Saturday, 22 November 2014
ISIS accused of using stills from ‘Hungarian porn’ in propaganda which suggested Western soldiers were raping women
- The US State Department is actively countering ISIS propaganda online
- The terrorist organisation was accused of using Hungarian pornography
- The US is trying to dissuade young western Muslims from joining ISIS
The US State Department has accused ISIS of taking screen grabs of Hungarian pornography and claiming the images show the rape of Arab women by western soldiers.
The original image was tweeted from an account claiming allegiance with the terrorist group.
The tweet features three images, one of a distressed, small child. The second features a woman being held by men in military fatigues and the final image shows a man in Arab dress being abused by a soldier.
In the tweet, ISIS claims that they are the 'sole saviour of millions of Sunni Muslims against Iraqi-Syria army butchers'.
In response to the ISIS tweet, the US State Department using their Think Again Turn Away social media account, said the middle rape image was taken from Hungarian porn.
The tweet claims that ISIS should 'stop using fake photos to trick people' into supporting their 'lost cause'.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2839708/ISIS-accused-using-stills-Hungarian-porn-propaganda-suggested-Western-soldiers-raping-women.html
Yazidi families reclaim girls seized by Islamic State – for a price
In interviews, girls who escaped or were bought back by their families tell of their brutal treatment at the hands of IS militants. Almost 150 girls have returned to Kurdish-controlled areas in recent weeks, according to activists, with families paying as much as a year's income to get them back.
By Jane Arraf, Correspondent
Near Zakho, northern Iraq — Suzanne twists the heart-shaped pink plastic ring on her finger as she talks about the women and children who beat her for trying to escape the self-described Islamic State.
The Yazidi 14-year-old, now living with an uncle’s family near Zakho, is one of an estimated 5,000 girls and women from the ancient minority taken captive by IS to be sold or given to fighters as slaves – and one of an increasing number who have recently escaped or been bought back by their families.
Activists believe almost 150 girls and women have returned to the Kurdish-controlled territories in the last several weeks. Some see it as a sign of an overstretched IS that no longer has the resources in Iraq or Syria to hold large numbers of captives.
The women's capture and harsh treatment had raised fears they would not be accepted by their families if they managed to return, and has created challenges for the secretive, ancient religion and deeply conservative society, where some women are still killed to maintain family "honor" for even the appearance of impropriety.
But the sheer numbers of women seized from a small community that does not accept converts has helped prompt a religious decree that the women need to be brought back and re-integrated. In most cases, it seems to have worked.
Like other girls interviewed by the Monitor, Suzanne and her sisters and mother were separated by IS from their male relatives after gunmen took control of villages near Sinjar mountain over two days in August. She and her sisters were first taken to Mosul and then to the IS stronghold of Raqqa, Syria. After US-led airstrikes in Raqqa, their captors moved them to the outskirts of Aleppo, where she escaped, only to be handed back to IS by a Syrian family she had asked for help.
“They beat me with a plastic hose and a cable,” says Suzanne, whose parents and two sisters are still missing. “They were saying ‘it is useless for for you to try to escape’ … They hit me everywhere, my hands, my legs, my back. Everyone took a turn – even the children from the village and the wives.”
The children encouraged to hit her were as young as five, she says.
When the Aleppo prison she was held in was bombed, she and a friend managed to escape. They made their way to the Kurdish region of Syria and then to Turkey, where she was picked up by relatives.
Ending up in an isolated farmhouse
Sabreen is 15. When Kurdish forces protecting Yazidi towns retreated in early August, IS fighters took her to a school in Tel Afar near the Syrian border with several hundred other women. There, IS took all children between the ages of five and 10 from their mothers. When the women screamed and tried to take back their children, the gunmen fired in the air and said they would kill them if they didn’t stay back, she says.
Sabreen also ended up in Syria, in an isolated farmhouse near Raqqa.
“Lots of men used to come and look around and when they would see a girl they liked they would say ‘I want to buy that one,’” she says. “There was an emir who was taking money for the girls – $1,000 to $1,500.” Sabreen says she escaped from her Palestinian and then Saudi "owners" and is now living with an uncle’s family near Dohuk.
The uncle, Hamid, said he was sending his sons to retrieve another distant relative who is believed to be the only surviving member of her family. He raised $5,000 – a year’s income for many families here – to buy her back from Tel Afar through a middleman.
“Suddenly you get a phone call out of the blue saying ‘We have your daughter.’ They don’t tell you their names or anything like that,” says Hamid. “Or ‘We have your girl. We want this amount of money.'”
“If you can find someone you can trust, that man goes and says, 'I want this girl to marry,' and he pays it straight to IS,” he says. “You can’t say ‘I want to buy three girls back’ – they won’t give them to you like that.”
Hamid and others said most families with missing wives and daughters were trying to raise money to buy back them back. He says they paid $10,000 for the first girl rescued in the family but that price has now dropped.
“People were willing to pay any amount of money,” says Hamid. “But now in my own family, we have about 30 girls missing. If you have to pay $5,000 for each one of them … you will not be able to buy all of them back.”
While IS has murdered members of all religious groups during its takeover of northern Iraq and systematically stolen cash and property, it has meted out special punishment to the Yazidis – whom it considers pagans.
Suzanne, Sabreen, and other abducted girls and women say they were told they were infidels and allowed to be bought, sold, or given to fighters. The issue is not spoken of even by Yazidi women, but many of the girls and women who were sold or given away were believed to have been raped.
A Christian woman who was told her family had to convert to Islam says she and her children were held in a house in Mosul with dozens of Yazidi girls.
“At two in the morning we heard the girls screaming,” says the woman, who asked that her name not be used. “The gunmen were raping the girls. You could tell they were being raped and they were hurting them. They said, ‘these ones don’t have religion.’"
Initial reports of some girls and women killing themselves after escaping from IS to avoid shaming their families have been impossible to corroborate. While such cases may exist, the religious ruling by Yazidi elders as women started to return appears to have protected those who have escaped.
“We would never allow anything to happen to them,” says one Yazidi man in Zakho, who is still trying to find his missing mother and sisters. “If anything, they are more deserving of our respect because of all they have endured for our religion.”
Near Zakho, northern Iraq — Suzanne twists the heart-shaped pink plastic ring on her finger as she talks about the women and children who beat her for trying to escape the self-described Islamic State.
The Yazidi 14-year-old, now living with an uncle’s family near Zakho, is one of an estimated 5,000 girls and women from the ancient minority taken captive by IS to be sold or given to fighters as slaves – and one of an increasing number who have recently escaped or been bought back by their families.
Activists believe almost 150 girls and women have returned to the Kurdish-controlled territories in the last several weeks. Some see it as a sign of an overstretched IS that no longer has the resources in Iraq or Syria to hold large numbers of captives.
The women's capture and harsh treatment had raised fears they would not be accepted by their families if they managed to return, and has created challenges for the secretive, ancient religion and deeply conservative society, where some women are still killed to maintain family "honor" for even the appearance of impropriety.
But the sheer numbers of women seized from a small community that does not accept converts has helped prompt a religious decree that the women need to be brought back and re-integrated. In most cases, it seems to have worked.
Like other girls interviewed by the Monitor, Suzanne and her sisters and mother were separated by IS from their male relatives after gunmen took control of villages near Sinjar mountain over two days in August. She and her sisters were first taken to Mosul and then to the IS stronghold of Raqqa, Syria. After US-led airstrikes in Raqqa, their captors moved them to the outskirts of Aleppo, where she escaped, only to be handed back to IS by a Syrian family she had asked for help.
“They beat me with a plastic hose and a cable,” says Suzanne, whose parents and two sisters are still missing. “They were saying ‘it is useless for for you to try to escape’ … They hit me everywhere, my hands, my legs, my back. Everyone took a turn – even the children from the village and the wives.”
The children encouraged to hit her were as young as five, she says.
When the Aleppo prison she was held in was bombed, she and a friend managed to escape. They made their way to the Kurdish region of Syria and then to Turkey, where she was picked up by relatives.
Ending up in an isolated farmhouse
Sabreen is 15. When Kurdish forces protecting Yazidi towns retreated in early August, IS fighters took her to a school in Tel Afar near the Syrian border with several hundred other women. There, IS took all children between the ages of five and 10 from their mothers. When the women screamed and tried to take back their children, the gunmen fired in the air and said they would kill them if they didn’t stay back, she says.
Sabreen also ended up in Syria, in an isolated farmhouse near Raqqa.
“Lots of men used to come and look around and when they would see a girl they liked they would say ‘I want to buy that one,’” she says. “There was an emir who was taking money for the girls – $1,000 to $1,500.” Sabreen says she escaped from her Palestinian and then Saudi "owners" and is now living with an uncle’s family near Dohuk.
The uncle, Hamid, said he was sending his sons to retrieve another distant relative who is believed to be the only surviving member of her family. He raised $5,000 – a year’s income for many families here – to buy her back from Tel Afar through a middleman.
“Suddenly you get a phone call out of the blue saying ‘We have your daughter.’ They don’t tell you their names or anything like that,” says Hamid. “Or ‘We have your girl. We want this amount of money.'”
“If you can find someone you can trust, that man goes and says, 'I want this girl to marry,' and he pays it straight to IS,” he says. “You can’t say ‘I want to buy three girls back’ – they won’t give them to you like that.”
