Muhyiddin disinterested in Najib-Anwar DPM deal claims

Revealed - hundreds of desperate British women have proposed marriage to Isis extremists online after EIGHT schoolgirls followed 'jihadi bride trail'

• At least eight schoolgirls have left the UK to join ISIS since last summer
• Three school friends from Bethnal Green Academy left for Syria last week
• Another young girl from the same school travelled to join ISIS in December
• Manchester terror twins Salma and Zahra Halane, 16, were the first British schoolgirls to join the Islamic State
• Later Yusra Hussien, 15, and Samya Dirie, 17, travelled ISIS-held Raqqa
• An Edinburgh-born jihadi bride is thoughy to help recruit young schoolgirls
• Aqsa Mahmoud joined the terror group last year and has been in contact with several young British school girls since her arrival

By Robert Verkaik for MailOnline

Eight British schoolgirls have travelled to Syria in the last seven months using a route which has become known as the 'jihadi bride trail' - and hundreds more besotted British women have proposed marriage to extremists online.

The true figure is likely to be even higher as the police and families have imposed news blackouts in some cases, prompting fears that Britain's anti-terrorism agencies are losing the battle against the radicalisation of young Muslims on the internet.

School friends Shamima Begum, 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase 15, from Bethnal Green Academy are reported to be in Syria after flying out of Gatwick for Turkey earlier this month. A fourth unnamed girl from the same school went out in December.

Radical websites like Jihad Matchmaker, which offers to arrange marriages between Muslim women and Jihadists, have been blamed for encouraging young, impressionable girls to travel to Syria.

Hundreds of besotted British women have put marriage proposals to jihadists fighting on the front line with Islamic State, according to security sources.

One European fighter in Syria who has become a pin-up jihadi fighter has been bombarded with proposals from women all over the world, desperate to be associated with a 'holy warrior'.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2965495/Revealed-EIGHT-British-schoolgirls-left-follow-jihadi-bride-trail-hundreds-desperate-women-proposed-marriage-Isis-extremists-online-thanks-jihadmatchmaker.html

Advocate for Christians (and Others) Persecuted By the Islamic State

By Marv Knox

Christians and other religious minorities in northern Iraq face extermination if people of faith in America and elsewhere in the West fail to speak up on their behalf.

A new religious liberty group, the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, conducted a fact-finding trip to the region early this year and then released a sobering report. "Edge of Extinction" documents the attempted genocide of Christians, Yezidis, Shabaks and other religious minorities by the Islamic State.

The toll of hostility toward Christians in the region already has been devastating, noted Wilberforce President Randel Everett, former executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board.

"A decade ago, Iraq's Christian population numbered 1.5 million," Everett said. "Today, roughly 300,000 remain, and most have no jobs, no schools and no places of worship."

The violence against Christians and other ethno-religious groups, such as the Yezidis and Shabak, escalated with the rise of the Islamic State early last summer. The city of Mosul, just across a river from the biblical city of Nineveh in northern Iraq, fell to the Islamic State.

"Christians were ordered to leave lands that had been their home for thousands of years," the Wilberforce group reported. "Those remaining were issued a stark choice--convert to Islam, pay the (Muslim) Jizya tax or die."

Christians, others in grave peril

By late summer, the Islamic State extended its control across the greater Nineveh Plain. Tens of thousands of Christians and other minorities fled as the Peshmerga, the Kurdistan Regional Government's military force, abandoned them.

Wilberforce investigators found no evidence Christians in the region ever committed acts of terror. They are not led by warlords; they don't operate militias. Still, they suffer grievously.

The Islamic State forces murdered men, raped women and girls, and kidnapped children. The death and refugee tolls escalated.

To illustrate the persecution, "Edge of Extinction" tells the story of a Christian couple in northern Iraq:

"After IS (Islamic State) seized Mosul, one Christian husband attempted to take his wife of 28 years to Mosul so that she could continue to receive treatment for breast cancer. When they arrived at the hospital, they were met by an IS guard who refused to allow them entrance because they were Christian. They were told the price for entrance and medical treatment was conversion to Islam.

"The wife responded: 'I am not going to leave the cross of Christ. I will not abandon it. For me, a love of life is not as important as the faith. The desire to go on living is not as important as my faith.'

"The couple ... returned to their small village about 16 miles away. Ten days later, she passed away with her husband and 19-year-old and 8-year-old sons at her bedside."

These were her final words: "I am going to hold onto the cross of Christ. I refuse to convert. I prefer death. I prefer death to abandoning my religion and my faith."

