Ukrainian reporter: gov't doesn't use anti-aircraft weapons against rebels

‘We Don’t Rob During the Ramadan and on Fridays’ Caught Robbers Tell Police

The picture below does not show what these men really look like when they stand on the streets. This is because they have been in police custody and their guises have worn off. But on a good day, any man who doesn’t look closely can be easily fooled to believe they are women.

And clearly, many men must have fallen prey to their wiles. These are hardened criminals who have terrified the people of Ibadan. One of them, Lawal Kabir claims he is a devout Muslim who considers Fridays and the Ramadan period as sacred and therefore, he cannot engage in robbery at such times.

He continues by saying that on Fridays he goes to the mosque to pray so that God would forgive all his criminal tendencies Ironically, he was arrested on Friday after observing the Jumat prayers.

According to him and the other suspects, they had unleashed terror in places like Osun, Sawmill and Iyana-Agbala. The eight-man gang confessed this and other crimes they had committed to Crime Alert.

One of them, Ayodele Olaitan, shook his head in regret and said: “It was my friends that pushed me into this. I joined the gang sometime ago and I have participated in at least three robbery operations.

I am not the owner of the mask you see on me. It belongs to one of us called pastor. He is dead now. I regret all my actions. I didn’t realize we could be caught. But, now the game is up, “ he said this in tears.

Lawal Kabir stated that he was driven into the criminal world out of business failure. “I took to robbery when my plumbing work was not booming. Three years after my freedom as an apprentice, I tried all I could to make both ends meet, but things did not work for me. I first stayed in Lagos before I later came to Ibadan where I was introduced to a gang of armed robbers. I have participated in four armed robbery attacks.

I went with them to Osun State, Ibadan, Sawmill and Iyana -Agbala. I was arrested on Friday after I finished praying in the mosque. Somebody we call a pastor, also a member of the gang called me without knowing the police had already arrested him.

I don’t rob on Fridays and during Ramadan. I used those periods to pray to God to forgive me my sins. I know what I was doing was wrong but it was difficult for me to break away from it.”

Biola Alaba, the one with the weave-on, noted that they were eight in number. They were arrested at a drinking joint during a robbery operation at Bodija. He states he never killed any of their victims.

“How can I commit two sins at the same time. I cannot rob and kill at the same time. It is unfair to rob someone of his belongings and kill him. We don’t even rape our victims, “ he said.

Sunday Omooba from Ogbomoso, a member of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, narrated that he took charge of the armoury for the gang. “I helped them get bullets through one man. I just call the man any time I need bullets for the gang.

I don’t rob with them. In fact, I did not know that they were using the bullets to rob. I also supplied that pump action gun to them. I bought the gun for N70,000 from a friend. If I knew that they would use the weapons for robbery, I would not give them.”

 Mr. Mohammed Indabawa, the State Commissioner of Police related that, “sequel to tip-offs about a criminal hideout at a mechanic village, Iyana Church, Ibadan, a raid was organized and SARS operatives arrested the following suspected armed robbers: Olaitan Ayodele, Abiola Alaba, Oyewole Ogunwole, Adedeji Mustapha, Omooba Oyewole and Adedeji Mustapha. On interrogation, they all confessed to their past and present crimes within and outside Oyo State. They also confessed to have attacked and robbed two police officers.”

All their victims were contacted and they corroborated their confessions.

 http://www.360nobs.com/2014/07/we-dont-rob-during-the-ramadan-and-on-fridays-caught-robbers-tell-police/

Two Pakistani diplomats in UK accused of abduction, rape

The British Foreign and Commonwealth office (FCO) disclosed a list of the most serious alleged offences committed in 2013 which included representatives from Pakistan accused of child abduction and rape, according to a report published in The Independent.
 
The accused men were among foreign diplomats suspected of 14 crimes — who are entitled to diplomatic immunity and thus protected from British law.

Two Saudi men were arrested for drink-driving and have escaped prosecution despite the fact that the crime entails brutal lashings in their own country. A diplomat from Kuwait — where alcohol is banned — was also accused of drink-driving.

FCO minister, Mark Simmonds had on Tuesday presented to the British parliament the list of diplomats, who had allegedly committed ‘serious and significant’ crimes.

He said the Metropolitan Police’s Diplomatic Protection Group had warned the FCO regarding 14 criminal offences committed by foreign diplomats.

Simmons added that the number of crimes committed by members of the diplomat community in UK was significantly low.

“The FCO does not tolerate foreign diplomats breaking the law,” the FCO minister said.
As per the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, those granted immunity are expected to obey the law and if allegations come at the forefront, the relevant foreign government can be asked to withdraw the privilege so that an investigation can be carried out against the accused.

Earlier last year, the FCO had made that request for five of the most serious crimes, including those committed by the Pakistani diplomats.

Despite the fact that the Pakistani government had partially lifted immunity in one case so that police could interview the diplomat, there were no legal compulsions for complying with the British request.

Malaysia Airlines jet crashes in Ukraine; official says 295 people 'shot down'

(CNN) -- A Malaysia Airlines passenger jet crashed in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, prompting a Ukrainian official to say that the flight carrying 295 people had been "shot down."

"Terrorists" fired on the plane operating a Buk surface-to-air missile system, according to a Facebook post from Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry.

The plane, a Boeing 777, went down near the town of Torez in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, according to the post, as it flew at about 10,000 meters (nearly 33,000 feet).

"We do not exclude that the plane was shot down and confirm that the Ukraine Armed Forces did not fire at any targets in the sky," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said, according to his website.

He also said he has expressed condolences to Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte about Flight 17, which was headed from Amsterdam to Malaysia. He said he invites Dutch experts to participate in the investigation of the crash, emphasizing that he does not call it an "incident" or a "catastrophe," but a "terrorist action."

Details of the incident are quickly pouring in about Thursday's crash which comes the same week that Ukrainian officials said a Russian fighter shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane while the aircraft was in Ukrainian airspace.

As news broke of the crash, Malaysia Airlines confirmed in a tweet that it lost contact with Flight 17 and that the jet's last known position was over Ukrainian airspace.

CNN's Richard Quest, an aviation expert, said that it would be "extremely unusual" for an airliner at 32,000 feet to be shot down. From the ground, one could simply look up and tell whether a plane was a commercial aircraft.

"It looks like a commercial aircraft, it squawks a commercial aircraft. So something is absolutely appalling that's gone on here," he said.

Reports are still coming in about who may have been on board and where they're from.

But Laurent Fabius, France's Minister of Foreign Affairs, confirmed to CNN that there were at least four French victims on the plane.

FlightRadar24 showed the plane disappearing near Kremenchuk, Ukraine.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak tweeted that an investigation will be launched immediately. "I am shocked by reports that an MH plane crashed," he posted.

And Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk ordered that a government commission investigate the crash, a statement from his office said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin "expressed deep condolences" to Malaysia's Prime Minister over the crash, a post Thursday on the Kremlin's website said. He "asked to pass the most sincere word of condolences and support to families and relatives of (the crash) victims," the post said.

Near the end of a phone call Thursday morning with President Obama, Putin noted to the President the early reports of a downed passenger jet near the Russia-Ukraine border, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said.

Obama has directed his staff to be in touch with senior Ukrainian officials, Earnest said.

Later Thursday, Obama said the crash "looks like it may be a terrible tragedy" and he said efforts were underway to determine if any Americans were aboard.

Vice President Joe Biden, who is traveling in Detroit Thursday, talked on the phone with President Poroshenko, Earnest said, adding that Biden offered U.S. assistance to help determine why the crash occurred.

Russia-Ukraine dispute

The route the Malaysian plane was on, between Kuala Lumpur and the Netherlands, is a common one, CNN aviation safety consultant Mary Schiavo said Thursday. She said that the plane was flying over a troubled area and that close communication with air traffic controllers would be a key necessity.

Torez is in a rebel-held area.

In hostile or disputed areas, "any alteration from your course, and you can have a problem," Schiavo said.

ensions have been high between Ukraine and Russia since street protests forced former pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych from power in February. Russia subsequently annexed Ukraine's southeastern Crimea region, and a pro-Russian separatist rebellion has been raging in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

Ukrainian forces have been struggling to quell the separatist unrest. Ukraine's government has accused Russia of allowing weapons and military equipment, including tanks, to cross the border illegally into the hands of pro-Russian separatists.

The Pentagon said Wednesday that Russia now has 12,000 troops on the border with Ukraine, as well as some heavy weapons. The troop numbers had fallen to about 1,000 previously from a high of an estimated 40,000 forces earlier this year.

On Thursday, CNN reported that Ukrainian officials said a Russian fighter shot down a Ukrainian jet Wednesday as the jet flew in Ukrainian airspace.

Tensions are high over that incident, separate from the breaking news of the Malaysian flight Thursday.

