toll concessionaires may have a case and the burden should be shared with the road users.

“But the government can practice its discretion and influence when it comes to those highways that are already generating profit.”

But Yeah said the toll hike should not reach 100% as such a move would be hard to justify given that inflation is currently around 2%.

India and the Khobragade Saga

Not the angel she seems

What first appeared straightforward isn’t
Devyani Khobragade, the Indian consular official arrested two weeks ago by American officials on charges of visa fraud and labor law violations relating to her employment of a nanny/housekeeper, has stirred an international affair with Indian outrage drawing demonstrations against the US government and the New York officials who arrested her.

The attractive 39-year-old Khobragade, rather than being a member of the elite foreign service, according to the narrative, is a dalit, a member of India’s lowest caste, once called “untouchables,” who apparently managed to pull herself up by her own bootstraps to become a member of an exclusive foreign service brigade. She is married to a New York-born American Indian who is described as an oenophile – a wine connoisseur.

But amid the swirl of charges of mistreatment of a diplomat, of high-handedness of US officials against a lesser country are the charges laid against Khobragade by Sangeeta Richard, the housemaid she employed.

Media in Mumbai say that Richard’s husband, Philip, in a petition to the New Delhi High Court in July, listed these charges against Khobragade, describing her as keeping his wife in “slavery-like conditions or keeping a person in bondage.”

Other charges include these:

• ”Even though the contract stipulated that Sunday would be an off-day she worked from 6 am to 11 pm, minus 2 hours for church even on Sunday. She worked from 6 am to 11 pm on Saturday as well.”
• “Uttam Khobragade called Sangeeta’s family several times and threatened them that they would have to face dire consequences if she complains and that he would ruin their future, get them abducted and frame false charges of drugs against them.”
• ”At the immigration office, Devyani  falsely accused Sangeeta of theft, in front of the US Immigration Officer. Sangeeta asked what it was she had stolen. Devyani could not say and threatened her saying that she will come to know when she returns home.”

Sangeeta’s daughter Jennifer, wrote to government officials in July:

• ”My mother used to sound unhappy whenever she talked to us on phone. She asked Devyani to send her back to India but Devyani refused her request.”
• “Uttam Khobragade forced police to come to our house at night around 11 pm. There were 5 policemen. From that day onwards police has started calling my father, my brother and me as well... He said to my father that he would destroy our future and not let my father continue with his job anymore.”
• ”We no more feel safe in our own house because of the phone calls we are getting and the words that Uttam Khobragade has said to my father. We really need your help to get out of all this trouble. It is like a mental torture on my family. PLEASE HELP US.”

Sangeeta Richard has issued no statement since leaving Khobragade’s house in June. But a US complaint based on her statements indicates that when Khobragade submitted details for Sangeeta Richard’s visa, she stated the housekeeper would be paid US$9.75 per hour, the New York minimum wage. But allegedly she also executed a second contract signed by the two and concealed from US authorities in which Khobragade stipulated that Richard would be paid a maximum of Rs30,000 per month or $3.31 per hour.

The diplomat’s father, Uttam Khobragade, reportedly denied the charges, saying Sangeeta was being paid $8.75, of which Rs30,000 was being sent to her husband every month. The family accused the housekeeper of “extortion,” alleging that she had asked for $10,000, a regular passport instead of the restrictive one issued to consular officials’ servants, and immigration assistance.

At a press conference in Mumbai, Deviant’s father reiterated “We paid her according to the minimum wage. Sangeeta seems to have used Devyani to go to the US,” he said.

Nonetheless, more details come to light – including revelations of US actions to “evacuate” the nanny’s family from India – it’s clear that what at first appeared to be a relatively straightforward matter is anything but. 

Whatever the case, the US appears to have stumbled badly, whoever is telling the truth. No one in the US State Department appears to have anticipated the outrage in India and its consequences for a relationship that senior department officials have worked hard in cultivating for more than a decade. US Secretary of State John Kerry was forced to deliver a personal apology by telephone to Indian officials.

But in any case, it isn’t the first time Indian diplomats in New York have been found in violation of US labor laws. In 2011, the Indian consul general at the time was sued by a former domestic servant for mistreatment. The case was eventually settled out of court.  Last year, the consulate’s press and culture counselor was hit with a $1.5 million civil judgment she was found guilty of what was described as slave-like treatment of a former maid.  The counselor left the United States and refuses to pay the award.

But the US officials could have quietly told their counterparts in Delhi that her presence in the United States was no longer welcome and making clear that this sort of misconduct by other diplomats would not be tolerated, which would have sent the message without generating what has become an unnecessary squabble between the two countries.

And as David J. Karl, David J. Karl is president of the Asia Strategy Initiative, an analysis and advisory firm, and a senior director with Geoskope, a cross-market intelligence company, pointed out to Asia Sentinel, “the US argument that Ms. Khobragade’s consular position does not afford her full diplomatic immunity is at odds with Washington’s stance in the Raymond Davis affair three years ago.  A CIA contractor operating out of the US consulate in Lahore, Davis was arrested by Pakistani police after he fatally shot two men in circumstances that remain under dispute. 

Washington didn’t contest the double-murder charges, Karl says, but asserted that Davis was protected under the principle of diplomatic immunity.  President Obama even weighed in, stating that "There's a broader principle at stake that I think we have to uphold."

Beyond anger over Ms. Khobragade’s treatment by US authorities, Karl continues, New Delhi officials are also incensed by the other extraordinary actions Washington took, including designating the nanny as a victim of human trafficking and granting her a special visa to stay in the United States even though her official passport had been revoked by New Delhi and she is subject to an arrest warrant in India; rejecting the validity of the legal proceedings Khobragade initiated against the nanny in India over the labor dispute; and then spiriting the nanny’s family out of India on the grounds that it was being harassed by government authorities.