Hamid and others said most families with missing wives and daughters were trying to raise money to buy back them back. He says they paid $10,000 for the first girl rescued in the family but that price has now dropped.
“People were willing to pay any amount of money,” says Hamid. “But now in my own family, we have about 30 girls missing. If you have to pay $5,000 for each one of them … you will not be able to buy all of them back.”
While IS has murdered members of all religious groups during its takeover of northern Iraq and systematically stolen cash and property, it has meted out special punishment to the Yazidis – whom it considers pagans.
Suzanne, Sabreen, and other abducted girls and women say they were told they were infidels and allowed to be bought, sold, or given to fighters. The issue is not spoken of even by Yazidi women, but many of the girls and women who were sold or given away were believed to have been raped.
A Christian woman who was told her family had to convert to Islam says she and her children were held in a house in Mosul with dozens of Yazidi girls.
“At two in the morning we heard the girls screaming,” says the woman, who asked that her name not be used. “The gunmen were raping the girls. You could tell they were being raped and they were hurting them. They said, ‘these ones don’t have religion.’"
Initial reports of some girls and women killing themselves after escaping from IS to avoid shaming their families have been impossible to corroborate. While such cases may exist, the religious ruling by Yazidi elders as women started to return appears to have protected those who have escaped.
“We would never allow anything to happen to them,” says one Yazidi man in Zakho, who is still trying to find his missing mother and sisters. “If anything, they are more deserving of our respect because of all they have endured for our religion.”
Dec 4 set for evidence notes’ application by family of custodial death victim
The Court of Appeal will on December 4 hear an application by a custodial death victim’s uncle who
is challenging a coroner’s decision not to give the family lawyer notes of evidence in an inquest and not allowing the counsel to make submissions.Lawyer M. Visvanathan, representing Cheah Ewe Yeow, said he was notified by the court registry today of the hearing date.
Cheah, whose nephew Chin Lee died in police custody in Penang two years ago, last week filed the application together with a certificate of urgency.
"Hopefully, the Court of Appeal will deliver a ruling soon as the inquest has been adjourned to January 14," he said.
Human rights lawyers and activists had voiced their disapproval following coroner L. Umma Devi's ruling on September 26 not to give the notes of evidence and court recordings of the inquest, and also not to allow Visvanathan to make submissions.
Describing her decision as shocking, they said it would have wide implications, as it had reversed the tradition of allowing lawyers holding a watching brief on behalf of the deceased's family and to address the court.
Visvanathan said four legal questions have been framed for the appellate court's approval before the appeal could be heard.
He said the Bar Council had agreed to send its representative to hold a watching brief during the proceedings since it was a public interest case.
Umma Dewi, when delivering her decision, said only the Attorney-General's Chambers was entitled to such documents.
Cheah Yeow, the paternal uncle of Chin Lee, then applied to the Penang High Court for a revision of the coroner's decision.
On November 6 judicial commissioner Datuk Nordin Hassan upheld the coroner's decision, and said it was her discretion to provide copies of the proceedings and to allow Visvanathan to make submissions.
Chin Lee, a furniture shop sales assistant, died while in police custody on August 13, 2012.
He was arrested on suspicion of attempting to steal a motorcycle earlier that day. – November 21, 2014
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/december-4-set-for-evidence-notes-application-by-family-of-victim#sthash.qAa3htgW.dpuf
Accused of abuse, Najib threatens legal action against Tony Pua
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today issued a letter of demand to Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua over the DAP lawmaker’s “defamatory” remarks against him on November 3 about the state-owned 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), which caused him “tremendous stress and embarrassment”.
In a letter signed by Najib’s lawyer, Datuk Mohd Hafarizam Harun, Pua was told to publish a retraction and apology within 14 days in two national newspapers, or face legal action for his speech recorded in the November 3 video: “Tony Pua: Najib is creating the biggest scandal ever in the history of Malaysia”.
The DAP national publicity chief was also told to remove the video from the Internet, stop further defamatory statements, and pay Najib for the damages over his remarks.
Najib’s lawyers said Pua’s statements in the video “mean and were understood to mean” that Najib was an incompetent prime minister and leader of Barisan Nasional; creating the biggest scandal in the history of Malaysia; was a cruel, harsh autocratic not open to criticism; and was tyrannical and oppressive.
The letter, which Pua’s staff received at about 3.30pm today, also said Pua had said in the video that Najib was incompetent in managing the country, had conspired against the nation; was corrupt; had robbed and misused the people’s monies; and abused his power as a political and party leader.
“Our client’s instructions are that the above defamatory statements and such similar statements amount to a very serious slander and/or libel against our client and have caused him tremendous stress and embarrassment,” read the letter.
The video was of Pua’s speech regarding the controversial 1MDB during the DAP fundraising dinner on November 3. According to a transcript in the letter, Pua had said:
“Let me tell you this is the problem with Barisan Nasional. No one dares to stand up to the Prime Minister, and Najib now is like a king. A king that is creating the biggest scandal ever in the history of Malaysia. Huge! No one dares to say a thing, nothing, not even the pin drop from any of MCA of Gerakan leader or even Umno leaders...
“It is disgraceful it is scandalous for 100% Ministry of Finance owned entity with the board of advisors chaired by the Prime Minister himself not being able to submit accounts on time especially when the company is so big when the public looks at it with great interest 36 billion in debt they are not able to submit their account on time…
“There is only one reason why I think can. The reason why can is because all these MCA, MIC, Gerakan kakis all don’t dare to challenge their prime minister, all say okay okay thank you you, please carry on and rob the people’s money.”
Najib’s lawyer said Pua reproduced the statements “time and time again” and was continuing to have them published in various forums, news portals, social media and online media.
“Contrary to your defamatory statements above, our client being the chairman of the Board of Advisors of 1MDB only renders advice to the Board of Directors of 1MDB who is tasked for the management and operation of 1MDB, not a tyrannical and oppressive autocratic who is not open to criticism and shuns criticism, not a leader involved in corrupt practices and not a leader who robs the peoples’ money.
“Accordingly, these entirely baseless and false allegations made by you are with the primary intention of attacking and damaging our client’s goodwill and reputation for no .justifiable reason.
“In doing so, you are/were acting with malice,” read the letter.
The letter stated that if Pua failed to provide a satisfactory response, it would commence legal proceedings against him, “including applying for an injunction to restrain any such further publication”.
Pua told The Malaysian Insider that his lawyer, Gobind Singh, was looking into the matter and would respond accordingly.
He added that TV3 staff were also present when the law firm’s representatives presented the letter to his staff today, although he was not in the office.
When contacted, Hafarizam confirmed that his own dispatch had sent the letter to Pua’s office, but denied all knowledge of inviting the media along.
“I got my dispatch to just send the letter, it was just like any other dispatch – they went by bike. It wasn’t a big entourage.
“I deny having any knowledge, intention or design to have publicity for this. It was a normal dispatching letter of demand.”
He added that he had yet to receive reports from Pua that the latter had acknowledged receiving the letter. – November 21, 2014.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/accused-of-tyranny-najib-threatens-legal-action-against-tony-pua#sthash.rkUxI9Ze.dpuf
Parents blame hospital for teen's death
Minutes after a press conference during which the
anguished parents of G Tinasha accused a private hospital in Petaling
Jaya of negligence, the Form Two student passed away.
Tinasha, 14, who was suffering from fever, was taken to Assunta Hospital on Sunday night by her mother, I Uthayabavani.
"She was admitted at the emergency ward around 8.30pm. Around midnight, my daughter complained of headaches and felt nauseous.
"A nurse then administered a medication, on the instruction of a medical officer present," Uthayabavani (right) recalled, in between sobs.
The 46-year-old housewife believes her daughter could have been given the wrong medication.
Around 5am, Tinasha suffered a cardiac arrest and her oxygen levels dropped drastically, forcing the medical staff to perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and she was put on life support.
Tinasha's uncle, I Ramesh (left),
who was also present at the press conference, described his niece as an
active teenager, who participated in various NGO activities.
"Only last week, she was practising for a school concert.
"She wore a mock crown on her head, and was running around the house and showing it to everyone," he said, unable to hold back his tears.
Uthayabavani and her husband, B Ganesan Rao, a taxi driver, have also filed a police report against the hospital.
The uncle also said the medical officer in charge of Tinasha was not at all bothered about her condition.
"We told the medical officer that she seemed to be motionless and her pupils were not moving.
"The medical officer replied that it was a side effect of the medicine and there was nothing to be worried about," Ramesh said.
Uthayabavani, who was present at her daughter's bedside the whole time, said the medical officer did not even check her at all.
"The medical officer stood from afar and assessed her. He said that he assumed that she looked fine from her breathing," she said.
'Physician-in-charge not aware of happenings'
Ironically, Ramesh said the physician who was in charge of Tinasha was not aware at all of the happenings until she was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after her resuscitation.
"The
physician specialist in charge of Tinasha was not aware of what was
happening. No one told her anything, even the medicine administered was
not approved by the specialist," he said.
The grief-stricken parents said they had a couple of meetings with the hospital administration, including its chief executive, but all to no avail.
Ramesh said the hospital even advised that not much could be done about Tinasha's condition and requested them to take her off life support.