Three months ago, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration prohibited U.S. airlines from flying in areas not far from where Flight 17 reportedly crashed Thursday. "Due to the potential for conflicting air traffic control instructions from Ukrainian and Russian authorities and for the related potential misidentification of civil aircraft, United States flight operations are prohibited until further notice in the airspace over Crimea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov," the FAA said in April. Thursday's plane crash reportedly was in eastern Ukraine, scores of miles north-northeast of the Sea of Azov.

On Thursday, French transportation official Frederic Cuvillier ordered that French airlines avoid Ukrainian airspace until the cause of Thursday's Malaysia Airlines crash is known, the French Transportation Ministry said in a news release.

Airline's troubles

Thursday's crash marks the second time this year that Malaysia Airlines has faced an incident involving a downed plane.

On March 8, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared. That Boeing 777 had 239 people on board. Searchers have found no trace of 370 or its passengers, despite extensive search efforts.

Flight 370 probably flew into the southern Indian Ocean on autopilot with an unresponsive crew, Australian authorities said last month.

During the early phase of the search for Flight 370, aircraft and ships scoured vast stretches of the surface of the southern Indian Ocean but found no debris.

Pings initially thought to be from the missing plane's flight recorders led to a concentrated underwater search that turned up nothing.

A new underwater search, farther south, will be broadly in an area where planes and vessels had already looked for debris on the surface of the water. It is expected to begin in August.

The first Boeing 777 entered service in June 1985, and the airplane has flown almost five million flights, accumulating more than 18 million flight hours, according to Boeing's web site. The plane is capable to flying up to 43,100 feet.

What next?

Aviation experts cautioned against jumping to conclusions about Thursday's crash at this early stage.

But all agreed that a massive investigation should be launched, involving parties not involved in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia,

The families of people on board will demand a transparent international investigation, and so will the global community, Quest said.

CNN aviation analyst and pilot Miles O'Brien said he thinks it would be difficult to mistake the plane for a military or hostile aircraft.

"A civilian airliner at that level, at that flight path, would be very difficult to mistake for something that has hostile intent," he said.

The wreckage path, O'Brien said, will reveal a lot. If a plane breaks up in midair, which is likely what would happen in a missile strike, there would be a large swath of wreckage, he said, but if it breaks down due to mechanical failure, the debris field would be more concentrated.

Still nothing on yellow powder on Sugumar's face

 

Two days into the coroner’s inquest on the death of security guard C Sugumar, there is still no insight into the yellow powder found on his face.

Today, the inquest heard testimony from the third and last police witness, Ahmad Lotfi Abd Rahman, who is the Batu 14 police station chief and the first police officer to confront Sugumar during the Jan 23, 2013 incident.

The inquest before Shah Alam coroner Rozi Bainon was assisted by deputy public prosecutor Noor Husnita Mohd Radzi while lawyers Eric Paulsen (right) and Michelle Yesudas are holding a watching brief for Sugumar’s family.

Ahmad Lotfi told the court that he initially did not notice the powder, although he had been trailing 30 metres behind Sugumar and had been observing him before deciding to move in to make the arrest.

This led to the coroner and the deputy public prosecutor to question how could he not notice, and sought clarification whether he meant that he could not see Sugumar’s face.

Ahmad Lotfi: “I was not paying attention, because I wasn’t wearing my glasses.”

Rozi: “Are you near-sighted or far-sighted?”

Ahmad Lotfi: “Both.”

Ahmad Lotfi explained that he was only focusing on Sugumar’s behaviour, and believed him to be “very aggressive” because he was brandishing a metal rod and raving in Tamil.

He added that he first saw the yellow powder at 6.50pm, when he left the scene and returned from fetching a police Land Rover from the Batu 14 police station, located about five minutes’ drive away.

'Sugumar's body too large for police cars'

The Land Rover was meant to carry Sugumar “comfortably” to the hospital for psychiatric evaluation, Ahmad Lotfi said, because he believed Sugumar’s body was too large for the police cars already at the scene.

While he was at the police station, he said, he received a call from another police personnel, Khalid Nordin, that Sugumar was motionless and that his condition was critical.

When he returned to the scene, Ahmad Lotfi said, he was informed that there was no ambulance available to respond to the emergency, but he issued no follow-up order.

“I didn’t give further orders to Khalid because the responsibility of liaising with the ambulance was already been handed to Khalid,” he said.

He added that he was also preoccupied with making calls to brief other police officers on what had happened and other issues, and was still hoping that an ambulance would show up.

In the end, it was a hospital attendant who arrived at 9.10pm, who inspected Sugumar and informed Ahmad Lotfi that Sugumar was already dead.

His remains were loaded into the police Land Rover by the forensics team and then sent to Serdang Hospital for post-mortem at about 11pm.

During cross examination this morning, Khalid, who had also testified yesterday, was grilled on why Sugumar was not sent to a hospital despite lying motionless on the ground.

Paulsen: “Since the ambulance was not coming, why didn’t the police send the suspect straight to the hospital?”

Khalid: “I have to have orders. If I receive orders, then I would send him.”

Paulsen: “Did you ask superiors what to do next after knowing that the ambulance was not coming?”

Khalid: “No.”

Teens pinned him down

Meanwhile, to a question why he ordered Sugumar to be handcuffed twice, Ahmad Lotfi explained that this was not normal practice, but is used to deal with large and aggressive suspects.

If Sugumar had not fallen to the ground, he said, it would have been difficult to apprehend him because of his size.

He said Sugumar had ran into a group of about eight to ten teenagers who were watching the commotion when attempting to flee, and fell after pushing and shoving with the group.

By the time he reached Sugumar, Ahmad Lotfi said Sugumar was already pinned to the ground by the group and was held down by his limbs.

As for the metal rod Sugumar was brandishing, it was nowhere to be seen and Ahmad Lotfi was unsure when was it discarded.

Nevertheless, he said Sugumar struggled in an attempt to break free from him and the youths until the second handcuff was applied, after which he looked exhausted.

The struggle was to such an extent that Sugumar’s pants was somehow pulled off, he said.

The hearing will resume tomorrow with Ahmad Lotfi’s cross-examination, and is scheduled to be the last day of the inquest.

Several members of the public had also been issued subpoenas to testify at the inquest.

However, Paulsen informed the court the three witnesses have yet to respond whether they would be attending court.

Dr M sees nothing wrong with Azizah as MB

 

PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has received a rare endorsement from her husband's arch nemesis, Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The former prime minister said there is nothing wrong with women holding leadership positions, including that of menteri besar.

He said this when asked to comment on speculation that Wan Azizah, the wife of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, might replace Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as Selangor menteri besar.

Mahathir stressed that Islamic nations do not differentiate leaders based on sex but rather on capabilities.

"There is no distinction between men and women. If the people want a woman (to be a leader), they will get a woman.

"We have seen this happen in many Islamic countries," he said.

Previously, Umno lawyer Mohd Hafarizam Harun said a woman might not be suitable due to among others, being unable to accompany the sultan in religious functions in the time of her menses.

His comments drew flak from both sides of the political divide.

Mahathir, however, did not comment on Hafarizam's statement.

The former premier was speaking to reporters after launching the "Drive For Gaza" campaign at the Proton Centre of Excellence in Shah Alam.

Speaking on the situation in Gaza, Mahathir expressed disappointment with Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) for keeping quiet on the issue.

He said other Muslim countries should provide aid without waiting for the OIC.

Russian president Putin offers condolences to Najib – Bernama

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered his condolences to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in regard to the Malaysian Airliner crash over the Ukrainian territory.

Vladimir noted in his official website, that the crash led to numerous casualties.

"The President of Russia asked the Prime Minister of Malaysia to convey his deepest sympathy and support to the victims’ families," the website added.

Najib in his tweet said he was shocked by reports that Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH17 enroute from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur had crashed.

An international news agency reported that a Malaysian airplane had crashed in Ukraine near the Russian border today.

MAS in its latest tweet said it lost contact with the flight and the last known position was over Ukrainian airspace. – Bernama

Kassim Ahmad fails to stay syariah proceeding

The court also set October 20 for trial

PUTRAJAYA: Former political and social activist, Dr.Kassim Ahmad who was charged for insulting Islam, today failed to prevent the Federal Territories Syarie chief prosecutor from pursuing his case in the Syariah High Court here.

A three-member panel chaired by Court of Appeal president Md Raus Sharif rejected Kassim’s application to stay the Civil High Court’s refusal of his application to challenge the prosecution’s decision of having charged him in the Syariah High Court.

Kassim is seeking a stay to prevent the prosecution from pursuing the case in the Syariah Court pending disposal of his appeal over the Civil High Court ruling.

Justice Md Raus who heard the stay application with Justices Linton Albert and Wira Mohtarudin Baki said the bench agreed with submissions by senior federal counsel Nor Hisham Ismail that stay should not be granted and the court had fixed July 24 to hear Kassim’s appeal over the High Court ruling.