Support for Barisan will drop further if it ignores rising cost, says varsity survey

 
Prof Datuk Dr Mohammad Redzuan Othman says many Malaysians are feeling the 
 impact of the rise in electricity tariffs and petrol prices. – The Malaysian Insider 
pic by Afif Abd Halim, December 23, 2013. 

Support for the Barisan Nasional administration will drop further if it fails to deal with the rising cost of living experienced by Malaysians, another study has found today.

At the same time, the study by the Universiti Malaya's Centre for Democracy and Elections (UMCEDEL) showed that 61% of respondents disagreed with the Government's plan to introduce a goods and services tax in 2015.

The study showed that only 20% of those polled agreed with the initiative.

UMCEDEL director Prof Datuk Dr Mohammad Redzuan Othman said that the rise in electricty and petrol prices had a severe impact on those polled and that 52% of them felt that the Government's BR1M (1Malaysia People's Aid) handouts were inadequate to deal with rising prices.

Of the 1,676 respondents in the peninsula, about 42% were concerned with the rise in petrol prices, while 34% said they felt the effect of the rise in the price of goods and 24% felt the the hike in electricity tariffs would impact on them.

The survey was conducted between December 6 and 8.

Last week, a Merdeka Center survey found that concerns over the economy, particularly rising costs and inflation, rose to its highest ever level, up to 67% of all respondents.

The survey found that 55% of voters in the peninsula said that they also did not understand the impact of the GST on their lives.

Additionally, 54% of respondents reported that they did not believe in statements by government leaders about the country’s economic situation.

The people had also lost faith in schemes, such as BR1M, to mitigate the higher cost of living and its role in increasing support for BN, the survey showed.

It added that 47% of rural dwellers said that BR1M had no bearing on their support for BN while 46% of respondents admitted that the handouts did not change their party support.

Redzuan said: "After BR1M's first handout, BN support was at 49%. But by the time the fourth BR1M handout came along, BN support went down to 42%.

"The wow factor is gone by the time the subsequent handouts were given to the people."

The introduction of the GST was also unpopular among a large segment of the public. The Government was faulted for its poor handling of GST information, said political analyst Shaharuddin Badaruddin from UiTM, who was also present at UMCEDEL today.

"The opposition's message on the GST has been more successful than the Government's own message. Even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's explanation failed to shift people's perception.

"The Government has failed to explain that the GST would not alter the price of goods and services. It now has to prove that prices would, in fact, be lower after GST to convince the public of its adoption.” – The Malaysian Insider

Najib's Recognition Spurs Malaysian Professionals In Makkah

From Noor Hammad Wariman

MAKKAH, Dec 24 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's visit to Saudi Arabia has not only boosted the Kuala Lumpur-Riyadh ties but also catalysed Malaysian professionals to seek bigger opportunities.

The government's aspiration in turning Malaysia into a thriving, modern and progressive Islamic country, but firmly rooted in Islam proved successful and helped galvanise Malaysians' confidence in facing the world.

"They are driven to look for opportunities in the international arena, and have not felt awkward or pressured to compete with others," the prime minister told Malaysian journalists at the end of his visit about Malaysian diasporas.

Najib's visit further strengthened the ties which were evident from the recognition of Malaysian expertise in the construction of gigantic projects in Makkah and Madinah.

In a meeting with Malaysians at D'Saji Restaurant in Makkah on Monday, he expressed his appreciation to Malaysian professionals for their participation in mammoth projects such as the Grand Mosque (Masjidil Haram) expansion and Royal Hotel Clock Tower or Abraj Al-Bait Towers - a testimony of Malaysian expertise.

"Hence, if we continue to remain together, cooperate and unite as Muslims, definitely we will scale greater heights," he said.

It is his fervent hope that Malaysians coming to Saudi Arabia whether to conduct business or perform the haj pilgrimage or umrah would protect the good name and image of the country so that they are welcome with open arms.

Likewise, Malaysians should also be behave themselves in other countries, he added.

In his four-day working visit since Saturday, Najib and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, performed the umrah and surveyed the Royal Hotel Clock Tower from where he viewed the Makkah panorama.

Meanwhile, Mohd Rus Abbas, a cost consultant for the Grand Mosque expansion project, said as a small ambassador of Malaysia, he was proud of the prime minister's appreciation of their contribution and described it as a great honour even though it was encapsulated in one speech.

"We are overwhelmed and thank the prime minister for his willingness to see us even though for just an hour or two. But it was enough for us," he said, adding that 30 Malaysian professionals were involved in construction, consulting, hospitality and telecommunication projects in Saudi Arabia.

Even though small in number, Malaysians are a close-knit community here, he added.

Mohd Rus said he was involved in the Grand Mosque expansion project since two years ago and currently was working on Mataf (area around the kaabah) expansion, which was divided into three phases, to accommodate worshippers up to 120,000 from 45,000 by 2015.

When the project is completed in 2020, Muslims can pray under the shade of 500 giant umbrellas outside the mosque like the Nabawi Mosque in Madinah where 250 collapsible umbrellas were installed.

Zulkifli Sulaiman, a senior supervisor for the Royal Hotel Clock Tower project, said 16 Malaysians were involved in the project which was 98 per cent completed.

At a height of 602 meters, it is the highest and largest clock tower in the world, surpassing other renowned clock towers such as the Palace of Culture and Science (Warsaw, Poland), Big Ben (London), and Ann-Bradley Clock Tower (Milwaukee, the United States).

Among its outstanding features are the Royal Clock is visible from 17km away at night and 12km during the day, and two mil-lion LED lights illuminate when the call of the muezzin for daily prayers resonates.