"They told us that we were prolonging the agony of the child if we wanted her on the machine. They offered to provide an ambulance for us to take Tinasha home and let her pass away in a natural state," he agonisingly added.
Bukit Gasing assemblyperson Rajiv Rishyakaran (left),
who organised the press conference. said what happened was indeed
tragic and the hospital's standard operating procedure (SOP) was
doubtful.
"This is a very tragic incident that should not happen to anyone. We still have not got any satisfactory answer from the hospital’s side.
"The SOP of the hospital is questionable. The hospital should not cover-up, it should share everything with the family," he told reporters.
Assunta Hospital has denied any negligence on the part of its medical staff and claimed that procedure was followed.
Hospital: No negligence in teen's death
KAMLES KUMAR is a trainee reporter at Malaysiakini.
Tinasha, 14, who was suffering from fever, was taken to Assunta Hospital on Sunday night by her mother, I Uthayabavani.
"She was admitted at the emergency ward around 8.30pm. Around midnight, my daughter complained of headaches and felt nauseous."A nurse then administered a medication, on the instruction of a medical officer present," Uthayabavani (right) recalled, in between sobs.
The 46-year-old housewife believes her daughter could have been given the wrong medication.
Around 5am, Tinasha suffered a cardiac arrest and her oxygen levels dropped drastically, forcing the medical staff to perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and she was put on life support.
Tinasha's uncle, I Ramesh (left),
who was also present at the press conference, described his niece as an
active teenager, who participated in various NGO activities."Only last week, she was practising for a school concert.
"She wore a mock crown on her head, and was running around the house and showing it to everyone," he said, unable to hold back his tears.
Uthayabavani and her husband, B Ganesan Rao, a taxi driver, have also filed a police report against the hospital.
The uncle also said the medical officer in charge of Tinasha was not at all bothered about her condition.
"We told the medical officer that she seemed to be motionless and her pupils were not moving.
"The medical officer replied that it was a side effect of the medicine and there was nothing to be worried about," Ramesh said.
Uthayabavani, who was present at her daughter's bedside the whole time, said the medical officer did not even check her at all.
"The medical officer stood from afar and assessed her. He said that he assumed that she looked fine from her breathing," she said.
'Physician-in-charge not aware of happenings'
Ironically, Ramesh said the physician who was in charge of Tinasha was not aware at all of the happenings until she was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after her resuscitation.
"The
physician specialist in charge of Tinasha was not aware of what was
happening. No one told her anything, even the medicine administered was
not approved by the specialist," he said.The grief-stricken parents said they had a couple of meetings with the hospital administration, including its chief executive, but all to no avail.
Ramesh said the hospital even advised that not much could be done about Tinasha's condition and requested them to take her off life support.
"They told us that we were prolonging the agony of the child if we wanted her on the machine. They offered to provide an ambulance for us to take Tinasha home and let her pass away in a natural state," he agonisingly added.
Bukit Gasing assemblyperson Rajiv Rishyakaran (left),
who organised the press conference. said what happened was indeed
tragic and the hospital's standard operating procedure (SOP) was
doubtful."This is a very tragic incident that should not happen to anyone. We still have not got any satisfactory answer from the hospital’s side.
"The SOP of the hospital is questionable. The hospital should not cover-up, it should share everything with the family," he told reporters.
Assunta Hospital has denied any negligence on the part of its medical staff and claimed that procedure was followed.
Hospital: No negligence in teen's death
KAMLES KUMAR is a trainee reporter at Malaysiakini.
Is gov't sweeping JCY riots under the carpet?
MTUC is disappointed with Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Wan Jaafar's statement in the Dewan Rakyat that industrial action taken by JCY foreign workers was due to misunderstanding among the foreign workers themselves, especially since this claim is not supported by any facts.
On Sep 4, 2014, we wrote to the Human Resources Ministry to hold a tripartite meeting to discuss the issues raised by JCY’s workers. However, despite several follow-up calls to the ministry, to date our request has fallen on deaf ears.
Our
Johor division officers on the ground, who have been following the case
closely with some of JCY’s migrant workers, have been informed by the
workers that their protest escalated when one of JCY’s staff provoked
them by throwing stones at the workers when they refused to engage in a
game of throwing stones at one another at their workplace at Kulaijaya.Initially a group of about 20 workers were forcefully moved to Kulaijaya for participating in the industrial action in Tebrau over the death of their coworker who had complained of having difficulty in breathing.
In Kulaijaya, they were forced to play a game of “volleyball with stones” as a form of punishment for taking part in the said incident.
'Management ignored concerns'
According to the workers, they resorted to industrial action as they were dissatisfied with the manner in which the management handled their grievances.
Their concerns regarding their health, work conditions, poor hostel facilities, calculation of overtime, not adhering to off days entitlement, unfair deductions in their salaries and low compensation for accident and injuries, were ignored by the management.
Furthermore,
the workers were also displeased with the attitude of the management,
such as for beating them for minor mistakes, and not treating them with
dignity and respect.The workers claimed that their concerns at the workplace worsened over the years and therefore they were left with no other option but to resort to industrial action.
Clearly the police had failed to address and neglected the issues concerning the workers at their workplace.
The police investigation only concentrated on one side of the incident.
This not only raises concerns on the confidence in and the credibility of the police investigation but also raises the issues of bias in the investigation process, especially in the absence of a transparent and independent inquiry.
On Nov 11, a separate meeting was held at the Johor Bahru Labour Department with JCY's management to discuss the repatriation process and unpaid salary for the 55 workers who were arrested.
MTUC was also informed that five out of 55 workers arrested have been wrongfully charged under Section 6(3) of the Immigration Act for entry into the country without proper documents, as all of them have valid work permits with JCY.
They were scheduled to return to their homeland after the clearance made at Immigration Department.
Unfortunately during the police raid this group of workers was picked up.
Permits expired during detention
At the time of arrest, these workers were documented but during the process of investigation their work permits expired. As such, they were charged under the Immigration offences.
MTUC has engaged the assistance of the Johor Bar Council to represent these workers.
Nevertheless
we are deeply concerned with the bureaucracy that is taking place in
amending the charge at the expense of these workers, who have been
detained since Sept 9, 2014.These workers did not take part in the industrial action as they were scheduled to return home after completing their contract with JCY.
MTUC is very concerned with the continuous lack of political will by the government in addressing the issues and concerns of migrant workers.
The Home Ministry should not shoot their mouth off without consulting all stakeholders especially when workers’ rights are adversely affected.
Internationally, Malaysia has been continuously criticised for forced labour practices especially as highlighted in the recent Verite report on the electronics industry. The government should no longer ignore this report.
MTUC urges the Human Resources Ministry to step in and take proactive measure in addressing these concerns.
MTUC urges the Human Resources Ministry not to delay any longer our proposal for a tripartite meeting to discuss JCY’s case.
N GOPAL KISHNAM is MTUC secretary-general.
Isma flays DAP's Malay MP over Umno link
Isma syura council chief Sharipuddin Ab Kadir described the Raub MP as a politician "who clings to other races for survival" and "earnestly attempts to please his masters to hold on to his position".
Sharipuddin also claimed that Ariff (right) was "bankrupt" in terms of knowledge and information."Accusing Isma of being an Umno tool with no evidence reveals the character of a cowardly politician. He cannot understand Isma’s struggle in total.
"He only sees Malays in the context of Umno whereas Isma champions the rights of Malays, the original inhabitants of this land, and rights enshrined in the federal constitution and social contract," he said.
Sharipuddin stressed that Isma’s struggle is not premised on political parties, especially Umno.
He was responding to the DAP lawmaker's call on Malays to reject Isma on the grounds that it is working towards achieving an Umno objective.
Continuing his salvo, Sharipuddin (left) said the accusation came from a "cheap politician" who is unaware of his roots."As a Malay and Muslim, Ariff should reveal what is his agenda for the Malays and Islam as an MP, as well as his party’s agenda for the Malays and Islam in Malaysia.
"It would not be wrong to say he was chosen as DAP MP for the process of diluting his Malay and Muslim identities because his party will never champion these rights," he added.
Sultan wants all illegals out of Pahang, says report
Following his outburst against palace insiders who had issued “yellow letters” allowing illegal land
clearing in Cameron Highlands, Pahang Sultan Ahmad Shah (pic) now says all illegal immigrants in the state should be deported.“You had better tell these undesirable workers we mean business. They can no longer encroach on Pahang without permission,” he was quoted as saying by The Star today.
“We must not allow them to wander around, not only in Cameron Highlands, (but) in other districts in Pahang as well.”
He added in the report that there was a plan to get rid of all illegal foreign workers in the state, expressing confidence that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak would be able to help.
“My prime minister is from Pahang. I will appeal to him personally on behalf of my people,” he was quoted as saying.
Sultan Ahmad Shah also praised Najib as a “working prime minister” who was doing a good job.
The sultan’s statement comes in the midst of a crackdown on illegal immigrants in the state, following the event of mudslides and floods on November 5, which saw five dead and another five injured.
Illegal land clearing is believed to have caused the mudslides in Ringlet and Bertam Valley.
Yesterday, the Pahang ruler said the state government would work hard to resolve the issue of illegal immigrants not only in Cameron Highlands but also other districts in the state.