“As I said, the matter is before the Syariah Court. The application for stay is dismissed. You can ask for an early date for the appeal,” said Justice Md Raus to counsel Rosli Dahlan, who represented Kassim.

On July 14, the Kuala Lumpur High Court in dismissing Kassim’s leave application for a judicial review to challenge the prosecution’s decision of having charged him in the Syariah High Court, ruled that the civil court had no jurisdiction to hear the application and the matter was also within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Syariah Court.

High Court judge Zaleha Yusof made the ruling after allowing the preliminary objection by the Attorney-General’s Chambers against Kassim’s leave application.

Kassim, 81, filed the application at the Putrajaya Syariah High Court on June 26, seeking among others, a writ of certiorari order to strike out the Syarie chief prosecutor’s decision on March 27 to prosecute him for insulting Islam and defying the religious authorities,

He also requested that his case proceedings in the Syariah High Court be suspended pending the decision of the judicial review.

Kassim also applied for an order to quash the action and decision of Jawi (Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department) enforcement officers who had allegedly raided, ransacked and seized his published materials, as well as inspected, detained and removed him from Kedah to the Federal Territory .

He also applied for an order to strike out any arrest, search and confiscation warrants and bond attached thereto, a declaration that the action of the Jawi officers and the prosecution against him were ultra vires and contravened the provisions in the Federal Constitution, Federal Territories Syariah Acts and Kedah Syariah Enactments, and a declaration that the offence of violating a “fatwa” (edict) issued in the FT only applied to FT residents.

In the Syariah High Court today, Syarie judge Azzeman Omar fixed Oct 20 to 22 to try the case of Kassim who had pleaded not guilty to three charges against him.

Azzeman fixed the dates after rejecting the preliminary objection from Rosli made on May to postpone the case hearing and for the third charge not be read to his client.

In his decision, Azzeman said the Syariah Court had the jurisdiction to hear and decide on the case.

On the first charge, Kassim is alleged to have insulted Islam in his speech made at a seminar on “Kassim Ahmad’s Thoughts: An Evaluation of the Roadmap of the Malays and Malaysia for the Next 30 Years”.

In the second charge, he is alleged to have quoted from two of his books titled, “Hadith: A Review” and “Hadith: A Reply to Critics” which have been banned by the Federal Territories fatwa (edict).

Kassim had initially faced two charges but today, the third charge was read out against him, in which he is alleged to have questioned the wearing of the hijab (head-cover) by Muslim women, saying that “hair is not part of the aurat”(parts of a woman’s body which should not be exposed, according to Islamic teachings).

He is alleged to have committed all the offences at the Perdana Global Foundation premises in Precinct 8, here, between 9am and 5pm on Feb 16 2014.

The offences come under Section 7(b) of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997 and Section 9 of the same Act, whereby he faces a fine not exceeding RM3,000 or a jail term of up to two years, or both, upon conviction.

Syarie senior prosecutor Che Saufi Che Husin appeared for the prosecution while Kassim was represented by Syarie lawyer Zaini Zainol. -Bernama

Don’t shoot the messenger

Police have been urged to investigate the complaint, not shoot the messenger.

PETALING JAYA: An NGO has urged the police to investigate the complaint made by R. Sri Sanjeevan, the chief of MyWatch, and not to “shoot” him down.

The Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism(C4) director Cynthia Gabriel said it is important not to criminalise but to protect the whistleblower.

“We are deeply concerned that Sanjeevan will receive zero protection from the very laws designed to combat corruption,” she said in a statement adding that the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) 2010 also does not protect Sanjeevan.

“The WPA’s goal is to give protection to the whistleblower in the form of confidentiality of their information, immunity from civil and criminal action and protection from detrimental action being taken against them,” she said.

“Yet Sanjeevan can tell you that he has enjoyed none of these,” she said. “Whistleblowing is indeed a hazardous venture in Malaysia.”

Government corruption has gained the wrath of citizens over the last few years, she added.

“In a rapidly changing political landscape, many people have been goaded into blowing the whistle on wrongdoing, misconduct and alleged corruption,” she said.

“And yet, protection is scant, government harassment aplenty, personal securities are compromised,” she said. “If past records are anything to go by, the messenger also gets shot at.”

The complaints also gets swept under the rug, and even worse the suspect roams free, she said summing up today’s reality for whistleblowers.

“Sanjeevan can surely testify to all these,” she said.

“This one man has single handedly returned from the dead to slit open alleged corruption in the police force with even more obsessive zeal,” she said praising the valiant acts of Sanjeevan.

Sanjeevan’s latest wrangle with the police is over sex allegations involving a top cop.

The expose is expected to send shock waves through the police force.

“Sanjeevan has refused to handover evidence and has sought assurances from the Home Minister and the Prime Minister that action will be taken,” Cynthia said.

“He expects the alleged perpetrator to be suspended, and that a thorough investigation is carried out. But no such assurance is forthcoming,” she added.

Instead, the police have obtained a court order to compel Sanjeevan to hand over evidence within 14 days to facilitate investigations under Section 509 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA).

“C4 is deeply concerned that Sanjeevan will receive zero protection from the very laws designed to combat corruption,” she said.

Under the WPA, a whistleblower does not enjoy any protection if he decides to communicate his allegation of wrongdoing to a person other than a government enforcement agency.

It is a further offence punishable by a fine of up to RM50,000 and imprisonment of up to 10 years if a whistleblower or the person receiving or investigating the report discloses any information about the person accused of wrongdoing, or any other information disclosed by the whistleblower, to a third party.

In contrast, under the New South Wales Public Interest Disclosure Act, if no action is taken by the enforcement agencies, a whistleblower will be protected if he brings the matter to the attention of a Member of Parliament or the media.

“What hope can whistleblowers like Sanjeevan have in gaining protection from the law and lending trust with our public institutions?” Cynthia said.

“C4 strongly recommends that the WPA is revisited and scrutinised again by the lawmakers with inputs from the Bar Council to ensure that public interest disclosure is protected at all times,” she said.

‘Transgenders mentally sick and can be cured’

The Negeri Sembilan legal adviser insists that Gender Identity Disorder (GID) is curable ignoring Health Ministry medical records that it is a life-long condition.

PUTRAJAYA: The legal adviser for the Negeri Sembilan state government told the Court of Appeals today that transgender people are suffering from a mental disorder which is curable despite Health Ministry reports saying otherwise.

Iskandar Ali Dewa said Section 66 of the syariah law states that a man could not dress or pose as a woman because the disorder was curable.

“They can be cured by dressing as a man again,” said Iskandar ignoring the medical reports from the Health Ministry citing that GID is incurable and a life-long condition.

Three transgender individuals are challenging the state syariah law that prohibits them from expressing their gender identity.

Their lawyer, Aston Paiva, showed proof that the ministry signed the medical reports of the transgender individuals citing that their disorder was incurable.

“According to psychiatrists from the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, the patients suffering from GID are actually women trapped in a man’s body,” said Paiva.

He said his clients were not challenging Islam but the legislative laws that discriminate them.

Justice Mohd Hishamuddin Mohd Yunus is chairing the three-man panel to hear the appeal.

The judges on the panel were disturbed to hear that persecution of the transgender community was continuing while the court has yet to decide on the appeal.

This was in reference to the 15 transgender people who were arrested at a Malay wedding and taken into custody by religious officials in a raid in Bahau on June 8.

“I am disturbed by this and the state should stop this action pending the disposal of this appeal,” said Hishamuddin.

Section 66 of the Negri Sembilan Syariah Criminal Act 1992 makes it an offence for men to cross-dress and provides for punishment of up to six months’ jail, a fine of up to RM1,000 or both upon conviction.

The court will make a decision on Nov 7.

RHB to swallow CIMB, MBSB?

(The Rakyat Post) - One critical element has yet to be fully addressed in last week’s plan to create a mega-Islamic bank via the merger of CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, RHB Capital Bhd and Malaysian Building Society Bhd (MBSB) – the 21.6% stake held by Abu Dhabi government investment body Aabar Investments PJS.

The omission of how this Aabar stake will be handled is especially compelling, given that it has often been cited as the main reason why CIMB Group and Malayan Banking Bhd called off their attempts to buy up RHB Capital in 2011.

The lack of any official comment by Aabar in the past week is rather telling and its track record of rarely exiting any of its investments could mean Aabar probably has a bigger plan for its RHB Capital stake that has yet to become public.

What Aabar’s as-yet-undisclosed plan is could be the key to how the merger proposal, which has taken everyone by surprise, somehow secured swift approval from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) for negotiations to take place within an exclusive 90-day period, with a further time extension allowed.

Without any idea of what the bigger picture is, and how Aabar fits into the overall scheme of things, there have already been a number of parties which have expressed concern over how the merger could be negative for CIMB Group.