Beaming with pride over Malaysians involvement in building Makkah's landmarks and history, Zulkifli said he and his colleagues were involved in installing solid but light metal structure of the clock.

"It was a daunting task as we have to endure unpredictable weather and strong wind," he added.

Federal Court allows Zahid's polls victory to be challenged

Children subjected to abuses at Madinah home

The Human Rights Commission (HRC) in Madinah has discovered cases of violence against children living in the Social Education home.

Sharf Al-Quraafi, supervisor of the HRC in Madinah, said a team from the its office visited the Social Education Department’s home for male children aged 11 to 16 years last Tuesday, to ensure the implementation of the Kingdom’s obligations toward issues of human rights.

Some of the cases which came to light were beatings with electric cables, slapping the face and depriving children of breakfast for some days under the pretext of the absence of a cook who doubled up as a cleaner in the home.

“All the children complained of the bad service in the Al-Madinah home. The meals are of poor quality, the furniture is old and the children have to put up with unhygienic sanitary conditions. Educational standards are inferior and there is need for improving the medical care which does not meet the required standard. There is a shortage of medicines and medical instruments and a lack of medical staff,” Al-Quraafi said.

She said the Social Education’s administration is responsible for these children and it must adhere to the Convention on Childcare’s Rights.

A number of social activists told Arab News that most of the Social Education homes in the Kingdom need to be permanently monitored by local human rights societies to stop violence against children living there.

“The Social Education departments in the Kingdom do not have staff specialized in human rights awareness and we continue to hear about the violence that these children are being subjected to,” said Ali Saleh, a social activist.

“The Ministry of Social Affairs must step up efforts to instill rights culture in all its departments,” he added, pointing out that violence in the homes will continue in the absence of clear sanctions.

The president of the Human Rights Commission, Bandar bin Muhammad Al-Aiban, said early this year that his organization will embark on holding training courses for administrators and teachers at girls schools.

“These courses aim to raise awareness about the importance of detecting cases of violence against children,” said Al-Aiban.

He pointed out that violence against children represents a violation of their rights and poses a threat to future generations.

“Offenders should be punished severely as this segment of the population (the children) in particular cannot defend itself,” he said.

Anatomy of an ‘honour’ killing: Why a Palestinian community demanded a father murder his divorced daughter

Thamar Zeidan was murdered by her father when he choked her to death as she took an afternoon nap in their small, conservative West Bank village.

“Honour crimes” are rarely talked about in Palestinian society, but Ms. Zeidan’s mother and sister have gone public to highlight the case and reveal the immense pressure her father came under to commit the crime.

Extended members of the woman’s family accused her of “disgraceful and outrageous acts” in a petition that was widely circulated in her village of Deir Al Ghusun, near the West Bank town of Tulkarem.

The petition demanded Ms. Zeidan’s father, Munther, “reinstate the cultural and religious morals in his family.”

It was posted in five local mosques during Friday prayer and signed by more than 50 relatives, including Abed Al-Rahman Zeidan, a Palestinian lawmaker.

“My husband was under tremendous pressure,” said Ms. Zeidan’s mother, Laila. “The family wanted to banish us from the West Bank and people started rumours that my husband wasn‎‎’t mentally stable.”

Reacting to demands to restore the family’s honour, Munther killed his daughter, Laila Zeidan said.

“My husband is a peaceful man and this is completely out of character, but the pressure was too intense.”

There have been 27 “honour crimes” in Palestinian areas this year, compared with 13 last year, according to organizations who keep track of such murders.

"My husband is a peaceful man and this is completely out of character, but the pressure was too intense"

“It’s not clear that honour killing is on the rise, but we can say that documenting such cases has improved and police and media are more aware of them,“ said Surayda Hassan, the general director of the Women Affairs Technical Committee.

Ms. Zeidan, 32, was killed in September, but her family are only now speaking out to highlight the tragedy and bring public attention to “honour killings,” which are a sensitive subject in Palestinian society.

Ms. Zeidan divorced her husband four years ago and moved back in with her parents. However, to gain her freedom she had to give up custody of her three children.

Problems began when she became friendly with Iyad Na’lweh, a labourer who worked in Israel. He was married, but promised to make Ms. Zeidan his second wife, which is legal in Islamic law.

Zahid's polls victory to be challenged

The Federal Court today overturned a High Court decision to throw out PKR's petition disputing the May 5 election result for Bagan Datoh, which was won by Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, now the home minister.

The five-member panel led by Court of Appeal president Justice Md Raus Sharif ruled that anybody can file an election petition.

On Aug 15, Ipoh High Court judge Umi Kalthum Abdul Majid held that the petition for Bagan Datoh, filed by PKR candidate Madhi Hasan and voter Azmi Sulaiman, had failed to adhere to Rule 9 of the Election Petition Rules 1954 and the matter was thus not heard.

This rule requires the name of the petitioner's lawyer to be stated in the document and does not accept filings by law firms.

It was reported that the two election petitions for Bagan Datoh had accused Ahmad Zahid of spending more than the legally allowed amount for campaigning and for buying votes.

The petition stated that Ahmad Zahid spent up to RM2 million, while the limit set by the Election Commission is RM200,000 for a parliamentary seat.

The petitioners had used photographs in Ahmad Zahid's blog, which depicted him distributing aid in his constituency, as evidence.
In the May 5 general election, Ahmad Zahid obtained 17,176 votes against 15,068 garnered by Madhi.
Meanwhile, the Federal Court also ordered the High Court to hear the Lubok Merbau election petition. This seat was won by BN's Siti Salamah Mat Jusak, on a majority of just 53 votes against PAS' Mohd Zainuddin Mohd Yusof.