Sultan Ahmad Shah also said the state needed Putrajaya’s aid as it did not have enough resources to deal with the problem alone. – November 21, 2014.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/sultan-wants-all-illegals-out-of-pahang-says-report#sthash.J8kPqCNe.dpuf
Special unit to handle insults to Islam
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Jamil Khir Baharom said the unit would focus on the new media.
“Jakim and Jain would convey any information concerning insults to Islam to the MCMC to stop it from being spread further.
“In 2013, a total of 38 websites which insulted Islam were blocked by MCMC,” he said in reply to an oral question from Mohd Fasiah Mohd Fakeh (BN-Sabak Bernam) in the Dewan Rakyat, Thursday.
Fasiah wanted to know what steps had been taken by the government to block seditious actions, and insults to Islam and Prophet Muhammad among non-Muslims, leading to tensions in society.
Asylum seekers pay RM3,500 for UNHCR cards in Malaysia!
UN body suspends all resettlement of refugees and launches a probe into fraudulent practices.
FMT
KUALA LUMPUR: An Al-Jazeera investigative report for its Asian current affairs programme, 101 East, has apparently discovered that the issuance of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards in Malaysia, supposedly free, has degenerated into a racket.
The going rate, allegedly created by UNHCR officials who act as middlemen, is in the RM1,700 to RM3,500 range for each card.
These cards, according to senior presenter Steve Chao in a media update, are being sold to those who want to jump the queue.
Also, the queue jumpers included about 3,000 asylum seekers who allegedly used false identities to secure early interviews with UNHCR staff to determine their refugee status. “About 1,000 of them have since been resettled in countries like the US, Canada and Australia,” alleged Chao.
Chao’s exclusive, Malaysia’s Unwanted, aired on the Qatar-based news broadcaster’s channel on Astro.
Chao went undercover, posing as a priest, to check on the Immigration Department’s detention centre in Kuala Lumpur. This followed a tip-off from inside sources in UNHCR that the UN body, at one time, had suspended all resettlement of refugees and launched a probe into fraudulent practices.
UNHCR head Richard Towle, who confirmed the suspension and probe in a media update, added that “if a complaint is brought forward, it is investigated by an independent body out of Geneva”.
KUALA LUMPUR: An Al-Jazeera investigative report for its Asian current affairs programme, 101 East, has apparently discovered that the issuance of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards in Malaysia, supposedly free, has degenerated into a racket.
The going rate, allegedly created by UNHCR officials who act as middlemen, is in the RM1,700 to RM3,500 range for each card.
These cards, according to senior presenter Steve Chao in a media update, are being sold to those who want to jump the queue.
Also, the queue jumpers included about 3,000 asylum seekers who allegedly used false identities to secure early interviews with UNHCR staff to determine their refugee status. “About 1,000 of them have since been resettled in countries like the US, Canada and Australia,” alleged Chao.
Chao’s exclusive, Malaysia’s Unwanted, aired on the Qatar-based news broadcaster’s channel on Astro.
Chao went undercover, posing as a priest, to check on the Immigration Department’s detention centre in Kuala Lumpur. This followed a tip-off from inside sources in UNHCR that the UN body, at one time, had suspended all resettlement of refugees and launched a probe into fraudulent practices.
UNHCR head Richard Towle, who confirmed the suspension and probe in a media update, added that “if a complaint is brought forward, it is investigated by an independent body out of Geneva”.
Malaysia on US watch list for ‘forced labour’
“It could be that a small and isolated group of companies did not fully comply with international labour requirements and practices.”
FMT
GEORGE TOWN: Malaysia risks being placed on a US watch list from December 1 for the export of electronic products following allegations that it uses forced labour in the electronic industry. The net effect of being placed on the watch list is that there would be restrictions on exports to the US.
The allegations on forced labour are contained in the Verite Report, funded by the US Labour Department. The report, released in September 2014, alleged that forced labour makes up 28 per cent of workers in the electronics industry in the country.
“The International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) and the Human Resources Ministry should work together to rebut the allegations published in the recent Verite report,” said Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in an immediate reaction.
“The export of electronic products to Europe may also be affected, as Europe normally follows in the footsteps of the US.”
Lim alleged that there had been a delay in responding to the threat as Miti had passed the buck to the Human Resources Ministry. “Invest Penang has addressed some of the issues with the US authorities, but it was only a state body with limited powers.”
About half of Malaysia’s exports of electronic products are from Penang.
“It could be that a small and isolated group of companies did not fully comply with international labour requirements and practices,” said Heng Huck Lee, the chairman of the Association of Free Industrial Zone Penang Companies.
“The Malaysian authorities should act quickly against these companies and gather evidence and data to prove that the majority of the electronics companies are not engaging forced labour.”
Forced labour takes different forms, including debt bondage, trafficking and other forms of modern slavery. The victims are the most vulnerable: women and girls forced into prostitution, migrants trapped in debt bondage, and sweatshop or farm workers kept there by clearly illegal tactics and paid little or nothing.
GEORGE TOWN: Malaysia risks being placed on a US watch list from December 1 for the export of electronic products following allegations that it uses forced labour in the electronic industry. The net effect of being placed on the watch list is that there would be restrictions on exports to the US.
The allegations on forced labour are contained in the Verite Report, funded by the US Labour Department. The report, released in September 2014, alleged that forced labour makes up 28 per cent of workers in the electronics industry in the country.
“The International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) and the Human Resources Ministry should work together to rebut the allegations published in the recent Verite report,” said Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in an immediate reaction.
“The export of electronic products to Europe may also be affected, as Europe normally follows in the footsteps of the US.”
Lim alleged that there had been a delay in responding to the threat as Miti had passed the buck to the Human Resources Ministry. “Invest Penang has addressed some of the issues with the US authorities, but it was only a state body with limited powers.”
About half of Malaysia’s exports of electronic products are from Penang.
“It could be that a small and isolated group of companies did not fully comply with international labour requirements and practices,” said Heng Huck Lee, the chairman of the Association of Free Industrial Zone Penang Companies.
“The Malaysian authorities should act quickly against these companies and gather evidence and data to prove that the majority of the electronics companies are not engaging forced labour.”
Forced labour takes different forms, including debt bondage, trafficking and other forms of modern slavery. The victims are the most vulnerable: women and girls forced into prostitution, migrants trapped in debt bondage, and sweatshop or farm workers kept there by clearly illegal tactics and paid little or nothing.
All Malaysians should be concerned that Malaysia has shot up to the Top 50 countries under Global Terrorism Index when we should strive to be one of the 40 countries with no terrorism problems
Kiwanis Club of Skudai, like Kiwanis Clubs all over Malaysia, is to be commended for the noble motto to serve the children of the world.
All Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, must be united in a common Malaysian Dream to make the country a better place for our children where there is justice, freedom, unity, harmony and prosperity for all.
I have many differences with the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak but I agree with his call for the Global Movement of Moderates, which he has articulated in international forums including thrice in four years in his speeches to the United Nations General Assembly.
However, Najib seems to be waging a lose battle in his call for moderation to oust extremism in Malaysia.
I call on all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, to fully endorse moderation and reject extremism in all aspects of their lives, for Malaysia must seek to be a model of multi-racial and multi-religious tolerance, harmony and understanding in an increasingly troubled world.
This has now become even more urgent with Malaysia shooting to the top 50 countries in the Global Terrorism Index 2014, rising from 91st in the 2012 Global Terrorism Index to 48th spot, when Malaysia should be one of the 40 countries in the world with no terrorism problems so as to show-case our multi-racial and multi-religious harmony, tolerance and understanding.
Recent years have seen racial and religious intolerance, hatred and extremism raising their ugly heads in the country, and this should be the concern of all Malaysians because such intolerance, hatred and extremism will spell a future of conflict and disaster for our children.
Malaysians of good sense and goodwill, who want the best for our children and our country, should not give room or opportunity for the extremists and merchants of hatred and intolerance to spread their evil teachings but should instead unite in pursuit of a common Malaysian Dream to make Malaysia a better model of multi-racial and multi-religious harmony and diversity through the path of moderation!
(Speech at the Kiwanis Club of Skudai’s 13th Grand Installation and Annual Charity Dinner at Restoran Pekin Sutera, Skudai on Thursday, 20th November 2014 at 8 pm)
Public caning a no-no, say former judges
Malay Mail
by IDA NADIRAH
by IDA NADIRAH
PETALING
JAYA, Nov 21 — Former judges said caning of young offenders in an open
courtroom was unheard of during their days on the Bench.
Former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Shaikh Daud Ismail he had never come across or meted such punishments.
He
also questioned why the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court had called Mohamed
Shaznee Jahn Mohamed Yasin, 19, and Redzohaan Abdullah, 20, who had been
found guilty of gang robbery, as they had already been sentenced to 18
months and 24 months in jail, respectively.
Shaznee
Jahn received seven strokes, and Redzohaan eight, in front of prison
officers, a medical doctor, and those in the court gallery, including
reporters.
“If they had been sentenced several months ago, what was the purpose of the duo returning to the courtroom?” Shaikh Daud asked.
“Why wasn’t the caning done in prison as the offenders were serving time?”
Shaikh
Daud said there were numerous grey areas on why the caning was carried
out within the court’s premises before a public audience.