Even international bodies like Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch have issued cautions on how CIMB Group will be impacted, while stating the proposal would be positive for both RHB Capital and MBSB.

If so, why would CIMB Group want to be part of this merger proposal? It doesn’t exactly need to acquire local banks as it is already an Asia-wide entity capable of buying up prospects in any country it’s already operating in and beyond.

And assuming that CIMB Group is taking the lead in this merger plan, why would its president and group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Nazir Razak be relinquishing his executive post and moving to Khazanah Nasional Bhd – instead of staying on to head the enlarged entity?

With so many pieces of the puzzle still missing – including how staff redeployment and client management will be handled, plus the whole deal not making much commercial sense as yet – all available clues point towards bigger forces holding sway rather than just the three entities involved.

This is where the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) – which has significant stakes in CIMB Group, RHB Capital and MBSB – and Aabar are likely in the driving seat for the merger, and possibly acting as proxies for the Malaysian and Abu Dhabi governments to jointly set up the mega Islamic bank.

READ MORE HERE

IGP refutes ‘10 mil ransom for abducted cop’ report

(The Sun Daily) – A visibly angry Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar (pix) has refuted a newspaper report that a “10 million” ransom had been demanded by kidnappers for the release of marine police constable Zakia Aleip.

“Don’t put the life of the victim in danger. In this case, the victim is my man. So, do not put my man in danger,” Khalid told the media today while launching the “Ops Selamat 5″ road safety campaign here.

An English daily had today reported that Zakia’s captors had contacted the police at 10.50pm on Sunday with the brief call ending with the caller saying, “I demand 10 million” without specifying the currency.

“Don’t believe the ransom rumours, nor the story!” said Khalid, adding that such reports would create more problems, including jeopardising the victim’s life.

The 26-year old marine policeman was abducted from Pulau Mabul off Semporna last Saturday night by eight heavily-armed gunmen from the southern Philippines who also gunned down his colleague Corporal Abd Rajah Jamuan, 32, in a shootout.

His abductors allowed Zakia to call his 23-year-old wife, Sharifah Erna Benson, on Sunday night to say he was okay but was being held at an undisclosed location.

Commenting on former prime minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s statement in his blog that it is time to demolish the water villages along the east coast of Sabah and relocate the people in secure places on land, Khalid said the Sabah government is already planning to do so.

He said apart from being a hive for criminals, the water villages are also bad for the inhabitants’ health due to bad sanitation.

“The Sabah government has started a census on the water villagers. All the non-Malaysians will be repatriated,” he said, adding that the relocation plan is only for Malaysian citizens.

Meanwhile, Bernama quoted Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as saying the authorities in Sabah have been instructed to monitor the movement of permanent residents in a bid to identify and arrest those who are the moles and henchmen of foreign intruders .

“The government will not hesitate to take legal action against the permanent residents or illegal immigrants caught being henchmen for such groups,” he warned.

“We will not compromise and once we have valid information on these henchmen, they will not escape,” he said, adding that the authorities can use existing laws, such as the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) or the Police Act 1967 against such people.

Speaking to reporters after being interviewed in the “Mesej Dari Penjara” segment in TV3′s Wanita Hari Ini programme today, Ahmad Zahid said the government is not planning to separate the settlements according to the various ethnicities in Sabah as the henchmen do not comprise any one ethnic background.

“We cannot separate them according to Tausug or other ethnicities because we don’t see them (henchmen) as being a certain ethnicity, so we will monitor meticulously to ensure that no one will be wrongly prosecuted,” he added.

Unconstitutional to bar women MBs over menstrual cycle, lawyers say

Malay Mail
by MELISSA CHI

KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 ― It is unconstitutional to bar a woman from becoming mentri besar just because she menstruates, several lawyers said after Umno legal adviser claimed Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s monthly cycle would hinder her performance as Selangor MB.

 

Human rights lawyer Honey Tan labelled Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun’s remark “sexist” and “patriarchal” and reminded the Umno man that Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitution prohibits gender discrimination.

The Selangor Constitution, she added, is consonant with the country’s supreme law on the matter as there is no provision barring a woman from heading the administration of the state.

“As usual, it is the (mis)interpretation of Islam that contributes to women's de facto discrimination, not just in the political arena but also at work and in the home.   

“Finally, Hafarizam's argument is moot because Wan Azizah has reached menopause. So what is his argument now?” she told The Malay Mail Online via e-mail.

Dr Wan Azizah is 61 years old.

Tan also pointed out that many Muslim women in the world have taken on key political posts, citing the prime ministers of Pakistan and Bangladesh, Benazir Bhutto and Sheikh Hasina, as examples.

“So obviously Islam is not an issue,” she remarked.

The 1959 Selangor Constitution only requires the state mentri besar to be a Malay and Muslim, but does not lay down conditions on the gender.

Dr Wan Azizah, who is both a Malay and a Muslim, is also the state assemblyman for the Kajang constituency in Selangor, fulfilling the most important requirement.

In a New Straits Times report yesterday, Hafarizam had reportedly said that Dr Wan Azizah, who is PKR president and the wife of Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, could not be made the next Selangor mentri besar because her menstrual cycle prevents her from attending religious events during that time of the month.

The Umno lawyer, who was commenting on speculation that Dr Wan Azizah may be poised to replace Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim for the post, said the mentri besar has always been male for this reason, despite there being no specific clause excluding a woman from holding the post.

Bar Council constitutional law committee chairman Firdaus Husni also disagreed with Hafarizam, noting that there is no specific provision under the law ― in particular the state constitution ― to stop a woman from holding the post of mentri besar.

“The barring of a citizen from holding the post of mentri besar on the ground only of gender is not expressly authorised by the Federal Constitution.

“Such move would therefore be unconstitutional, not to mention discriminatory. Yes, by extension his argument would mean that we cannot have a female PM,” she said.

Arguing on the same point, civil liberties lawyer Syahredzan Johan, who called Umno’s Mohd Hafarizam’s remarks “baseless and unwarranted”, said even if a mentri besar is unable to accompany the Sultan during religious functions for whatever reason, the relevant state executive councillor could stand in his or her place.

He also said that placing restrictions based on biological differences legitimises in-built prejudices against women and has consequence of perpetuating the myth that women should not occupy positions of power.

Although he noted that it was far more likely to see a non-Malay prime minister than a female prime minister in Malaysia, it does not justify comments like Hafarizam’s.

Instead, he said, the country should be encouraging more participation of women in politics and positions of power.

“Admittedly, I do think a lot of people in our present political leadership, at least in private, they do share these sentiments expressed by Datuk Hafarizam, perhaps not in such a crude manner because of menses and all that but the very fact is that they do share this perception or belief that women should not occupy the highest position of power.

“They are given token positions such as to take care of women’s affairs, but nowhere near the so-called important portfolios.

“Unfortunately that has to change and that change should have already started. Unfortunately we still get these kind of sentiments expressed... and being shared among politicians,” he said.

Weighing in, Bar Council president Christopher Leong said a woman’s menstruation cycle cannot be seen as a disability or a factor for disqualification.

“In any event, in the scenario alluded to in the news report, the menstruation cycle would not be a subsisting issue for women above certain ages,” he said.

He pointed out that Malaysia has also ratified the UN Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (“CEDAW”).

“Therefore, the issue of women being barred, purely by virtue of their circumstance as women, from participating fully in society and in assuming any public office does not arise.

In Islam, a menstruating woman is considered “unclean”, and is prohibited from praying and reading Quran, among others.

Most Islamic scholars also bar women from entering a mosque while menstruating.

'No idea about yellow powder on Sugumar'

 

A police personnel testified in the Coroner’s Court today that he did not know what was the yellow powder applied on the face of the death in custody victim C Sugumar, nor who had applied it and for what reason.

The witness, Muhamad Sabqi Md Saleh, said he first saw the yellow powder on the deceased’s face when his colleague Khalid Nordin turned Sugumar’s body over to apply cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

At the time, he said, Sugumar was already subdued and lying on the ground with his belly down and face turned to the left.

The security guard was still struggling to resist arrest but was held down by police officer Ahmad Lotfi Abd Rahim and about eight members of the public, he said.

Khalid, who was driving the police car that Muhamad Sabqi was in and testified later today, also told the inquest that he was clueless about the yellow powder.

The incident took place on Jan 23, 2013, and ended with Sugumar dead and still in his handcuffs at the very spot he was arrested.

The yellow powder, reportedly turmeric, was applied by a police officer described as ‘short, bald and with a potbelly’, according to eyewitness T Panirselvam (left), who was speaking to the media soon after the incident. However, the reason for this is still unknown.

He also told Malaysiakini that Sugumar had been beaten by the police and the crowd.