The Federal Court also dismissed appeals by BN for the Lembah Pantai and Batu seats held by PKR vice-presidents Nurul Izzah Anwar and Tian Chua respectively.

The court also dismissed the appeals for the Sungai Besar and Kuala Selangor parliamentary seats in Selangor, Bernama reported.

These appeals brought by two voters, Mat Ismail Nasir (Sungai Besar) and Muhammad Rashid Muhammad Kasim (Kuala Selangor), against the election court's decisions.

Therefore, the victories of BN candidates Noriah Kasnon (Sungai Besar) and Irmohizam Ibrahim (Kuala Selangor) have been maitained.

In an unanimous ruling, Justice Md Raus said the court had no reason to disturb the findings of the election courts which had struck out the petitions.

The court also ordered Mat Ismail and Muhammad Rashid to pay a total of RM60,000 to the six respondents, Noriah, Irmohizam, the Election Commission (in both the cases) and the two returning officers.

13 NGOs, Umno Youth lodge 'topple gov't' reports

Thirteen non-governmental organisations (NGOs), together with Pandan Umno Youth lodged police reports today on attempts being made by certain quarters to hold a rally on Dec 31, dubbed "Himpunan Guling Kerajaan',  to topple the government.

Among the NGOs that lodged the reports at the Ampang Jaya police headquarters were Persatuan Belia dan Beliawanis Pandan, Kelab Generasi Muda Pandan, Pertubuhan Seni Bela Diri Jamiah Al-Sidrah and Kelab Transformasi Pemikir Pandan.

Pandan Umno Youth chief Muhammad Faizal Sufar said the police should investigate the matter as there was a serious allegation that certain quarters were making efforts to provoke the people to topple the government.

Faizal said the police need to take pre-emptive steps, including arresting those trying to organise the rally before they could create an unrest.

Prior to this, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar was quoted as saying that police viewed seriously the distribution of posters calling on the public to topple the government on Dec 31 and would investigate the matter according to Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).

In Klang today, several NGOs representing youths also lodged eight police reports at the Klang Selatan police headquarters, demanding immediate investigation into the dissemination of posters containing such a provocation to the people.

The Selangor Youth Council’s Klang branch chairperson, Haiziee Mohd Salleh, claimed the provocation was also spread through social media and was a threat to national security and people's unity and harmony.

- Bernama

'Call Unesco in to save Malacca's Kg Chitty'

Unesco should be brought in to advise on reported development in Malacca's gazetted heritage zone Kampung Chitty cultural village.

In making the call today, Kumpulan Sasterawan Kavyan president Uthaya Sankar said since the heritage village has existed since 1414, and has been gazetted, there should be laws to protect it.

"Kampung Chitty has been gazetted as a heritage village, so surely there are enactments that prevent the construction of a highrise building next to it," he said in a statement yesterday.

"If needed, we, Kavyan, suggest that a Unesco representative be called in to survey the situation and make its report and recommendations to the Malacca historical authorities (MBMB) and Chief Minister Idris Harun," he said.

The Malacca site is the latest historic treasure to be threatened by development, after the outcry over the destruction of ancient Hindu ruins in Kedah's Lembah Bujang last month.
A century-old Chinese village in Negri Sembilan, Kampung Hakka Mantin, has also been bulldozed, with the police arresting residents and politicians who protested.
Halted for GE13

Uthaya lamented that the Malacca government was allowing development in a gazetted heritage site despite protests from the residents.

A halt to the new development was called just before the May 5 general election.

"During the 13th general election, the chief minister at the time, Mohd Ali Rustam, was reported to have instructed the development projects to be halted.

"However, the projects have now started up again, even though the residents of Kampung Chitty are protesting," he said.

He added that the kampung predates the arrival of the Portuguese to the history-laden state.

"The village has managed to defend its rights, identity and dignity even though the land had been colonised by the Dutch, British and the Japanese."

This time, they are up against the state, which Uthaya said, has approved the construction of two 22-storey condominium blocks, a 12-storey hotel and a six-storey carpark on the kampung land marked as Lot 93.

Uthaya said Kavyan's survey found that a number of historic temples were built using limestone, and development in the vicinity poses a serious threat to these structures.

"For example, Sri Anggala Parameswari Temple that has been gazetted as a national heritage site is within 300 metres of the building site, while Sri Kailasanar is 400 metres away and Muthu Mariamman Temple is just 100 metres away"
Politicians fail to make difference

Last week Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia chairperson P Waythamoorthy issued a statement condemning the development works at the heritage site gazetted in 2002.

Waythamoorthy (left, in orange), who was also made deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department to look after Indian affairs after pledging support for BN just before the 13th general election, added that the area is part of a larger protected zone gazetted in 2008.

Uthaya said action was needed quickly, considering that even MIC had failed to act on the matter.

"The president his deputy in the MIC have met with representatives of Kampung Chitty, but there has been no positive result whatsoever," he lamented.

His group plans to hold a programme at the heritage site on Dec 29 to push for the villagers' rights to be protected.

Johor Zoo accused of cruelty to animals

Animal cruelty and lack of proper care can be seen throughout the Johor state run zoo where Sun bears live under severe stressful conditions and tigers are housed in concrete pens.

PETALING JAYA: Recent information obtained from a local animal rights organisation highlighted the Johor Zoo as the worst in Malaysia as the animals are kept in inadequate and poor conditions.

Throughout the world a zoo is a place of care and shelter for wild animals kept in captivity. It is a place where the public can learn to appreciate wildlife in safety, unfortunately the Johor Zoo is one filled with mistreated and near neglected animals.

“The zoo (Johor Bahru zoo) is the worst ever. They have yet to change the old cages and upgrade to better facilities for the animals,”

“ After widespread bad publicity, elephants and orangutans were previously confiscated by Perhilitan, from this zoo.”