“The court should have explained to the offenders if the caning was done as a replacement for their jail terms,” he said.
Retired
Court of Appeal judge Datuk Low Hop Bing said the caning should have
been carried out by the Prisons Department within the prison compound.
“It is unusual for it to take place inside the court and it was not proper for it to be done in public,” he said.
Low
said even if the offenders had not appealed and were satisfied with the
sentence, the caning should have been executed in prison itself.
A former High Court judge, who declined to be named, said he could not recall such occurrence taking place during his time.
He
said if the High Court, which was higher in authority than the Sessions
Court, suspected something amiss in this case, they could retrieve the
case papers and rectify it.
“The High Court could inform the Sessions Court that what had taken place was not right,” he said.
Muhyiddin Wants Classical Literature Works Spread Using Multimedia, Digital Technology
KUALA
LUMPUR, Nov 21 (Bernama) -- Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has called for
Malay classical literature works to be spread wide and far using
multimedia and digital technology.The Deputy Prime Minister said this way, it would make these literature works more attractive and fresh.
He said it would also attract the interest of people of all ages and from all races to read and appreciate them.
"Getting to know and understanding these works will help in forming character that is truly Malaysian," he said at the prize-giving ceremony for the "Sastera Perdana Malaysia" awards organised by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) here, Friday night.
Also present were Deputy Education Minister Datuk Mary Yap Kain Ching, Education Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Madinah Mohamad and DBP director-general, Datuk Awang Sariyan.
Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, also said intellectual works in Bahasa Melayu should also be accorded the same recognition as "Hadiah Sastera Perdana Malaysia".
DBP's effort along this line for works in science and technology, for which he presented awards last month, was a good start, he said.
Apart from this, he said experts and men of letters in the Malay language also should be accorded due recognition.
Friday, 21 November 2014
Six more independent schools in East London 'probed over links to Islamic extremism' after CoE institution put in special measures
- Pupils at school in Stepney, east London, 'exposed to Islamic extremism'
- Inspectors discovered girls and boys were segregated in the playground
- YouTube channel created by an Islamic society was not checked by staff
- Leading state school will be put into special measures by Ofsted today
Six more independent Muslims schools are being probed after a Church of England institution was put in special measures - amid claims that pupils have been exposed to Islamic extremism.
Inspectors visiting Sir John Cass’s Foundation and Redcoat Church of England Secondary School in Stepney, east London, discovered girls and boys were being segregated in the playground.
They also found an Islamic society set up by sixth formers had posted links on its Facebook page to hardline Islamist preachers. A YouTube channel created by the society was not checked by staff.
Tomorrow, inspection reports into six other independent faith schools in Tower Hamlets - all reported to be linked to the Muslim faith - will also be published.
And the Sir John Cass school will be criticised in an inspection report by the watchdog for failing to safeguard pupils from extremism.
The full report, which was partly leaked to a newspaper, will be published by Ofsted tomorrow alongside an advisory note to Education Secretary Nicky Morgan detailing the inspectors’ concerns.
The school, which has failed its inspection, is the first institution outside Birmingham to fail on such a safeguarding issue since the so-called Trojan Horse plot was uncovered.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2841916/Islamic-extremism-rife-CofE-school-East-London-institution-special-measures-inspectors-discovered-pupils-segregated-sixth-formers-posted-links-hardline-preachers-html
Kenya police find explosives in mosque raids
More than 150 suspected of ties to al-Qaeda-affiliated-al-Shabab arrested as arms and bombs seized in Mombasa mosques.
Al Jazeera
Kenyan police have found explosives after a series of raids on three mosques this week in Mombasa and arrested more than 150 people suspected of being supporters of al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabab.
Richard Ngatia, a local police chief, said investigators on Wednesday found a grenade and three machetes at Mombasa's Mina mosque, while two 10-litre petrol bombs and a bomb detonator were uncovered at Swafaa mosque.
Police raided two mosques on Monday, seizing weapons and anti-government literature that they said was evidence of militant activity.
Police had arrested 376 people during the raids, which started on Sunday, but 91 were subsequently released for lack of evidence. Prosecutors said 158 would be charged with being members of al-Shabaab.
Police said they were still considering what to do with the other detainees.
"We have recovered a hand grenade, some petrol bombs, we recovered a bomb detonator, we recovered a booster, we also recovered paraphernalia associated with training in jihadism," Ngatia said.
Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said in a statement late on Tuesday that "houses of worship cannot and shall not be taken over by criminals or used for criminal activities, including terrorism".
He also said an al-Shabab flag had been found in one of the mosques.
Thirteen of those arrested on Monday have been charged with possession of explosive materials and pleaded not guilty. Others held in the mass arrests were still being questioned.
Kenya has boosted its crackdown on armed groups blamed for a series of attacks in the capital Nairobi as well as along its Indian Ocean coastline.
Al-Shabab fighters killed at least 67 people in a gun and grenade raid on a Nairobi shopping mall last September, saying it was revenge for attacks on its fighters by Kenyan troops in Somalia.
Insecurity plagues East Africa's biggest economy, and attacks in the past year on the coast and in the capital have prompted Western nations to issue travel warnings, hitting the tourism industry, which is a big source of hard currency.
Kenyan police have found explosives after a series of raids on three mosques this week in Mombasa and arrested more than 150 people suspected of being supporters of al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabab.
Richard Ngatia, a local police chief, said investigators on Wednesday found a grenade and three machetes at Mombasa's Mina mosque, while two 10-litre petrol bombs and a bomb detonator were uncovered at Swafaa mosque.
Police raided two mosques on Monday, seizing weapons and anti-government literature that they said was evidence of militant activity.
Police had arrested 376 people during the raids, which started on Sunday, but 91 were subsequently released for lack of evidence. Prosecutors said 158 would be charged with being members of al-Shabaab.
Police said they were still considering what to do with the other detainees.
"We have recovered a hand grenade, some petrol bombs, we recovered a bomb detonator, we recovered a booster, we also recovered paraphernalia associated with training in jihadism," Ngatia said.
Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku said in a statement late on Tuesday that "houses of worship cannot and shall not be taken over by criminals or used for criminal activities, including terrorism".
He also said an al-Shabab flag had been found in one of the mosques.
Thirteen of those arrested on Monday have been charged with possession of explosive materials and pleaded not guilty. Others held in the mass arrests were still being questioned.
Kenya has boosted its crackdown on armed groups blamed for a series of attacks in the capital Nairobi as well as along its Indian Ocean coastline.
Al-Shabab fighters killed at least 67 people in a gun and grenade raid on a Nairobi shopping mall last September, saying it was revenge for attacks on its fighters by Kenyan troops in Somalia.
Insecurity plagues East Africa's biggest economy, and attacks in the past year on the coast and in the capital have prompted Western nations to issue travel warnings, hitting the tourism industry, which is a big source of hard currency.
Al Jazeera zooms in on alleged abuse of refugees in Malaysian detention centres
Malaysia's treatment of refugees has come under the spotlight again following an Al Jazeera news report which highlights the horrendous conditions and exploitation of refugees in prison as well as corrupt dealings by local United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) staff.
In a yet-to-be-aired 101 East programme, titled "Malaysia's Unwanted", senior presenter and reporter Steve Chao went undercover as a priest to gain access into the "notorious" detention centres where refugees who are arrested are placed.
According to UNHCR, there are some 150,000 refugees who have fled from their home countries to Malaysia, hoping to be relocated to a third country.
However, Malaysia, which has recently been elected as one of the UN Security Council non-permanent members, has refused to sign the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol to recognise the status of refugees.
Therefore, refugees are not allowed to work or even go to school, which has prompted them to set up their own community centres for their children's education.
They can also be detained at any time and placed into the already overcrowded detention centres where Chao found them living in squalid conditions.
The report showed Chao's encounters with dozens of refugees inside these facilities, many of whom are chained and handcuffed and others who have not eaten for days.
He also found women who were hauled in just hours after giving birth and children, which is a violation of the UN Convention on Child Rights.
Refugees are kept in their cramped cells all day long and some revealed to Chao that they had been forced to strip naked in front of others and are then beaten, slapped and kicked while one former detainee tells the Al Jazeera journalist that he had been subject to abuse with a steel pole.
Although Malaysian authorities have admitted that abuse cases do happen in the detention centres, Putrajaya has maintained that the conditions are better than in other countries.
Chao also unearthed an illegal trade in UNHCR registration cards, headed by a local representative.
"All the money from this activity goes into the pockets of some top guys in the UN. We have been doing this with him for a long time. We are thieves, and we look for thieves above us," a UN translator was quoted as saying.
The UNHCR mission in Malaysia have been overwhelmed with refugees seeking help as more than 1,000 refugees and asylum seekers come to their office every day.
“We’re like an accident and emergency hospital, not a general hospital. In an accident and emergency hospital you make tough decisions all the time about triaging and prioritising who is the neediest of the people in an already needy group of people," Richard Towle, who leads the UNHCR mission, said. – November 20, 2014.
* 101 East’s ‘Malaysia's Unwanted’ airs from Thursday 20 November at 2230 GMT (6.30am Friday, Kuala Kumpur).
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/al-jazeera-zooms-in-on-alleged-abuse-of-refugees-in-malaysian-detention-cen#sthash.Uih3nfhs.dpuf
It’s all smiles for Dr M, Khairy at Le Tour de Langkawi event
All seems to be going well between former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin when both shared a stage in Putrajaya today.