Today is the first day of a three-day coroner’s inquest at the Shah Alam Court Complex, with deputy public prosecutor Noor Husnita Mohd Radzi assisting the inquest and lawyers Eric Paulsen and Michelle Yesudas holding a watching brief on behalf of Sugumar’s family.

Muhamad Sabqi told the coroner today that Ahmad Lotfi - who is also the officer-in-charge of police station (OCS) at Batu 14, Hulu Langat - had arrived earlier on a motorcycle after receiving his call for backup and then chased down Sugumar on foot.

When he caught up with Ahmad Lotfi, he said, he was instructed to handcuff Sugumar. When done, Ahmad Lotfi handed him another handcuff and then told him to apply the second pair of handcuffs, which he carried out.

“It is because the suspect was aggressive,” he told Shah Alam coroner Rozi Bainon when lawyer Paulsen asked him why Sugumar was restrained with two pairs of handcuffs.

He added that it is not normal procedure to handcuff a person twice at the same time.

Under repeated questioning by the deputy public prosecutor, Muhamad Sabqi testified that he did not see anyone beat Sugumar.

Instead, he saw Sugumar being held down by his arms and shoulders. Members of the public also pulled his Sugumar’s arms up to help with the handcuffing.

To a question from Paulsen during cross-examination however, Muhamad Sabqi said he would not have seen what happened to Sugumar before he arrived.

‘My view was obstructed’

“I didn’t see the suspect during the arrest because I had just got out of my car and my view was obstructed by the members of the public,” the 26-year old cop explained, when Noor Husnita asked him for the reason.

Muhamad Sabqi added that although he could see Ahmad Lotfi arriving on the scene, he only caught glimpses of him chasing Sugumar and could not see how he ended up lying on the ground.

After applying the first pair of handcuffs, Muhamad Sabqi said Sugumar was still struggling, but by the time the second pair of handcuffs was applied, he looked tired and exhausted.

“I asked the public to leave. Cpl Khalid lifted the suspect (to bring him to the patrol car) but he (Sugumar) didn’t move.

“Cpl Khalid asked me to call the ambulance,” he said, adding that Khalid immediately turned Sugumar over to apply CPR while the handcuffs were still on.

It was also at this time that he realised that Ahmad Lotfi had already left the scene.

The ambulance was contacted at 6.45pm on, and arrived from the Pekan Batu 14 Health Clinic after about an hour.

However, in his testimony later, Khalid disputed this and said no ambulance had arrived despite a call being made.

Instead, other police personnel in the area set up a cordon and a forensics team arrived to examine the scene at about 9pm or 9.30pm.

Sugumar was eventually taken to Serdang Hospital at about 11.30pm on a police Land Rover.

Khalid also explained that he did not give Sugumar CPR, but was pressing on his chest and patting on his cheeks in an attempt to wake him up.

Earlier today, both Muhamad Sabqi and a laksa stall operato, Mohamad Johan Che Man, testified that Sugumar was behaving “aggressively” that day.

Johan said although he didn’t know Sugumar, he recognised him because the deceased was often seen near his stall.

“He looked normal on normal days, but on Jan 23 he looked aggressive...

“He was holding a metal hammer and hitting an electrical pole with it, while shouting at passers-by,” he said, adding that he then proceeded to call the police.

Muhamad Sabqi, who received the report of a man running amok at 6.05pm from his station, arrived at the scene to see Sugumar beating a burger stall at Taman Desa Raya.

“We called Batu 14 station for backup, because the suspect was aggressive,” he said.

The inquest resumes with Khalid’s cross-examination tomorrow, while Ahmad Lotfi is also expected to testify tomorrow.

Police probing woman in road rage video

 

VIDEO l 2.32 min

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar has confirmed that police are investigating a woman captured in a video berating an elderly man following a fender bender involving both their cars.

“We will investigate her for road bullying.

“I, myself, have just watched the footage.

“She was so fierce, hitting there and here,” Khalid (right) said of the video that has gone viral since being uploaded on Facebook yesterday.

The video, said to be taken in Kuantan, received over 20,000 shares in the social networking site, and was also uploaded on video sharing site YouTube, getting a further 69,400 views.

In the video, the woman can be seen screaming at an elderly man, calling him “stupid” and banging the bonnet of his car with a steering lock after he allegedly hit the back of her car, despite his repeated pleas that it was unintentional.

Elderly man forgives woman

Meanwhile, Kuantuan police said that the man, 67, declined to lodge a complaint against the woman despite police advise.

"When giving his statement on the incident, the man said that (the woman) grabbed his shirt collar and hit his car with a steering lock.

"The investigating officer advised him to lodge a police report on this but the man declined as he has forgiven her," the report by Kuantan police sighted by Malaysiakini reads.

The man said he was unharmed and his car was not damaged. He was issued a summon for rear-ending the woman's car.

Netizens were less forgiving, condemning the woman’s action, who also allegedly made disparaging remarks against the man’s race.

Some resorted to doxing -  tracing the identity of the person they believed was the woman in the video and displaying the details online.

Meanwhile in Kuala Lumpur, Khalid said the woman should have made a police report and not threatened the elderly citizen.

“If an accident really happened, make a police report, do not take your own actions,” Khalid said.

“Her actions can be considered as those of a road bully and we will take action against her,” he added.

Khalid said that police will take action based on the video recording itself.

“Regardless of whether he makes a police report, we will investigate because we have watched the video,” he said.

Before that, he distributed Hari Raya cookies to top-ranking police officers to be distributed to about 5,000 police officers who will be on duty during the Raya festivities.

Road rage woman says sorry, seeks empathy

 

 VIDEO l 2.32 min

Siti Fairrah Asyikin Kamaruddin, the woman caught verbally abusing an elderly man and hitting his car with a steering lock after a fender bender in a viral video, has apologised for her actions.

Apologising on TV3 tonight, the woman who goes by the nickname Kiki also told Star Online that she had apologised to the man immediately after the incident.

"I couldn't think at the time. It was at the spur of the moment. It was a huge mistake on my part.

"After the incident, we went to the police station in Kuantan and settled things amicably. I calmed down and immediately apologised to the man.

"I even met his wife and hugged her. The uncle accepted my apology and told me not to do that anymore," she is quoted as saying.

She, however, denied posting any apologies on her Facebook account, as she had deactivated her account on Tuesday.

As such, she said the account has been "hacked".

Earlier, it was reported that she had apologised on Facebook, and urged all to remove the video for the sake of her "future children".

There was also a sceen capture of a text message she allegedly received from police calling her in to give her statement on the Kuantan incident.

“Give me strength. I will face this. Ramadan teaches us to not speak ill of our brethren,” she wrote in the caption.

The posts come after netizens flooded her Facebook page with criticism and exposed her identity.

 There was also a post saying that her company Kerja Kahwin Sdn Bhd has nothing to do with the action, and that she only made reference to the man’s race as she was once cheated of money by a Chinese person.

Telco jumps in

When told that a simple ‘I am sorry’ is insufficient for what she did, Kiki said: “Sir, if you were in my place, you’d know that sometimes you can’t control your anger. Sorry.”

Meanwhile, telecommunications company Digi Telecommunications has jumped on the bandwagon by offering to pay for damages sustained by both parties.

This is as part of its #30haribaik campaign, which encourages good deeds during Ramadan.

“Things might have gotten out of hand but we saw a really patient uncle who showed us the value of empathy.

“”Uncle, if you're reading this, please let us know in the comments below. We'd love to pay for the repairs of your car.

“To the one who was upset, we know it was a tough situation but if you could find it in your heart to forgive, we'll fix yours too,” Digi posted on its Facebook page.

Gastropub The Beer Factory also got in on the action by offering the first 25 Peugeot drivers who flash their car key free beer.

Peugeot, meanwhile said that its vehicles do not require steering locks.

"Peugeot vehicles come with many safety and security features such as transponder immobilizer security, deadlocking and so on - making steering wheel locks rather... redundant!" it quipped on Facebook.

Antwerp rally calls for 'slaughter of Jews'

Protest attended by some 500 people comes amid wave of anti-Semitic demonstrations against Israeli military operation.

A woman wrapped in a Palestinian flag gestures on July 13, 2014 in Paris, during a demonstration against Israel and in support of residents in the Gaza Strip, during Operation Protective Edge. Photo by AFP

 

Dozens of men at an anti-Israel demonstration in Antwerp shouted slogans about slaughtering Jews.

Approximately 500 people attended Saturday’s protest in the capital of Belgium’s Flemish region, where one of the speakers used a loudspeaker to chant a call in Arabic that means “slaughter the Jews.”

The demonstration against Israel’s assault on Hamas in Gaza happened amid a wave of anti-Semitic attacks in Western Europe that coincided with the Israeli actions, and one day before a similar demonstration in Paris escalated into what European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor called an “attempted lynch” outside a local synagogue.