Church turned into torture chamber

The Wilberforce group learned the Islamic State converted an 800-year-old church into a torture chamber. A 150-year-old church was turned into a prison. And another now warehouses weapons.

The United Nations' high commissioner for human rights also has documented "widespread ethnic and religious cleansing" in the region.

"The violations include targeted killings, forced conversions, abductions, trafficking, slavery, sexual abuse, destruction of places of religious and cultural significance, and the besieging of entire communities because of ethnic, religious or sectarian affiliation," Commissioner Navi Pillay said. "Among those directly targeted have been Christians, Yezidi, Shabaks, Turkomen, Kaka'e and Sabaens."

But for the most part, Christians in the West have turned a blind eye, the Wilberforce Initiative's team noted.

"After a flurry of initial news coverage in August, the story of the men, women and children--whose lives were upended, homes confiscated and dignity assaulted--virtually disappeared from the public eye," the Wilberforce report said.

The West has done little

"With some notable exceptions, those living in the West have said or done little in the face of the crisis facing the minority communities in Iraq. There is a pervasive feeling of abandonment among these beleaguered men and women of faith who cannot comprehend why burning churches, forced conversions and the emergence of a caliphate in the cradle of Christendom is not being met with urgency and action by people of similar faiths in the West."

The Wilberforce Initiative has proposed six recommendations to counteract "the destruction of ancient faith communities" in northern Iraq:

• Establish a Nineveh Plains Province "uniquely designed for Christians, Yezidis and other besieged minorities." This would enable them to live peacefully in the land their ancestors have occupied for hundreds of years.
• Provide support for the new Nineveh Protection Unit, a national guard that can defend the province. This is necessary, since neither the Iraqi army nor the Peshmerga militia has stood with the people.
• Return property confiscated by the Islamic State--such as homes and churches--to its rightful owners.
• Encourage and strengthen the Kurdistan Regional Government's "efforts to build a context of civil discourse, freedom of religion, human rights protections and the inclusion of all minorities."
• Provide and support "ongoing and immediate humanitarian aid" from the United Nations but also from nongovernmental organizations, such as Samaritan's Purse. The needs include both education and health care.
• Prosecute the Islamic State and its leaders for war crimes and genocide. The relevant authorities for such action include the United Nations, the International Criminal Court and the U.S. State Department.

American Christians must do more than read about the plight of persecuted Christians and other minority groups and say, "How awful!"

Speaker says Anwar to remain MP pending royal pardon petition

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is still a Member of Parliament pending a decision on his petition to the King for a royal pardon, parliament Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia said today.

In a statement today, Pandikar Amin said he had received a copy of the petition filed by Anwar’s wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar this afternoon at the Istana Negara.

Pandikar Amin said Article 48 (4) (C) in the Federal Constitution allowed a lawmaker who filed for a royal pardon to keep his post, until the appeal had been dealt with.

The speaker said this being the case, he will not declare the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat vacant.

Anwar's 14-day deadline to file the pardon application would have expired today and he would have automatically been disqualified as Permatang Pauh MP.

His daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar, who is PKR vice-president, said the petition for pardon was made on the basis that the conviction failed to adhere to the principles of justice.

"The petition for a royal pardon has been sent to the Palace," she added.

Anwar's lawyer, N. Surendran, earlier said that the opposition leader had decided not to seek a royal pardon.

"We met Anwar in prison last week and he did not give any instruction to file such an application. His lawyers, too, will not file anything to that effect," he told The Malaysian Insider.

On February 10, a five-man bench led by Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria found Anwar guilty of having carnal intercourse with his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

He committed the offence at a unit of the Desa Damansara condominium in Bukit Damansara, between 3.10pm and 4.30pm on June 26, 2008.

The Federal Constitution states that the seat will not be declared vacant until the Pardons Board has deliberated and made a decision.

Surendran also said that Anwar's legal team would continue studying the 116-page judgment before deciding to file a review application of the ruling.

"There is no time schedule to file the review but it must be done expeditiously," he said.

Former attorney-general (A-G) Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman said nothing stopped family members of an accused person from filing a petition to the Pardons Board.

"Usually, the accused who has exhausted his legal avenue will through his counsel file the petition," he told The Malaysian Insider.

Talib said the application for pardon would be chaired by the King and the members of the board would consist of the prime minister, the attorney-general and two others.