Once thought to be bitter rivals, Dr Mahathir and Khairy also appeared to be on the same page and were spotted exchanging smiles when asked about the controversy surrounding Malaysia's sovereign fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Khairy appeared reluctant to be drawn into the hotly debated issue when reporters posed a question if 1MDB would be discussed in the upcoming Umno general assembly.
Both just looked at each other and smiled.
"Next question on Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL)..." he told the reporters today during the launch of a new LTdL logo at the Perdana Leadership Foundation.
Dr Mahathir and Khairy were always seen to be frequently having different opinions when issues arose, which was said to have been ongoing since Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was prime minister.
Khairy is Abdullah's son-in-law.
In late September, Khairy said he disagreed with the former Umno president's opinion that the party needed to be open to criticism.
He said that Umno always accepted criticism and party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak also accepted dissenting views.
Dr Mahathir, in his blog post, stated that Umno was a party that practised self-censorship, where silencing opposing views and instilling fear of speaking out were accepted.
He added that the Najib’s administration and its policies reflected the “yes-man” culture.
In August, when Mahathir launched a scathing attack on Najib, Khairy then decided to remain tight-lipped on the matter.
"About the comments or criticism by Mahathir against our prime minister, I take the stance that is better for me not to comment as I do not want Mahathir to misunderstand.
"Because, from before, I have been public enemy number one for Mahathir," he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir today refused to comment on or name the ministers who sent their children to private schools.
"I have to have my views on this issue. I think there is no need to explain anymore."
Dr Mahathir yesterday, when writing about Putrajaya’s education policy and the gap between the rich and the poor, said some ministers sent their children to private and international schools which used English as the teaching medium. – November 20, 2014.
- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/its-all-smiles-for-dr-m-khairy-at-le-tour-de-langkawi-event#sthash.oHDTVJtv.dpuf
Steer clear of sensitive issues, delegates warned
He said even personal problems among members should not be debated during the assembly.
"We should not touch on personal problems, sensitive race issues and sensitive problems between Umno members.
"They can do what they want in accordance to the guidelines given by Hishammuddin Hussein, as the vice-president in charge of these matters," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.
Umno would be holding its 65th annual general assembly from Nov 25-29.
Speaking
at the Putra World Trade Centre today, he added that although the
results of the recent general election did not exactly favour the ruling
coalition, all Umno delegates are advised to treat other races as
“friends”.Tengku Adnan, who is also the federal territories minister said while Umno is known as a party which champions the rights of the Malays, other races still consider it capable of ensuring peace and development for the country.
"Fundamentally, this party is about championing the rights of the Malays. We fight mainly for the interest, religion of the Malays, and (also) for the country.
"However, we were taught by our forefathers that we must live in harmony with other races in Malaysia. That is what we are emphasising.
"Umno members must realise, we understand the anxiety the Malays are facing when the results of the last election showed that other races no longer supported BN.
"And when you don’t support BN, they (Umno members) take it to mean the non-Malays do not support Umno," he said.
The minister stressed that there is no need to fret and be anxious as all the other races are considered as "friends".
"Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans...they are all Malaysian citizens," he added.
Bala's wife can't sue Najib, Rosmah, court told
"There must be a seal order from the court before she filed the legal proceeding," said lawyer Hafarizam Harun (below), who represented both Najib and Rosmah.
There was no letter of administrative from the first plaintiff AS Selvi, who filed the RM1.9 million suit on both her personal capacity and as representative of the estate and lawful widow of Balasubramaniam, he said.
He said it was doubtful whether Selvi can act on behalf of Bala, or if she can do so in her personal capacity.The plaintiff claimed that a conspiracy had forced her family into exile, he said, but, if such a conspiracy had existed, it would only involve Bala and not Selvi
"On the locus standi of personal capacity, if there is an agreement to conspire…it was not designed toward the plaintiff, and resulted damages to her," he said during a submission to strike out the trial.
The court fixed Dec 11 to deliver the decision.
According to Hafarizam, there is no reasonable cause of action given, as the plaintiff did not state how Najib and Rosmah were involved in the conspiracy, leading to Bala retracting his first statutory declaration (SD) and later forced to go into exile.
Special circumstances
Meanwhile, Americk Sidhu, the counsel for Bala’s family said Selvi is entitled to file the suit under the special circumstances, even if she does not have an administrative letter empowering her to represent Bala.
In this case, Americk said, the family has to file the suit before the expiry six years period from July 3, 2014, the date Bala revealed his first SD, he said.
The first SD revealed in July 3, 2008 linked then Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to murdered Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.
However, Bala (left) abruptly disclaimed the SD on the next day through a second SD at a hastily convened press conference.He was subsequently bundled out of the country together with his family and was never heard of again until the following year.
Selvi and her three children have filed the suit following the discovery of what had taken place on the night of July 3, and morning of July 4, 2008.
They also named two of Najib's brothers, Ahmad Johari and Nazim, senior lawyer Cecil Abraham and his son, Sunil Abraham, who is also a lawyer, as respondents.
Other respondents included businessman Deepak Jaikishan, commissioner of oaths Zainal Abidin Muhayat and lawyer M Arunampalam.
Other counsels included the plaintif's lawyer Manjeet Singh Dhillon, Najib's lawyer Nazeera Hanifa and Choo Shi Jin, Ahmad Johari's lawyer Dhinesh Bhaskaran and Denise Tan, Nazim's lawyer R Archana and B Thangaraj and Darryl Goon who represented Cecil and Sunil.
Deepak was represented by Gabriel Daniel, while Arulampalam was represented by Chong Lan Shin. Zainal Abiddin was represented by Satha Ruban.
Equally responsible
All the respondents also applied for a strike out, arguing that their clients did was nothing illegal in drafting the second SD, arranging for Bala to appear in the press conference and speaking on his behalf to the media.
They also took the ground that the statement of claim was based on hearsay and ought to be struck out as a trial is a waste of time and abuse of court procedure.
They tried to individually show that they are innocent and had no part in forcing Bala to go into exile.
However, Americk argued that each had played their roles and could be held equally responsible.Americk (right) even went on to name few offenses which had took place, including criminal conspiracy, threatening, abetment, fabricating and using false evidence, wrongful confinement, wrongful confinement in secret, abducting, kidnapping to foreign country and expulsion.
This suit warranted a full trial to be heard, he said.
Meanwhile, Selvi denied that she was seeking publicity as claimed by Najib through his affidavit.
"I categorically deny this assertion," she said.
To prove her point, she said, she submitted a letter she wrote to the respondents offering to consent to a gag order if an early settlement is reached.
Vell Paari: Writing on the wall for MIC boss
Vell, who is the son of former MIC president S Samy Vellu, said Palanivel is mentally unfit for duty as environment minister and also unleashed a deluge of accusations against the latter's failures as party chief.
"We
in MIC have long suspected that Palanivel has been suffering from a
medical condition that unfortunately renders him unable to discharge his
duties effectively," said Vell (left) in a statement today."Even when the sultan visited Cameron Highlands yesterday and during the previous incident, the MP was not present. This a violation of protocol and respect accorded to the ruler.
"It is common knowledge that the MIC president is absent minded and experiences bouts of severe fatigue.
"His condition had given room to some people to influence as well as exploit the president and dictate the direction of the party.
"This must end. The writing is on the wall," he said in a strong statement.
Vell said the sultan's remarks today were "most disheartening".
"Perhaps the time has come for the MIC president to retire from politics.
"This is not a plot to oust him but a case of simply stating the facts. And I am certain that my view is shared by many in the party," he said.
Najib's intervention regretted
Vell said his party had wanted to elect its president previously when his father Samy Vellu stepped down, "but the prime minister had intervened and decided otherwise".
"The PM's intention of preserving stability was noble but it has now become a problem," he said.Vell warned that the party was in "dire need of rejuvenation and a dynamic leadership" to keep the party "relevant" in the face of the challenge that the country's changing political landscape poses.
"Some are even claiming of another major swing in Indian votes in the next GE towards the opposition and this includes disgruntled MIC members themselves."
Umno-linked daily Berita Harian today published the sultan's scathing criticism of Palanivel's inaction in the face of repeated landslides in his constituency, admonishing him of showing up only during election time.
Malaysian Indians Progressive Association (Mipas) secretary general SBarathidasan however said it was unfair to solely blame Palanivel.
He pointed out that land issues are the state government's responsibility and that the Pahang menteri besar should be answerable.
The tragedy has however seen a fierce blame game among members of the BN state's administration, dragging in even the Pahang palace.
Police demand list of Zunar's online customers
In the email that was sent by MOLPay Sdn Bhd to the cartoonist, whose real name is Zulkiflee Anuar Ulhaque, it stated that they received a formal letter from Bukit Aman to disclose the list of customers.
“PDRM has sent a formal request for MOLPay Sdn Bhd to provide the online payment receipt of customers who have purchased the said book via your website www.zunar.my in which MOLPay has no choice but to furnish them with the requested details,” the email from MOLPay stated.
The book in question is "Komplot Penjarakan Anwar" (Plot to jail Anwar) which the police alleged of containing seditious material.