“The management are clearly incapable and uncaring,” said Sean Whyte from Nature Alert.

Angry at the level of animal mistreatment witnessed at the Johor Zoo, Sean hit out against the Malaysia Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) director general Rashid Shamsudin for neglecting the animal’s suffering.

“By permitting Johor Zoo to remain open, Rashid Samsudin is allowing those poor animals to suffer. This is an act of negligence. He should have resigned a long time ago,” he said.

Malaysian Friends of the Animal’s (MFOTA) spokesperson Hasrul Mohamed told FMT that wildlife cruelty can be witnessed throughout the zoo.

Hasrul expressed concerns regarding the cages and pens which he described as not being in compliance with the minimum standard specifications outlined in the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010. He was also not sure as to whether the zoo had a veterinarian on hand to treat and care for sick animals.

“Cruelty can be seen every where in the zoo. It is an open secret. We doubt if any of the cages meet the requirements stipulated under the Wildlife Act and we question as to how the zoo can still be allowed to operate when it is obviously breaking the law,”

“Do they hire any vets? It is a legal requirement under the new act, and if so, how has he or she allowed such brutality to continue,” Hasrul added.

Hasrul then cited examples where Sun bears are made to live under extreme stressful conditions due to the deplorable and inhumane conditions of their cages.

“Nature Alert have filed a complaint to Perhilitan which was clearly ignored (and they act) as if nothing has happened.

“If you go to the zoo you can see how stressed out the Sun bears are.”

“Tigers are kept in concrete cages. This is utterly unacceptable and barbaric. How can a tiger live in a concrete cage?”

Hasrul questions why the Johor Zoo management has failed to impose strict rules and regulations to stop members of the public from feeding junk food and in some cases, cigarettes to the animals.

This practice by certain members of the public has been witnessed as a norm for many years without any stern action being taken against those guilty.

“MFOTA has recently exposed again, the continued feeding of chimpanzees (with junk food), the public are able to throw junk food and lit cigarettes into the animal cages,”

“Why has Perhilitan not taken any action against the management? For years now, supervision is never ever present at this zoo,” he shrugged.

When contacted, Johor Zoo spokesperson Zakaria Razali refuted claims made by MFOTA and said that all the animals at the zoo, including the Sun bears and tigers are being treated well.

Zakaria told FMT that the Nature Alert spokesperson Sean Whyte was just “looking for an excuse to blame the management”.

“Nature Alert has a wrong idea of what is going on in the zoo. For him, every animal here is being abused, that is wrong and the truth is they are well-kept,” Zakaria said in a telephone conversation.

Zakaria explained that the animals are fed twice a day and said that the zoo “can’t stop visitors from giving junk food to the animals”.

When asked about the condition of the Sun bears in their care, Zakaria again rebutted claims made by MFOTA and Nature Alert saying that the Sun bears were not living under heavy stressful conditions.

He explained that all the Sun bears will be transferred into a new cage, soon. .

“No, the Sun bears are doing just fine. I don’t think they are distressed and moreover, we have built a new cage for them and soon they will be transferred into their new home,” he affirmed.

‘Probe irregularities in MIC polls’

Former MIC Youth chief wants a representative from the MACC and the Registrar of Societies in establishing an independent body to investigate the polls irregularities.

KUALA LUMPUR: A group of disgruntled former MIC leaders today submitted a memorandum, demanding fresh election to be conducted for the party Central Working Committee (CWC) positions.

In addition, they also urged the party leadership to set-up an independent body to investigate claims of irregularities, which was said to have occurred in the party polls conducted last month.

The delegation of 20 candidates who contested the polls led by former MIC youth chief T Mohan handed over a memorandum containing the demands to the party headquarters this morning.

Also present were former CWC members Madhu Marimuthu, VM Panjamoorthy, S Ananthan and SP Manivasagam.

“More than 20 MIC leaders have signed the memorandum to press the leadership to conduct fresh polls,” said Mohan, after delivering the memorandum to MIC deputy president Dr S Subramaniam.

MIC held its party polls on Nov 30 in Malacca. In the polls, several top guns such as former Youth chief SA Vigneswaran, former vice president SK Devamany and Mohan lost in their bid to become vice presidents.

Mohan said that the disgruntled members have highlighted 13 major issues, pertaining to the irregularities in the party polls in the memorandum.

Among the points highlighted are:

The irregular increase of ballot papers in the vice president polls result, even more than the number of delegates.

The missing ballot boxes which has yet to be delivered to the party headquarters.

The involvement of a mysterious woman in the counting process, known as ‘Mala’.

“We want the party leadership to reply to our memorandum within 14 days. Otherwise, we will bring the matter to next level,” said Mohan.

Asked on the independent body, Mohan stressed that it would be the best way to investigate the electoral discrepancies in the party polls.

Mohan also welcomed the idea of having representatives from the MACC and Registrar of Societies (ROS) to be part of the independent body.

Meanwhile, Subramaniam promised that would raise the matter with party president G Palanivel

“Being a deputy president, I will not take sides. The leaders who submitted this memorandum are MIC members too,” he said.

‘Police wrong in Aminulrasyid shootout’

Lawyers urges Attorney General to re-open the case and review the court of appeal's decision.
UPDATED

PETALING JAYA: There is now a glimpse of hope for Norsiah Mohamad to seek justice for her murdered son – 14 year old Aminulrasyid Amzah who was killed in a high speed police chase on April 26 2010.

This latest revelation was obtained on December 12 2013 during the trial of Norizan Salleh v the Malaysian government, where the police were compelled to produce the Inspector General’s Standing Order (IGSO) on the use of firearms.

Norizan Salleh,33, was shot five times by a group of police officers at the middle ring road (MRR2) in a similar car chase back in 2010.