Talib, who served as A-G between 1980 and 1993, said the board was not bound by the opinion of the present A-G although it must consider his advice.– February 24, 2015.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/speaker-says-anwar-to-remain-mp-pending-royal-pardon-petition#sthash.NPRhBr6b.dpuf

Wealth talk taints dad's name, say Najib's brothers

 

The four brothers of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today expressed concern over news reports regarding inheritance said to be from their father, Malaysia’s second prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein.

Speculation arose after the Prime Minister’s Office told the New York Times that Najib's lifestyle is not unusual "for a person of the prime minister’s position, responsibilities and legacy (of) family assets".

In an unusual move, four of Najib's younger brothers issued a rare "private" statement late this evening expressing worry that the name of their father, who was known for his "frugality", could be tarnished by such talks of family assets.

"We are extremely concerned that some recent news ​articles and postings​ have given rise to speculation as to the nature and extent of the inheritance that our​ late​ father, Abdul ​R​azak​, ​had ​left​ behind.

"We wish to put on record that Abdul Razak (right) was a ​highly-principled man, well known to all ​who knew him ​for his frugality and utmost integrity​ and any statement or inference to the contrary would be totally false and misleading to his memory and to his service and sacrifices for the nation.​

"We take issue with anyone who taints his memory, whatever the motive. We would also like to add that our whole family is united on this issue," they said.

The short statement was sent by Najib’s youngest brother Nazir and signed by him, Johari, Nizam and Nazim. It is not clear who they were directed at when referring to those who taint their father's memory.

Nazir, who is CIMB chairperson in a commentary last year recalled how Abdul Razak lambasted his boys for asking him to build a swimming pool at the official residence.

Stressing Abdul Razak's care with the public purse, he wrote that their father was angry they expected him to use public funds for their pleasure.

Piles and piles of cash

The New York Times had contacted PMO on its report on fund manager Jho Low, and his links to the PM's family through Najib's stepson Riza Aziz.

The report also noted Najib and his family's allegedly lavish lifestyle, pointing to a series of photos of Najib's wife Rosmah Mansor with expensive handbags.

The NYT also claimed that it had obtained invoices and other documents amounting to "millions of dollars" in jewellery ordered for Rosmah in Hong Kong in 2008 and 2009.

It also quoted Najib's former aide Ariff Sabri saying that Najib had kept “piles and piles” of cash stacked in his safe.

However, the PMO reportedly responded saying, "Neither any money spent on travel, jewellery purchases nor the alleged contents of any safes are unusual for a person of the prime minister's position, responsibilities, and legacy (of) family assets."

NGOs seek to meet Zahid in bid to oust IGP

With abuse of power and continued repression of freedom of speech seemingly on the rise, a group of NGOs want to meet with Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to demand the resignation of Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar.

This group of civil societies - among them the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0), Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), Amnesty International, Lawyers for Liberty (LFL), student organisations and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) - collectively agreed that Khalid's actions have tarnished the image of the police force.

As part of the strategy to oust Khalid as IGP, Bersih 2.0 chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah (left) said that they will "try and meet" with Zahid to discuss the issue.

"We will actually have to strategise whether it (Khalid's resignation) is going to be demanded through a petition or even ask the home affairs minister for a meeting to present our case as to why we need somebody like this IGP to resign," Maria noted during a joint press conference today.

However, she told Malaysiakini that this attempt to meet with Zahid was still under discussion among the group members.

After Anwar Ibrahim was sentenced to five years’ jail for sodomy on Feb 10, activists and opposition members have been hauled up by the police in a sedition dragnet for their respective comments on the PKR supremo’s trial.

Commenting on the arrests, Suaram coordinator Syukri Razab emphasised that they “completely object to the actions of the police” who are abusing their power in the guise of the law.

“It is astonishing that the IGP is so actively monitoring the social (media) pages of opposition leaders and social activists that they are arrested for making criticisms on Twitter and Facebook.

“Is this the standard duty of a police chief?” Syukri asked during the joint press conference today.

In addition, Michelle Yesudas pointed out - on behalf of LFL - that the United States does not use the social media to intimidate its younger generations.

"Twitter is supposed to be a part of a democratic process. Take a look at (US President Barack) Obama for example, who uses Twitter as a tool to reach out to the younger generation, not to silence them."

Meanwhile, PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan - who was among those arrested - told Malaysiakini that he had been treated very well by the officers at the police station.

According to him, the police had quipped that they were tired of arresting the same people over and over again, and that they wondered when an Umno member would be next.

IGP receives video death threat by men in masks

Members of the group called Anti-Democracy Sons of Malaysia (AMAD) say they intend to blow up the IGP’s car.