The Belgian League Against Anti-Semitism filed a complaint for incitement to violence against participants and organizers of the Antwerp demonstration, dozens of whom were recorded making the calls.

“International politics cannot serve as a pretext for incitement to anti-Semitic hatred,” the organization’s president, Joel Rubinfeld, said in a statement.

It also condemned the presence at the demonstration of three local politicians: Karim Bachar of the Flemish Socialist Party; Ikrame Kastit of the Flemish Green Party; and Mohamed Chebaa of Labor.

The protesters also called out “Jews, remember Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning,” referencing a seventh-century slaughter against Jews in Saudi Arabia.

Earlier this month, the same call was heard at a demonstration in The Hague in favor of the ISIS Sunni militia in Syria and Iraq. The protest was held six days before Israel launched its military operation in Gaza.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center in a letter to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte protested that the demonstration was allowed to take place.

“Unless Jihadism in your country is totally quashed, Dutch returnees from their Syrian baptism of fire and Jihadist websites at home will menace Jewish, Muslim and all other citizens of the Netherlands,” wrote Shimon Samuels, the center’s international relations director.

In Paris, approximately 200 Jews were besieged on Sunday inside the synagogue by dozens of young men who confronted police and Jewish guards outside in what turned into a street brawl before police reinforcements dispersed the crowd.

The CRIF umbrella group of Jewish organizations and communities appealed to French President Francois Hollande to temporarily ban “pro-Hamas protests” for fear they would escalate into similar attacks.

India: Dalit Women gang raped by Muslims, commit suicide

“July 16, 2014 (Agencies) Lucknow: A Dalit Muslim woman was gang raped by suspected Muslim perpetrators, when a politics of Dalit-Muslim unity is gradually worsening the situation of Dailts in Uttar Pradesh by their greedy Muslim counterparts. A massive outrage broke-out in Uttar Pradesh Hathras district post a 22-year-old gang-rape victim, who was set afire after raping, succumbed to her injuries. Furious people of the district staged protests and burnt the buses, trucks and other vehicles passing by the roads. They were expressing their fury as police hadn’t taken any steps against the accused and they were still roaming freely.”

“Uttar Pradesh Police said that on July 12, five men visited the victim at her husband’s home in Etawah and told her that her brother had sent them to fetch her. She was to accompany them to her parents’ home in Purvi Naurangabad near Sikander Rao in Hathras, they said. The unsuspecting woman went with the five men, who were later joined by two others.

Telling about the tragedy, victim’s father said that his daughter was set on fire after being gang-raped. He further revealed that he somehow doused the fire and rushed her to the hospital, where doctors told him that his daughter was 90 percent burnt and had very less chances of surviving. The sources have confirmed that Mahila Police Station in-charge also went to the hospital to record victim’s statement in which she disclosed the names of the accused.

However, the police didn’t show any haste in arresting the accused. However, police lackluster approach in the case has irked the people of the district and they have begun expressing emotions violently on the roads. They were present at the roads along with the dead body of the victim.

Local people jammed the Etah-Aligarh highway, and the mob set vehicles on fire. Demonstrators also pelted stones at policemen, who resorted to lathicharge to quell the crowd. Police and personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary from Aligarh, Hathras and Agra districts were rushed to the spot.

The woman’s relatives said she was under depression, as the police, whom the family had approached on Sunday, had taken no immediate action.”

“Hathras Violence ater Gang Rape victim succumbs to burn injuries .”

Read more about National DailyIndia: Dalit Women gang raped by Muslims, commit suicide » National Daily on:
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“Hathras SP Dipika Tiwari told a media that the victim, before dying, had recorded a statement in front of police.

At last an FIR has been registered against Zeeshan, Tullan, Vakeel, Taufeeq and some unidentified men, under Sections 376 (rape), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the IPC. Police is investigating the cause behind this rape of a Dalit woman, led by some Muslim perpetrators with an apparently jilted motivation.

Mohit Gupta, Aligarh SSP, who is also DIG in-charge, Hathras, said, “We had already arrested two people, and on the demand of the victim’s family, we conducted the post-mortem examination at night. But some anti-social elements tried to exploit the situation.”

Hathras DM Shamim Ahmed said there was no delay in lodging an FIR. He said his administration planned to lodge an FIR against the miscreants responsible for disturbing the law and order situation.

The district administration later convinced the victim’s kin to cremate her. The victim’s brother told a media, “She was my only sister. And her last rites were performed without the usual rituals.”

Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party-led Uttar Pradesh government hasn’t made any remarks on the issue so far.

A lead to riot situation may be vitiated, if staunch action can not be taken to reveal the truth behind the truth of gang rape of a Dalit woman and also to punish the Muslim perpetrators already arrested and to be arrested in the related case under proper law and order. Communal tension is prevailing out of situation around Hathras and adjacent places. Protesting Hindu Dalits are being gradually disillusioned by the fake call of Dalit-Muslim unity automatized by both Samajwadi (read Namajwadi) Party and Bahujan Samaj Party.”

Only Malay-Muslims can save Malaysia’s pluralism

By Wong Chin Huat

Traditionally, pluralism in Malaysia is advocated by the ethno-religious minorities and only tolerated by the majority.

For pluralism to survive and thrive, this pattern must change: the main task of defending pluralism must lie with the Malay-Muslims.

The disappearing minorities’ ‘veto power’

Minorities – non-Malays, non-Muslims and/or non-Bumiputeras – should accept this cruel reality that their defence for pluralism may not matter much for the future of a plural Malaysia.

In other words, they do not have any “veto power” even on changes that affect their socio-cultural life. In the early years, when the minorities put their feet down on matters concerning their communal autonomy or interests, the majority-dominated state used to take note and make compromises, to avoid an outright sense of alienation.

The erosion of minority rights was meant to be done gradually and “cosily” in a tango fashion: two steps forward, then one step back.

In Malaysia’s political lingo, slow changes through such encroachment-negotiation-retreat cycles are priced as “mutual respect”, “tolerance” and “power sharing”.

The minorities’ protection from the majority’s encroachment actually has two sources. The first is their rights formally guaranteed by the Federal Constitution. The second is the informal negotiation power through the security, electoral or economic threats they pose.

The unreliable constitutional guardians: Parliament and judiciary

The constitutional safeguards then hinges on two institutions: Parliament and the judiciary.

Amendment of the Federal Constitution through Parliament is meant to be difficult with a two-thirds threshold but this safeguard is more imagined that real.

When the ruling coalition enjoyed a two-thirds majority, and its parliamentarians voted like sheep, then anything could be possible.

In 1966, supported by all Bornean MPs, except eight from Sarawak National Party (SNAP) and Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP), Parliament abused its emergency power to amend the Sarawak constitution so that Sarawak’s defiant Chief Minister Stephen Kalong Ningkan could be replaced with someone subservient to Kuala Lumpur.

And if the ruling coalition loses its two-thirds majority, it may be restored with malapportionment and gerrymandering in constituency redelineation, which requires only a simple majority in the house for approval.

Worse, the Federal Constitution has loopholes, such as relieving itself from an inclusive decision requiring a super majority. One of them is Article 76A, which hardliners in Umno and PAS hope to use to unilaterally transfer part of the criminal justice power from Putrajaya to Kelantan, completely bypassing Sabah and Sarawak in their utter disregard for the Malaysian Agreement 1963.

Meanwhile, as a guardian of our Constitutional rights, the judiciary is only as good as per the calibre of judges. A case in point is the “Allah” ban, where the Catholic Church was denied even the leave from the Federal Court to challenge the Appellate Court’s judgment.

Much more problematic is the Court of Appeal judge Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali’s attempt to misinterpret Article 3(1) which states that “Islam is the religion of the federation but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in any part of the federation” as the limit of our fundamental liberties.

Evoking the banner of “social contract”, he claimed that the intention of “in peace and harmony” in Article 3(1) was to “protect the sanctity of Islam” and to “insulate” it against any threat.

And how do you know if there is “peace and harmony”? That the Muslims are not angry. To justify the Allah ban, Apandi’s co-panellist, judge Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim cited the arson attacks on churches and mosques in January 2010 after its overturning by the High Court on the last day of 2009.

If our courts are packed with judges like Apandi and Aziz, so what if all the top lawyers or even all constitutional experts in the world hold a different opinion on the secular nature of and fundamental rights in our Constitution?

What do you with judges who read laws the way they like, or a police chief who decides what court order to follow?

Over my dead body?

The late Karpal Singh was respected for his principled defence of secularism, underlined by his iconic quote: “an Islamic state over my dead body”.

Many secularists, pluralists and liberals would love to have more Karpal Singhs. But to really defend (or subvert) any political order with life, you need not one, tens or hundreds – but thousands or tens of thousands – of the committed.

Now, how many of those who cheer for Karpal dare to make the same pledge?

With the eruption of the Communist insurgency in 1948, the prospect of a full-scale inter-ethnic civil war was real for both the British and Umno elite if millions of Chinese remained disenfranchised.