The latest findings from Norsiah’s lawyer showed that the police officers involved during the night of the incident had breached the standing orders as firearms can only be discharged when the lives of police personnel or public is threatened.

Speaking to reporters Lawyer and Member of Parliament, N. Surendran revealed that Corporal Jenain Subi had clearly breached the IGP’s standing order as he fired 21 rounds at Aminulrasyid’s vehicle .

“We are referring to the IGSO produced during the trial of Norizan Salleh who was also shot indiscriminately by police officers. It is now clear that police officers had breached the standing order,”

“A weapon can only be discharged when the lives of police officers are in danger or the public is in danger. But looking at Aminulrasyid’s case, the police were not in danger and Aminulrasyid was merely trying to get away from the police,” he said.

The Padang Serai MP then added that Corporal Jenain had no right or lawful excuse to repeatedly shoot at the vehicle and slammed the court of appeal who justified the police’s action to fire at the car in order to ‘immobolise it’.

“The decision of the court of appeal is a massive blunder and also puts the safety of all Malaysians at risk at the hands of trigger happy cops,”

“It is now clear why the police leadership and Home Ministry had long resisted the call for IGSO to be released,”

In view of the provisions of the IGOS the Keadilan vice president strongly urged the Attorney General to apply for the court of appeal to reveiew their own decision to acquit Corporal Jenain while demanding the police force to re-open the shooting case to re-investigate the full extent of the killing incident.

“The AG have to use his power to review the case and the police have to re-open the case as there is a clear cut evidence of breach of SOP. The case have to be re-investigate and we must not forget that the police also tried to kill Azzamuddin Omar who was with Aminulrasyid in the car,”

Meanwhile, Aminulrasyid’s mother who looked calm throughout the entire press conference expressed disappointment at the judicial system which according to her, has failed to uphold justice for her murdered son.

“It is almost four years now and no one had come forward to apologies to me for what had happened. The court’s ruling is totally unacceptable as it is unfair to my family,”

“I hope with this new information my son’s name can finally be cleared,”

“Najib Razak in his letter to me promised a thorough investigation but until today, it was just a promise. Nothing had been done to clear my son’s name,” she shrugged.

On April 26, Aminulrasyid accompanied by his 15 year old friend Azzamuddin Omar, sneaked out from his house in Section 11 Shah Alam and drove to a nearby restaurant to watch a football match.

On his way back from the restaurant, Aminulrasyid had accidentally hit a motorist and tried to flee from the scene as he was panicked, however a patrol car was alerted and gave chase before Corporal Jenain Subi fired 21 shot at the car killing Aminulrasyid.

The incident occurred at 1.30am just a 100 meters away from Aminulrasyid’s house and subsequently caused a public outcry against police brutality.

Khalid Abu Bakar who was the Selangor CPO during the case was quick to labeled Aminulrasyid as a wanted criminal with various records of robbery.

Price Of Rice Cheaper In Singapore?

Latest I heard there are rumours that the Prime Minister will be "asked" to retire by March of 2014. (Err I usually hang out with pro BN, pro UMNO types ok. This is our side talking.) Who will replace him is also being discussed. 
I dont know if this will really happen or not but it shows the desperation that a very large number of pro UMNO people feel. They really want the PM to go. Someone should start a public signature campaign to see how many people want to see the PM go.
Anyway when the petrol price went up in September 2013, the Minister of Domestic Trade said the following :
Tue, 03 Sep 2013 

Ministry expects only 0.1% increase in food prices

• Domestic Trade Minister Hasan Malek said this quoting a study done by the ministry on the effect of the fuel price increase, the New Straits Times reported.
• Food prices to go up only by 0.1% following the 20-sen hike in RON95  
• Hasan told traders not to raise food prices, adding the fuel price hike was unlikely to affect food production costs.
• "..we see no reason for them to mark up food prices as a result of the rise in fuel costs," he added.
• Najib announced yesterday a 20-sen hike in RON95 petrol and diesel prices
• new prices will save government at least RM1.1 billion this year

It is pretty tiring to keep saying again and again how simple the Cabinet Ministers are. I mean this is a Minister. He honestly felt that :

• fuel price unlikely to affect food production costs
• no reason to mark up food prices

What about the impact of higher tolls, higher cukai pintu, higher electricity tariffs, higher taxes, higher everything on food prices? Does the gomen feel that despite all these increases the food prices will not go up also? How is that possible?  Everything will go up - not just food prices. Sewa akan naik, harga kain akan naik, harga baju akan naik. Everything will go up.
I have said this many times : this is the Proton School of Management again. These people obviously think that "Buy high sell low" (beli mahal jual murah) is a good thing to do. (It is 'buy low sell high' ok)
That is what the Minister is saying. He said that it is ok for the food producers and food sellers to suffer higher costs. But they must still keep their selling prices low. 
He said the fuel hike will cause only 0.1% increase in food prices? How could the Minister have been so precise? Why not 0.05% or 0.2%?  
This is also why the people have almost completely lost trust in the gomen. The gomen talks rubbish. They even tell lies. 
Yesterday another pro UMNO person with whom I had a conversation for the first time said the gomen is "sneaky".  A good example is "Tengku" Adnan's statement that the DBKL is reducing the assessment rates from 6% to 4%.  Well thank you Babuji. But this is coming after a hailstorm of protest against the doubling and tripling of the assessment values. 
For example if you paid 6% before on a property assessed at RM8000 that works out to RM480. Now if the assessment for the same property has been increased to RM21,000 and you pay 4% that works out to RM840. That is actually a 75% increase in the amount you are paying. So the gomen is being sneaky. They say they have lowered the assessment rate but they have more than doubled the assessment values.  And  Babuji thinks he is being very clever and fair at the same time. 
A friend who is in the restaurant business gave me the following price increases of food items over the past few months (three to six months) :