However, Zunar’s lawyer Latheefa Koya (left) said that the police in their probe today told her client that his books did not contain anything incriminating.The police are probing Zunar under Section 8(2) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948, and Section 500 of the Penal Code after two separate police reports were made against him.
According to Zunar’s lawyer Latheefa, the police stated that the first report was regarding the confiscation of his books at Putrajaya during the recent opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy trial on November 6.
Latheefa also said that the second report which probes him for the Sedition Act 1948 was made later at the HS Lee police station and was lodged by a policeman.
The second report does not specify what he is being probed for, said Latheefa.
KAMLES KUMAR is a trainee reporter with Malaysiakini.
Strip citizenship of those not well-versed in Malay, Johor rep says
Datuk Dr Shahruddin Salleh (BN-Jorak) (pic) said many students were not able to master the language and this was even prevalent among the Malays.
“Even my own neighbour whose father and mother are Malays but because their child goes to international school, the child is unable to converse in Malay,” he said adding that the situation was prevalent in the vernacular schools.
Dr Shahruddin added that students were now more interested in mastering English and do not take the learning of Malay seriously.
He said the use of the Mandarin and Tamil by teachers in vernacular schools was another reason for students being weak in Malay, adding that the teachers were also not well-versed in Malay.
Dr Shahruddin was interrupted by Tan Hong Pin (DAP-Mengkibol) who cited the standing orders but speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Aziz managed to defuse the situation.
Assemblyman Ali Mazat Salleh (BN-Bukit Batu) later suggested that the state government use Jawi in all its government documents statewide.
Entrepreneur, Cooperative Development, Education and Information committee chairman Md Jais Sarday shot down the suggestions saying the government has no plan to implement them.
At a press conference, Dr Boo Cheng Hau (DAP-Skudai) said Pakatan Rakyat would meet to refer Dr Shahruddin to the privileges committee.
Ministry to probe school in tudung incident
The headmaster of the primary school has denied that a 12-year old student from Sabah at his school was forced to wear the tudung.
FMT
KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry, through the Negri Sembilan Education Department, will call up a primary school headmaster and others in the state who were allegedly party to an incident where a non-Muslim student from Sabah was forced to don the tudung and participate in a nasyid group and prayer sessions.
This assurance was given by Deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan in Parliament in response to a question from Alor Star MP Gooi Hsiao-Leung. The Deputy Minister stressed that it was not the Education Ministry’s policy to force Islamic education or programmes on non-Muslims students.
“Based on what you raised earlier, I will take note and will conduct an indepth investigation into the case. I will investigate and give a report,” said Kamalanathan.
Gooi told the media at the Parliament lobby “the deputy minister said the matter will be investigated, and we will continue to press for answers.”
“The matter was serious and the Ministry should take appropriate action,” said Gooi. “Kamalanathan, during the question-and-answer session, was committed to investigate the matter.”
The headmaster of the primary school in Negri Sembilan, a Yunus Ismail, has since denied in a media update that a 12-year old student from Sabah at his school was forced to wear the tudung and participate in a nasyid group and also join a Muslim prayer session at a camp she had to attend.
Apparently, the school with an enrollment of nearly 500 students has only seven non-Muslims.
“She wore the tudung willingly. We do not force our non-Muslim students,” Yunus claimed. “The matter was settled two weeks ago.”
Yunus, who did not reveal how the matter was settled except for saying that he met with the parents of the girl at the centre of a growing storm, alleged that some teachers at the school were not happy with the tudung incident and were trying to make it into “a big issue”.
It was learnt that most parents of students at the school worked in nearby oil palm estates. Generally, they had very little education and were very poor.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry, through the Negri Sembilan Education Department, will call up a primary school headmaster and others in the state who were allegedly party to an incident where a non-Muslim student from Sabah was forced to don the tudung and participate in a nasyid group and prayer sessions.
This assurance was given by Deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan in Parliament in response to a question from Alor Star MP Gooi Hsiao-Leung. The Deputy Minister stressed that it was not the Education Ministry’s policy to force Islamic education or programmes on non-Muslims students.
“Based on what you raised earlier, I will take note and will conduct an indepth investigation into the case. I will investigate and give a report,” said Kamalanathan.
Gooi told the media at the Parliament lobby “the deputy minister said the matter will be investigated, and we will continue to press for answers.”
“The matter was serious and the Ministry should take appropriate action,” said Gooi. “Kamalanathan, during the question-and-answer session, was committed to investigate the matter.”
The headmaster of the primary school in Negri Sembilan, a Yunus Ismail, has since denied in a media update that a 12-year old student from Sabah at his school was forced to wear the tudung and participate in a nasyid group and also join a Muslim prayer session at a camp she had to attend.
Apparently, the school with an enrollment of nearly 500 students has only seven non-Muslims.
“She wore the tudung willingly. We do not force our non-Muslim students,” Yunus claimed. “The matter was settled two weeks ago.”
Yunus, who did not reveal how the matter was settled except for saying that he met with the parents of the girl at the centre of a growing storm, alleged that some teachers at the school were not happy with the tudung incident and were trying to make it into “a big issue”.
It was learnt that most parents of students at the school worked in nearby oil palm estates. Generally, they had very little education and were very poor.
People’s Petition on Sedition Act submitted to Speaker
“The 3005 signatures collected clearly shows where the people of Malaysia stand on this issue. The collection of signatures continues.”
FMT
KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia has received a People’s Petition on the Sedition Act, carrying more than the minimum 3,000 signatures, calling on Parliament to bring up the matter on Monday 24 November i.e. three days before it ends this session.
Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad, representing Gerakan Hapus Akta Hasutan (GHAH), disclosed the matter at a media conference at the Parliament lobby.
GHAH will also gather all petitioners at Padang Merbok in Kuala Lumpur at 10 am. Together, the petitioners will march to Parliament, and demand their right to enter the House as petitioners and to have the People’s Petition raised and debated in Parliament.
“The People’s Petition has been served, appealing to the august Dewan to urge the Federal government to repeal the Sedition Act of 1948 and to drop all charges made under the Act,” reiterated Khalid.
“The 3005 signatures collected clearly shows where the people of Malaysia stand on this issue. The collection of signatures continues.”
He stressed that the “pre-independence”, “draconian” Act was enacted by the “British colonialists to suppress the people’s voice”.
“The Act covers far and wide – limitless, which is why it is very easy to manipulate and abuse it,” said Khalid. “It is being misused in every possible way against those who voice out against the government, the nation’s leader, or governing party.”
“The Act is being used to criminalize those who simply offer a differing view to that of the government, including lawyers, academicians, and civilians”.
Subang MP R. Sivarasah chipped in: “The new colonists have taken over by continuing to use the same old law to suppress and control.”
Amnesty International, Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO), Bersih, SUARAM, and Empower representatives were present during the media conference.
GHAH is a movement supported by 132 civil societies in Malaysia and spearheaded by SUARAM, Lawyers for Liberty, and IKRAM, among others. The objective of GHAH is to carry out a national campaign to bring to an end the Sedition Act 1948 which hangs over every Malaysian.
More than 40 individuals from different backgrounds and professions have been investigated and charged this year under the Sedition Act.
The crackdown was widely condemned by international and national institutions, including the United Nations Human Rights Council, Amnesty International, Article 19, Malaysian Bar Council, and SUHAKAM, among others.
KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia has received a People’s Petition on the Sedition Act, carrying more than the minimum 3,000 signatures, calling on Parliament to bring up the matter on Monday 24 November i.e. three days before it ends this session.
Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad, representing Gerakan Hapus Akta Hasutan (GHAH), disclosed the matter at a media conference at the Parliament lobby.
GHAH will also gather all petitioners at Padang Merbok in Kuala Lumpur at 10 am. Together, the petitioners will march to Parliament, and demand their right to enter the House as petitioners and to have the People’s Petition raised and debated in Parliament.
“The People’s Petition has been served, appealing to the august Dewan to urge the Federal government to repeal the Sedition Act of 1948 and to drop all charges made under the Act,” reiterated Khalid.
“The 3005 signatures collected clearly shows where the people of Malaysia stand on this issue. The collection of signatures continues.”
He stressed that the “pre-independence”, “draconian” Act was enacted by the “British colonialists to suppress the people’s voice”.
“The Act covers far and wide – limitless, which is why it is very easy to manipulate and abuse it,” said Khalid. “It is being misused in every possible way against those who voice out against the government, the nation’s leader, or governing party.”
“The Act is being used to criminalize those who simply offer a differing view to that of the government, including lawyers, academicians, and civilians”.
Subang MP R. Sivarasah chipped in: “The new colonists have taken over by continuing to use the same old law to suppress and control.”
Amnesty International, Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO), Bersih, SUARAM, and Empower representatives were present during the media conference.
GHAH is a movement supported by 132 civil societies in Malaysia and spearheaded by SUARAM, Lawyers for Liberty, and IKRAM, among others. The objective of GHAH is to carry out a national campaign to bring to an end the Sedition Act 1948 which hangs over every Malaysian.
More than 40 individuals from different backgrounds and professions have been investigated and charged this year under the Sedition Act.
The crackdown was widely condemned by international and national institutions, including the United Nations Human Rights Council, Amnesty International, Article 19, Malaysian Bar Council, and SUHAKAM, among others.