That was why Umno had to agree reluctantly to a more liberal citizenship regime for the non-Malays even though it was still ideologically opposed to multiculturalism.

Neither the peninsula non-Malays nor the Borneans pose any security threat to Umno’s party state today.

After 1969, the peninsula non-Malays’ main coping mechanisms for Malay ultra-nationalism have been opposition-voting or migration.

While many non-Malays, especially Chinese, like to believe Malaysia will suffer economic catastrophe with continuing brain drain and capital flight, the likes of Ridhuan Tee would only welcome migration as the minorities’ “D-I-Y ethnic cleansing”.

And one must never mistake Malaysia’s new ultra-nationalists like Isma for Taliban or Boko Haram. They are not against economic development and all things foreign.

In fact, they reject the non-Malays only as insubordinate citizens, not as taxpayers. They may welcome new immigrants – even from mainland China – as long as these immigrants concentrate on making money and do not want any political right.

With her rich natural resources, Malaysia may actually flourish for a while with an influx of cheap foreign workers and foreign capital.

In Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain, foreign workers make up 40% to 80% of the population and keep their economy running but will never get citizenship to threaten the ruling class.

Electoral decline of minority voters

The non-Malays used to be able to threaten the BN with protest votes up until 2008 but now more.

Then, BN set its electoral goal at a two-thirds majority and it had no choice but to please enough of the peninsula non-Malays, who made up a majority in some 25% of all parliamentary constituencies and a sizeable minority in some 15% other constituencies.

After 2013, a two-thirds majority is simply unrealistic a goal and Umno aims now minimally for a simple majority, or 112 seats if the Parliament does not get expanded.

In the 13th general election, Umno and its de facto proxy Perkasa in Pasir Mas won 27% of national votes in the peninsula and 73 seats out of 107 contested. In the peninsula alone, Umno was only 39 seats short of a simple majority.

With a tiny addition of 2.37% more national votes, Sabah and Labuan then contributed another 15 seats in a clean sweep for Umno, closing its gap from a simple majority to only 24 seats.

If the only other Muslim-dominant BN party, Sarawak’s Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) is added in, which won 14 more seats with another 2.10% of national votes, the Muslim core of BN now has 102 seats – 10 seats short of a simple majority – with about 32% of votes.

In the peninsula, Umno could have taken eight more seats if it could win 2,000 more votes each.

This electoral demographic explains two important developments post-GE13.

First, Isma and Perkasa growing from strength to strength in the midst of controversies from the “Allah” ban to the hudud proposal, so that Muslims can feel more under siege.

Second, the intense behind-the-scene lobbying of Pakatan Rakyat parties to support the expansion of Parliament, so that there can be more seats for under-siege Muslims.

What about the Borneans? Don’t they hold enough votes to keep Umno sensible?

Unfortunately, most Borneans have this wishful thinking that South China Sea is wide enough to save them from the Malayan disease of communalism. Hence, they seek only exemption for Sabah and Sarawak, rather than a solution for Malaysia.

This explains why Bornean politicians like Tan Sri James Masing can still appear as great heroes by only “taking the authorities to task” in Sarawak without changing anything for Borneans in the peninsula.

Selling pluralism to Malay-Muslims

I hope this article has by now convinced you that pluralism has no future if it depends on the defence by the ethno-religious minorities, who have no trump card as they once did.

Pluralism must be a majority’s cause to stand a chance to triumph.

And pluralism cannot be sold to the majority in universal and colour-blind lingos like equality, fairness, human rights or humanism.

Why? Multiculturalism, multiparty democracy and secularism are simply seen as illegitimate colonial legacies that only disadvantage the majority.

Pluralism can only be sold to Malay-Muslims instrumentally: pluralism will benefit Malay-Muslims.

But how will multiculturalism, democracy and secularism benefit Malay-Muslims?

The answer to this “marketing” question perhaps is the key which may liberate us from our 1946 prison.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

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Malaysians not ready for hudud, survey finds

A majority of Malaysians are not ready for Islamic penal code, or hudud, to be implemented in the country, a survey by Merdeka Center for Opinion Research has found.

The survey, carried out among Peninsula Malaysia voters, saw 58% of Malays, 59% Chinese and 61% Indians agreeing that Malaysia was not yet prepared for the law.

"The survey found that only 25% of the total respondents and 30% of Malay respondents believe that the country is ready for hudud laws implementation at this time," Merdeka Center said in its release today.

The survey was conducted between April 12 and April 21, 2014, involving 1,009 registered voters comprising 60% Malay, 31% Chinese and 9% Indian respondents interviewed by telephone.

They were selected on the basis of random stratified sampling along ethnicity, gender and state of residence.

The interviews were carried out in the preferred language of the respondents.

However, the survey found that there was high support for hudud (53%) and only 3% were not in favour of the Islamic law.

The support was especially high among Malay voters. A whopping 71% of Malays were all for hudud law as opposed to only 20 who were against it.

Conversely, 65% and 69% of Chinese and Indians respectively were against the implementation of hudud law. Only 26% from both ethnic groups supported it.

"Among Malay respondents, the survey found high support for hudud and yet at the same time a low level of readiness to see it implemented," Merdeka Center said.

“In our opinion, this possibly reflects their desire to conform to established norms about the primacy of the shariah laws at a personal level but at the same time indicates hesitation to see it fully implemented publicly.”

It also noted that Malay voters under the age of 30 years registered the highest level of support at 83% compared to other older age groups – a result consistent with the think tank’s earlier findings in a 2011 study of Muslim youth sentiments on hudud.

The Merdeka Center survey also found that only 56% understood what hudud is about as opposed to 43% who did not.

It showed that those with a higher household income had a better understanding of hudud (62% of those who earned RM5,000 and above understand versus 39% who did not).

Also, just half of those polled (51%) believe that hudud law would not be fairly implemented while only 32% believe otherwise.

The hudud debate came about after Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob revealed that the state intended to table a private member's bill to allow the implementation of hudud.

The bill would enable the Kelantan Shariah Penal Code II, which was passed in 1993 by the state assembly, to be enforced.

Ahmad's announcement closely followed the statement by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom that Putrajaya would back the state's move to implement hudud.

This caused a rift between PAS and its Pakatan Rakyat allies, in particular DAP. DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke had even suggested that PAS leave the PR coalition if it was intent on implementing hudud in Kelantan.

Deputy Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Mohamad Amar Nik Abdullah added fuel to the fire after he said that the state government did not need the blessings of PKR and DAP to implement hudud.

However in May, following protests and severe criticism, PAS decided it would postpone the tabling of the bill to allow sufficient time for a joint Putrajaya and Kelantan government technical committee to study the implementation of the Kelantan Shariah Penal Code II.

‘Gender discrimination against human rights’

Discrimination against Dr.Wan Azizah Ismail is against basic human rights and unconstitutional, says Wanita MCA chief

PETALING JAYA: The selection of a menteri besar should be based on experience, ability and commitment to lead the people and not based on gender, Wanita MCA chief Heng Seai Kie said today.

Heng said denying Kajang assemblywoman Dr.Wan Azizah Ismail the chance to be appointed as the menteri besar is against basic human rights and unconstitutional.

“Worse still, making gender and biological nature as an excuse to discriminate against Wan Azizah is also biased and unacceptable,” she said in a statement today.

Heng said the more pressing issue would be Wan Azizah’s ability to lead Selangor rather than using her gender as an obstacle to hinder woman from moving forward.

The MCA leader was commenting on Umno legal adviser Hafarizam Harun’s statement that a woman could not become a menteri besar because she would face many obstacles in accompanying the Sultan when she had “uzur syarie” (menstruation).

DAP Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching also urged Hafarizam to retract his remarks and apologise.

“The statement not only discriminates Wan Azizah but all women. Does he have any respect for his own mother and the mother of his children?” she asked.

MIC Federal Territory State Women Leader, Kogilam Suppiah said it was a derogatory, insensitive and discriminating remark on a woman in this modern age.

Kogilam said the silly statement only reflected the poor quality and sexist mindset of political leaders in the country.

“If she has already reached menopause, what other illogical and absurd reasons will Hafarizam come up with to justify his statement that she cannot hold the position of menteri besar?

“Is Hafarizam aware that we now have a high number of woman leaders in the world, including Chancellor Angela Merkel (Germany), Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt (Denmark), President Dilmaro Rousseff (Brazil), President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (Argentina)?” she asked.

Khairy disagrees with hike in driving school fees

(The Rakyat Post) – Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had told Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai that he disagreed with any hike in driving school fees.

He said the hike would burden consumers who were struggling to make ends meet.

“The hike will cause the youth hardship. By raising the fees, it could also cause the number of youths driving without licence to increase, and we don’t want that.”