Udang (medium sized) RM16 /kg to RM25.00 - 27.00 /kg  (56% increase)

Ikan Kembong RM 4.50 - 6.00 /kg  to RM10.00 /kg (122% increase)

Ikan Selar ? RM5 /kg to RM15 /kg (200% increase)

Cili padi RM4.50 /kg to RM9.90 /kg (120% increase)

Daun Ketumbar RM 8 /kg to RM 16/kg (100% increase) 

Chicken RM6++ /kg to RM 9++ /kg (50% increase)

Sayur Sawi  RM1.50 /kg  to RM6 /kg (300% increase)

Imported Indian Beef RM9 /kg to RM13.30 /kg (47% increase) 

I can vouch that in the jewellery business the workmanship charges or "upah" have increased 100% - 170% from June this year. 

A pair of simple earrings suffered 'workmanship charges' of RM3.00 a pair. They now cost us RM8.00 a pair - a 167% jump.  Workmanship charges for a simple gold ring used to be RM5 a piece. Now we pay RM10.00 - a 100% increase.   Surely we have to pass this on to the consumer in terms of higher prices, with a profit added on top. We are not the Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat. We have to make a profit.  So all prices are going up.

Then I did some searching on the Net and found this. These are prices of rice in Malaysia and Singapore.

Singapore rice prices

Malaysia rice prices

For easier reading,  here is a tabulation (in Ringgit Malaysia) :

Singapore Rice Prices : 

Jasmine Fragrant Rice 5kg                            = RM20.00

Thai Fragrant Rice 5kg                                  = RM24.08

Golden Phoenix Thai Fragrant Rice 5kg          = RM33.10

Malaysia Rice Prices :

Bird of Paradise AAA Thai Fragrant 5kg          = RM35.00 

Cap Udang AAA Thai Fragrant 5kg                 = RM37.00

Cap Udang Thai Wangi AAA 5kg                    = RM22.00

The same type of rice seems to be cheaper in Singapore than in Malaysia.
And here is the price increase for a 10kg bag of AAA Jasmine Fragrant rice in Malaysia from Jan 2012 until 27 Nov. 2013.  

As you can see the price has increased by 15% from Jan 2012 to Nov 2013.  
And here is some comparison with Australia. Super High Grade Basmathi Rice (5kg) sells for RM46 – RM48 here in Malaysia. 
In Australia the same Super High Grade Basmathi (10kg bag) sells for A$23.02 (or RM69 for 10 kg). That is only RM34.50 for 5 kg. How come Basmathi rice is 33% cheaper in Australia than in Malaysia? How come rice is cheaper in Singapore than in Malaysia?
So not only are prices going up but we are paying more than consumers in other countries like Singapore and Australia for basic food items. 
Why is this so? Well for starters an ex Minister controls the APs for the import of all beef cows into the country.  So the ex Minister makes his cut. Another tycoon controls the rice business in Malaysia. Again through monopolies, APs and I dont know what other artificial barriers which profits these tycoons first.
We the consumers pay through the nose. 
Now for those of you dunggus who think that it is ok for Malaysians to pay among the highest car prices in the whole world will you also say now that it is ok for your wife to pay higher prices for rice and food at the supermarkets (compared to consumers in other countries)? It is the same thing lah dunggu. 
Paying higher prices (than world market prices) for food items is just as bad as paying higher prices for cars (compared to world market prices).  
There are certainly many things wrong with the way things are structured in this country that is making our people poorer.  
Dan siapa yang akan miskin dulu? Melayu ke, Islam ke, China ke, India ke? It is the Melayu and the Muslims who are hit the hardest. Because the vast majority of them are fixed income, monthly wage earners. "Gaji bulan" secupak takkan jadi segantang. In the Civil Service alone there are 1.4 million of them. So these are the people who are being impoverished first.
The same friend at the restaurant has a computerised Point Of Sale system that tells him all sorts of information. He says that last year the average 'ticket' at his restaurant was RM14.00. This year, especially after July this year, the average ticket has shrunk to RM9.00 - a 35% drop in purchasing power. The vast majority of his customers are Malays. 
Jadi siapa kaya dulu? Orang yang pegang AP, orang yang pegang monopoli semua jadi kaya dulu. Orang biasa pula jadi miskin.   The 'Islamic banks' are cheating the Muslims of their money under the falsehood that it is Islamic. Orang Islam jadi miskin lagi.
Kiri, kanan, depan, belakang orang Melayu dan Islam jadi miskin dulu. 

Jais urged to act against Christians using ‘Allah’ behind closed-doors

(MM) – Two Malay-Muslim activist groups have demanded action against a Christian group for allegedly calling God in a non-Islamic context at a closed-door gathering in Klang yesterday, claiming such usage violated the Selangor sultan’s decree, Utusan Malaysia reported today.

Pertubuhan Ikatan Kebajikan dan Dakwah Selangor (IKDDAS) and Selangor Perkasa pushed the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) to investigate the Christian gathering as they insisted the organisers had broken the state law even though several lawyers had previously disputed the Selangor Ruler’s decree is legally binding on non-Muslims.

“From the legal perspective, it is clear that the use of the word ‘Allah’ is forbidden to non-Muslims,” IKDDAS president Rosdi Long was quoted as saying.

To back his argument, he cited Section 9 of the Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment 1988.

“If it is true that the organiser used the holy word in a non-Muslim programme, Jais should not hesitate to take action against those who were involved,” he added.

In an insubstantiated report today, the Umno-controlled newspaper claimed that the International Full Gospel Fellowship held a closed-door function at an unnamed hotel in the Selangor royal town yesterday, where the Christian group purportedly sang songs containing the word “Allah”.