Man detained for burning Quran
Police say the man, whose personal details had not been ascertained, is being referred to the hospital for examination and treatment.
FMT
ALOR SETAR: Police detained a man over the discovery of several torn pages of the Quran believed to have been burned in a container at a food court near a market here, today.
Kedah acting police chief Zakaria Yusof said the man was arrested at a supermarket in Mergong here, at 3pm yesterday.
He said the man, whose personal details had not been ascertained, would be referred to the hospital for examination and treatment.
“According to traders at the market, the man was often seen wandering in the market area and was also always seen burning papers (near a food court),” he said in a statement.
Several torn pieces of pages from the Quran, which were burned, were found by a trader, after being informed by another individual, who then reported the matter to the police and the Kedah Islamic Religious Department.
Earlier, at a media conference this evening before the man was apprehended, Zakaria said police suspected the culprit who had burned the Quran could be a deranged man but investigation was still ongoing.
“It is hoped the public will not distort the issue for fear it will create communal misunderstanding.
“If it was done with malicious intention we will take action under Section 298A of the Penal Code, for committing an act that could lead to disintegration of harmony and unity, feeling of dissatisfaction, prejudice based on religion, which carries a prison sentence of two to five years,” he said.
- BERNAMA
ALOR SETAR: Police detained a man over the discovery of several torn pages of the Quran believed to have been burned in a container at a food court near a market here, today.
Kedah acting police chief Zakaria Yusof said the man was arrested at a supermarket in Mergong here, at 3pm yesterday.
He said the man, whose personal details had not been ascertained, would be referred to the hospital for examination and treatment.
“According to traders at the market, the man was often seen wandering in the market area and was also always seen burning papers (near a food court),” he said in a statement.
Several torn pieces of pages from the Quran, which were burned, were found by a trader, after being informed by another individual, who then reported the matter to the police and the Kedah Islamic Religious Department.
Earlier, at a media conference this evening before the man was apprehended, Zakaria said police suspected the culprit who had burned the Quran could be a deranged man but investigation was still ongoing.
“It is hoped the public will not distort the issue for fear it will create communal misunderstanding.
“If it was done with malicious intention we will take action under Section 298A of the Penal Code, for committing an act that could lead to disintegration of harmony and unity, feeling of dissatisfaction, prejudice based on religion, which carries a prison sentence of two to five years,” he said.
- BERNAMA
MCA: Is BM to be strictly for Muslims?
MCA also asks if the Kedah state government is trying to thwart BM from becoming an international language.
FMT
KUALA LUMPUR: Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, the Kedah state government is mulling over increasing the number of Bahasa Malaysia words prohibited for use by non-Muslims from 24 to 55.
Speaking out against this proposed ban, MCA Central Committee member Chin Tung Leong said, “It is feared that the proposed ban will limit the usage of Bahasa Malaysia.”
He also said the proposed ban would “slowly but surely make Bahasa Malaysia a language for Muslims only” and widen the racial gap between Malaysians.
Saying that communications between Muslims and non-Muslims will be greatly restricted, Chin, who is also MCA Overseas Liaison Bureau Deputy Chairman added that this would go against the government’s efforts to make Bahasa Malaysia a language of international calibre.
KUALA LUMPUR: Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, the Kedah state government is mulling over increasing the number of Bahasa Malaysia words prohibited for use by non-Muslims from 24 to 55.
Speaking out against this proposed ban, MCA Central Committee member Chin Tung Leong said, “It is feared that the proposed ban will limit the usage of Bahasa Malaysia.”
He also said the proposed ban would “slowly but surely make Bahasa Malaysia a language for Muslims only” and widen the racial gap between Malaysians.
Saying that communications between Muslims and non-Muslims will be greatly restricted, Chin, who is also MCA Overseas Liaison Bureau Deputy Chairman added that this would go against the government’s efforts to make Bahasa Malaysia a language of international calibre.
Converting spouses adding to conflict between civil and Shariah courts, says AG
The Attorney-General (AG) noted that such cases then become controversies as it involves the jurisdiction of two distinct court systems and could risk Malaysia's multicultural harmony as they have led to claims of “racial discrimination”, adding that law reforms meant to solve such problems have yet to be approved.
"Inter-racial marriages have given rise to a new conflict between civil law and Shariah law in relation to the unilateral conversion as well as custody issues of minor children where only one spouse converts to Islam.
“The increasing number of cases has also raised allegations of racial discrimination by the courts and authorities. The anguish to the families cannot be overstated and that is a fact.
“In this regard, the failure of the converting spouses to resolve the family arrangements prior to conversion and in fact, attempting to use the different jurisdictions of the civil and Shariah courts to their advantage, jeopardises not only family harmony but potentially national harmony,” the top government lawyer said according to his written speech from the ILKAP National Law Conference 2014 last week.
Abdul Gani said the problem of enforcing conflicting orders from the civil courts and Shariah courts in such disputes then calls into question the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and the police’s integrity, adding that this would hamper their ability to effectively carry out their duties.
Abdul Gani did not name any examples of such court cases, but there are two high-profile cases that have hit national headlines — the cases of non-Muslim mothers Indira Gandhi and Deepa Subramaniam, where both women’s Muslim convert ex-husbands ran off with their children.
In both cases, the Muslim convert ex-husbands cited the Shariah court orders granting child custody to them when refusing to comply with the civil court’s child custody orders in favour of their former spouse.
Despite recovery orders from the Ipoh High Court and Seremban High Court directing the police to act to find and return the abducted children to the non-Muslim mothers, the police have declined to take action and are now seeking the courts’ clarification instead.
Both cases did not involve spouses from different races, but the line between race and religion can sometimes be blurred in Malaysia as a Malay is constitutionally defined as one who professes the religion of Islam, among other things.
Abdul Gani said proposed amendments to three laws were mooted in 2009 to ensure that matters such as child custody and child maintenance would be decided by the court where the marriage was registered.
“These amendments, however, remain pending,” he said, without elaborating further.
He listed down the three laws of Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976, the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act 1984 and the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993.
Lawyers have argued that child custody matters for a marriage that was initially between two non-Muslims should be decided by the civil courts even if a spouse later converts to Islam.
This is because a marriage that started out as a civil union should end or have any related issues ruled upon in the civil courts, instead of the Shariah courts for marriages between two Muslims, the lawyers said.
* NOTE: An earlier version of this article had inaccurately reported the Attorney-General as saying interracial marriages put national harmony at risk. The erroneous report was unintentional and has since been removed. Malay Mail Online apologises for the misreporting.
- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/converting-spouses-adding-to-conflict-between-civil-and-shariah-courts-says#sthash.xxo0C0HJ.dpuf
Residents In Flood-Prone Areas Must Be Sensitive To Environment - Najib
KUALA
LUMPUR, Nov 20 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has advised
residents living in flood-prone areas to always be sensitive to and wary
of the situation in their surroundings.The Prime Minister said if necessary, residents living in risky areas should move out much earlier to avoid undesired incidents.
In his latest posting on Facebook, Najib called on the people to surf the government's official portal, namely, http://publicinfobanjir.water.gov.my/ for the latest information on water levels in the rivers which were prone to flooding.
"I pray that everyone will be safe and receive protection from Allah SWT, insya-Allah," he added.
Thursday, 20 November 2014
Obama Responds to Jerusalem Synagogue Attack: 'Too Many Palestinians Have Died'
President Obama has responded to today’s terrorist attack on a synagogue in Jerusalem in which four Israeli Jews attending morning prayers condemning the attack, and stating that “the majority of Palestinians” want peace.In a statement delivered to the White House press pool, President Obama responded to the attack by declaring that “too many Palestinians have died,” as well as Israelis, in the struggle between the state of Israel and the terrorist group Hamas and its affiliates, including the internationally active Muslim Brotherhood. “At this difficult time,” the President told reports, “I think it’s important for both Palestinians and Israelis to try to work together to lower tensions and reject violence.”
“We have to remind ourselves that the majority of Palestinians and Israelis overwhelmingly want peace,” the statement concludes, before the President begins remarks on the Ebola crisis in West Africa. The President did not take questions.
The President’s remarks follow Secretary of State John Kerry’s response to the terrorist attack, in which he called “on Palestinian leadership at every single level to condemn this in the most powerful terms.” Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas, on his end, nominally condemned the attack while “stressing the need to end the causes of such attacks like tensions over what Jews call the Temple Mount and Palestinians call al-Aqsa Mosque.” Such a dismissal of the increasingly out-of-control terrorist activity by Palestinian extremists received the typical benefit of the doubt from mainstream media.
As previously mentioned, four were killed during the attack– three, the New York Post reports, were American citizens. Photos released by the IDF office show significant bloodshed, indicating that the axes were used in killing those praying in the synagogue. Those congregated there had assembled for morning prayers; the assailants were armed with both guns and axes. Both assailants were Arab Palestinians, and both were killed on sight.
This attack is the latest in a string in Jerusalem in recent months. Two such attacks perpetrated on Israeli Jewish residents of Jerusalem were done so using a car. In one incident, a Palestinian assailant drove his car into a group of Jewish Israelis, killing a three-month-old Chaya Zissel, a US citizen. In the aftermath of that attack, a senior Palestinian Authority aide called the killer a “heroic martyr,” and both Hamas and Fatah applauded the attack.
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