He said this at a press conference after presenting 150 orphans, aged 2 to 18, from Kuala Lumpur, one complete set of Raya clothes, either a Baju Melayu or Baju Kurung sponsored by Jakel.

The Umno Youth chief said the gift of Baju Raya was part of the wing’s effort to help out the “urban poor” that existed in cities and which was a phenomenon that could not be fully eradicated.

Commenting on Umno Youth’s proposal to charge an entry fee for Singapore cars, he said the Youth wing was waiting for a cabinet paper by the Transport Ministry before it made any decision.

“I have told Liow of our decision and we will wait for the cabinet paper before saying anything else,” he said.

Umno Youth proposed the government impose a fee on Singapore cars entering Malaysia in a bid to counter Singapore’s decision to increase the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) and Goods Vehicle Permit (GVP) permit fee for vehicles entering the country.

Pakatan Rakyat will become a Brazil in 2014 World Cup in 14GE if it fails to stay true to the PR Common Policy Programme and falls into the Umno/BN trap to destroy it with the hudud ploy

By Lim Kit Siang,

The independent pollster Merdeka Centre has found that nearly three in five Malaysians think the country is not prepared to implement the controversial hudud Islamic penal law.

Its survey on hudud in April found that a total of 59 per cent of the Malaysians polled shared this sentiment, with 58 per cent of Malays believing so while 59 per cent of Chinese and 61 per cent of Indians gave the same response.

Just 25 per cent of respondents — and 30 per cent of Malays — believed that Malaysia is ready to introduce hudud now.

Just over half of Malaysians also said they believed that hudud will not be implemented fairly with the judiciary and law enforcement currently in place. Only 32 per cent felt it would be implemented fairly.

Only 56 per cent of Malaysians polled said they understand the law, with only 14 per cent understanding it “a great deal”.
Those who did not understand it included 62 per cent of Chinese and 49 per cent of Indians polled.

I think a more rigorous poll is needed for the result to be more credible, but whatever the flaws of the survey, what is indisputable is that for the first time in the nation’s history, Malaysia will be divided down the middle if hudud laws are implemented – as reflected by the rather conservative findings of Merdeka Centre that 59 per cent of Malaysians polled think the country is not prepared to implement the hudud law, with just 25 per cent believed that Malaysia is ready to introduce hudud now; over half of Malaysians who believed that hudud will not be implemented fairly with the judiciary and law enforcement currently in place as compared to 32 per cent who felt it would be implemented fairly; and 56 cent of Malaysians who said they don’t understand hudud, with only 14 per cent understanding it “a great deal”.

It will the greatest disaster for nearly six decades of nation-building and the biggest mockery of Vision 2020 of a united developed nation status for Malaysia in 2020 if hudud is implemented, creating irreconcilable and multiple divisions and conflicts, like Muslims vs non-Muslims, liberal Malays/Muslims vs conservative Malays/Muslims, Sabah/Sarawak vs Putrajaya/ Peninsular Malaysia, etc.

The immediate outcome of the implementation of hudud will be the break-up of Malaysia, for it is inconceivable that Sarawak and Sabah, which formed Malaysia in 1963 on the specific understanding that Malaysia shall be a secular state with Islam as the official religion of the Federation, can agree to any such fundamental violation of the constitutional compact in the 1963 Malaysia Agreement.

But well before the end-game of a break-up of Malaysia because of flagrant violation of basic constitutional guarantees in the 1957 Merdeka Constitution and the 1963, there will be a string of other casualties.

For instance, I dare predict that Pakatan Rakyat will become a Brazil in 2014 World Cup in 14GE if it fails to stay true to the PR Common Policy Programme and falls into the Umno/BN trap to destroy it with the hudud ploy

In the past three-and-a-half months, UMNO/BN had mounted a conspiracy to break up Pakatan Rakyat with the hudud ploy, with the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom making the first move in Parliament on March 27, declaring that the Barisan Nasional Federal Government was prepared to help the Kelantan State Government to implement hudud law, even suggesting that PAS move a private member’s bill in Parliament on the matter.

That started off the revival of the hudud controversy, plunging the three Pakatan Rakyat component parties of DAP, PAS and PKR to the second crisis of survival to engulf Pakatan Rakyat in the six-year history of the alternative coalition.
The first crisis faced by Pakatan Rakyat was in September 2011 which nearly led to its break-up and demise was also over the hudud controversy.

It was only when Pakatan Rakyat leaders from PAS, PKR and DAP finally reaffirmed the common policy programme proclaimed earlier by PKR, PAS and DAP leaders in the formation of PR as PR’s common priority agenda that PR was saved from an early demise.

If PR had broken up over the hudud controversy in September 2011, then the historic result of the 13th General Elections last May which saw PR winning 52 per cent of electoral vote and reducing the Najib federal administration into a minority government, with PR winning 89 Parliamentary seats and 229 state assembly seats (excluding Sarawak) would not have been achieved.

If hudud had been a hot controversial issue in the 13th General Elections, the Barisan Nasional would have regained its two-thirds parliamentary majority to redelineate electoral constituencies at will while Pakatan Rakyat might have lost Selangor apart from Kedah, and Johor would have reverted to become an invincible Barisan Nasional “fixed deposit” state instead of becoming a ‘front-line state for UBAH’ after May last year.

It was with these political insights that the deep UMNO plot to use the hudud issue to foment dissension and cause a break-up of Pakatan Rakyat must be understood – and thus the extraordinary proposal by Jamil Khir in Parliament on March 27 that the Federal Government was prepared to help the Kelantan State Government to implement hudud, even suggesting that PAS MPs present a private member’s bill on the issue, must be understood in this perspective.

Jamil’s statement in Parliament was completely at odds with the Barisan Nasional official position on hudud, as only on Sept. 25, 2011, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak publicly stated that the Federal Government will not enforce hudud law in Malaysia.

The Star in a report headlined “Najib: No hudud in Malaysia” quoted Najib as saying at the launch of the Tanjong Tualang 1Malaysia Carnival in Perak that although hudud was accepted in Islam, its implementation must be based on reality.

He said: “The aim of an administration according to Islam is based on the maqasid syariah principle, which among others, entails protecting religion, life, morals and property.”

The Prime Minister said under current laws, the principle and objective of maqasid syariah could be championed.
He said there were already elements of hudud in the system “minus the extreme part”.

But in a matter of 30 months, less than 12 months after the 13GE, Najib’s statement of “No hudud in Malaysia” had been replaced with Jamil Khir’s pronouncement in Parliament that the Barisan Nasional federal government was prepared to help the PAS Kelantan State Government to implement hudud laws, even suggesting a Private Member’s Bill in Parliament for the purpose.

Was this drastic change in Barisan Nasional federal government policy on hudud made with the consultation and agreement of leaders and ministers from the other Barisan Nasional component parties, or is this solely the “personal view” of Jamil?

Unfortunately, instead of taking a stand on principle that any change of Barisan Nasional federal government policy whether on hudud or any other important national matter should only be made with the consultation and agreement of all BN parties, MCA and Gerakan decided to play politics by orchestrating a prolonged campaign of vilification against the DAP on the hudud question – though serving the same purpose of the mischievous UMNO plot to foment dissension and break-up of PR.

The MCA/Gerakan contention that Jamil’s March 27 statement in Parliament was only his “personal view” loses total credibility when Najib announced in Alor Setar on April 24 that the Barisan Nasional federal government had never rejected hudud.

The third ploy in the UMNO/BN conspiracy to entrap and divide Pakatan Rakyat on the hudud issue was the motion by the Umno Selangor Assemblyman for Sungai Air Tawar Kamarol Zaki Abdul Malik in the Selangor State Assembly in June to push for the implementation of hudud.

But this UMNO motion in Selangor Asembly had to be hastily withdrawn when it was accepted by the Selangor Assembly Speaker Hannah Yeoh and UMNO learnt that the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat State Assembly members from DAP, PKR and PAS were united on the issue and had decided in a pre-council meeting to vote against the UMNO Selangor motion on hudud in keeping with the PR Common Policy Framework that justice, freedom and good governance and not hudud were the common PR agenda priorities.

In these circumstances, leaders of Pakatan Rakyat parties, whether DAP, PAS or PKR should be vigilant so as not to fall victim to the UMNO plot to foment dissension and cause break-up of PR, as we must always be mindful of what should the common policy priorities of PR as agreed by the PR leaders when the PR was formed after the 2008 general elections.

UMNO/BN parties, especially UMNO, MCA and Gerakan, should stop “playing with fire” to try to destabilize and divide the Pakatan Rakyat with the hudud ploy and instead should focus on national issues as the common top priorities whether of Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat – how to ensure that Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or political beliefs can live in peace and harmony to fully develop our human, economic, educational, environmental and national resources and potentials, in a framework of justice, freedom and good governance where there is no corruption, cronyism and all forms of abuses of power.