Utusan Malaysia further reported that a board in the hotel hall informing of the gathering had featured the words: “International Full Gospel Fellowship: Keluarga Allah Satelit Nilai dan Satelit Puchong, ‘Dari dalam gelap akan terbit terang’”. The English translation reads: “God’s family, Nilai and Puchong satellites, ‘Light will shine strong from the darkness’”.

Selangor Perkasa chief Abu Bakar Yahya reportedly said that it was not right for non-Muslims to refer to God as “Allah”, citing the Selangor Sultan’s decree on the matter.

Putrajaya, however, has said that the ban on the Arabic word is only restricted to the Catholic weekly, the Herald, following the Court of Appeal ruling in October that upheld the Home Ministry’s ban on “Allah” in the Catholic Church’s internal newsletter.

The Catholic Church has said it will continue its legal fight for the “Allah” word to the Federal Court in its persistance to safeguard its religious freedom as guaranteed by the Federal Constitution.

The Selangor Sultan renewed his decree last month that the Arabic word for God be barred to non-Muslims in the country’s most developed state, including in the Malay-language Christian bible, the Al-Kitab, and in the Herald.

Nizam Bashir, who is both a constitutional and syariah lawyer, told The Malay Mail Online last month that Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah’s decree, which impinges on non-Muslims’ right to freedom of expression relating to their god, was unconstitutional as Article 10 (2) of the Federal Constitution states that only Parliament can restrict such freedoms.

Local Islamic authorities have argued that use of “Allah” in a non-Islamic context will confuse Malaysian Muslims.

MCA’s reforms hollow without Umno’s, analysts say

 

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — MCA is unlikely to succeed with planned reforms to win back the Chinese community so long as Barisan Nasional (BN) lynchpin Umno continues to thrive on communal politics, said two political analysts.

Despite the winds of change blowing through the party that yesterday elected a new line-up of leaders, they said Umno’s dominance over government policies meant it was difficult for MCA to shake its seemingly subservient role to the Malay nationalist party that has disenchanted its traditional support base.

Since reinforcing its position by winning 88 of the 133 federal seats the coalition managed to retain in Election 2013, Umno has also gained a stranglehold over country’s administration by controlling 17 of the 25 ministerial posts in the government.

“Reform in MCA is dependent on Umno,” Prof James Chin, a political analyst with Monash University, told The Malay Mail Online yesterday.

“The reform would only go as internal party reform and not government policies,” Chin said of MCA’s planned transformation.

In yesterday’s party polls, MCA delegates voted in a new line of leadership in an election that is meant to resuscitate the ailing party and restore its former glory as Malaysia’s main Chinese party.

Some 2,300 delegates elected Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai as president and former Youth chief Datuk Wee Ka Siong as his deputy, both of whom are among the only seven MCA candidates that survived an opposition onslaught in the May 5 polls that saw its remaining 27 federal candidates were annihilated.

Liow had campaigned for the presidency on “meaningful and effective reforms” necessary to prevent the party from “fading into oblivion” and allow MCA to have the last word on matter affecting the Chinese community.

His victory yesterday also closed another chapter on MCA’s chronic infighting, ending a months-long feud with outgoing president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

This issue was highlighted by political analyst Khoo Kay Peng, who said MCA must first rid itself of factional politics if it plans to reform, noting that the warring camps were more interested in positions and their privileges than achieving change.

But Khoo said even if MCA were genuine in its desire for reform, its success would be dependent on Umno discarding the communal politics that seen as a major cause of the Chinese rejection of BN and the MCA.

“All the BN component parties will have to go back to the BN platform... MCA has to tell Umno that it must go back to fighting for the interests of all and not just the Malays.

“If Umno goes back to its BN principle of inclusiveness, it can get the support of the Chinese back,” Khoo told The Malay Mail Online.

Khoo noted that, in 1999, Umno and BN had survived a Malay voter backlash that followed the sacking of then deputy prime minister and current Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the back of Chinese support.

When opening MCA’s assembly yesterday, Umno president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak at least was cognisant of the damage friendly fire from his party could do wreak on MCA.

“Especially Umno, we should not say things that hurt the feelings of the Chinese. This is not rocket science. If we want to uphold harmony, we cannot hurt the feelings of others and others should not hurt our feelings,” he said when reminding the various communities to be mindful of unseen boundaries when pressing their interests.

But gorged on its relative success in Election 2013 that saw most of its other allies lose ground, analysts believe Umno was unlikely to change its ways.

Since the May 5 polls, sections of the party have become bolder in calling for the Malay community to be rewarded for its support during Election 2013 and for others to be ostracised for failing to vote BN.

Although corruption and economic issues were credited with the urban vote going against BN, Umno leaders had sought to frame the result as a “Chinese tsunami”; at its annual general assembly earlier this month, delegates even suggested for “1 Melayu” to replace Putrajaya’s “1 Malaysia” and for the government to sideline the Chinese for voting against the ruling coalition.

Pointing to these and MCA’s perceived reluctance to confront Umno, Chin said it was clear why reforming MCA alone will not regain the Chinese vote for BN.

“You can see, the Chinese have completely abandoned MCA. There’s no point for reform,” he said.

Chin was also less than charitable about MCA’s professed intention to reform.

Just like others in BN parties, he said the second-largest component party was wracked by factionalism and warring camps made of self-serving leaders interested only in positions.

“The MCA polls is not about reform. It is about who is the successor to Soi Lek. Nothing more than that”.

The party’s political fortunes has been on a decline since 2008 but eyes continue to watch developments at the head of the party as it entails control over the billions of ringgit in assets and shares that include Malaysia’s best-selling English language newspaper,
The Star.