FMT


SHAH ALAM: Barely a month after uploading a video threatening to blast firecrackers in front of the courthouse, another video has been uploaded, this time even more severe as it contains a clear and precise threat to kill the Inspector-General of Police by blowing-up his car.

The video features three individuals clad in black and wearing full face masks, with their spokesman, speaking in a digitally altered voice.

He starts off his tirade asking if the people were aware that before developed countries like the United States, Russia and China became successful and respected, their people rejected all forms of democratic mean to bring down their corrupt regimes.

The spokesman also asked a string of questions relating to how democracy had failed the people of Malaysia.

“Can Malaysians change the Elections Commission chairman via democratic means? Can the chief justice be changed via democratic means? Can the IGP be changed via democratic means?” the spokesman asked.

He said the answer was no, because these people were the very “agents” that destroyed democracy.

“We the Anti-Democracy Sons of Malaysia (AMAD) hereby announce that we will kill the Inspector-General of Police by blowing-up his car. After which the heads of government agencies will be too terrified to carry out crimes against democracy.”

He also said the people of Malaysia will then rise by using means other than democracy.

Before ending the video by flashing their middle fingers and saying, “f@#$ democracy”, one individual illustrated the group’s intentions by dragging two toy cars across the table while the spokesman lit the cars aflame to the sounds of a massive explosion.

Throughout the video, the spokesman’s face was obliterated by the image of the group’s logo.

The video was uploaded on February 23 (Tuesday) by Anonymous Malaysia who entitled it ‘Warning to the IGP’.

At the time of writing, a total of 1,386 users had viewed it.

Couple starved maid to death, court told

There is no reason for the deceased to steal food or to take food scraps from a rubbish bin if she was given proper food, said DPP.

FMT

PUTRAJAYA: A couple should have been convicted for the murder of their Cambodian maid because they had deliberately deprived her of food over a period of time which caused her death, the Court of Appeal here was told today.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lailawati Ali submitted that not only was Mey Sichan, who only weighed 26.1kg, not given food to eat, she was physically abused with injuries all over her body.

She said the High Court judge had failed to analyse evidence with regard to the conduct by the couple on the deceased which could infer their state of mind.

“There is no reason for the deceased to steal food or to take food scraps from a rubbish bin except that she was not given proper food,” said Lailawati, who added that Mey was also deprived of medical care.

The prosecution is cross-appealing the Penang High Court’s decision on May 16, 2013 to convict hardware store owner Soh Chew Tong and his wife Chin Chui Ling on a reduced charge of committing culpable homicide not amounting to murder instead of the original charge for murder.

The couple were sentenced to 24 years’ jail each for causing the death of Mey, 24, at their home in Taman Asas Murni, Jalan Bukit Minyak in Bukit Mertajam, Penang between January 1 and April 1, 2012.

Soh, 46 and Chin, 43, are also appealing against their conviction and jail term.

Lailawati also argued that it was not an act of negligence on the part of the couple to have caused the deceased’s death, instead it was a series of acts over a prolonged period of time.

Their lawyer, K. Kumaraendran, argued that the prosecution did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the deceased died as a result of starvation.

He said the prosecution failed to adduce evidence to show that the deceased did not suffer from other diseases which could have led to the progressive wasting and emaciation of her body.

“Without ruling out the probabilities that the deceased suffered from, for example, tuberculosis, pernicious anemia or anorexia nervosa, it cannot be concluded that the deceased’s gastric ulcer was caused by her deprivation of food by the appellants,” he said.

He said at the very best, his clients could be found to have acted so negligently as to have caused Mey’s death whereby despite her (Mey’s) persistent refusal to meet a doctor, they (the couple) ought to have nevertheless ensured that she got the necessary medical care.

The three-member panel comprising Justices Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, Zakaria Sam and Ahmadi Asnawi reserved their decision to a date to be fixed.

Mey who started working for the couple in July 2011, was found dead at the couple’s shophouse with old and fresh injuries on her body and was severely dehydrated. She had sunken cheeks and eye-sockets. Her death was caused by perforation of a gastric ulcer, an acute peritonitis that was left untreated for a week.

– BERNAMA

Hindraf wants to see MB on demolition of 100 temples

The NGO maintains all these temples in Selangor were legally built.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: Hindraf Makkal Sakthi is seeking an urgent meeting with Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali on a reported 100 Hindu temples in the state which have purportedly been earmarked for demolition.

The meeting follows a public admission by Selangor Exco V Ganapathi Rao that some 100 Hindu temples, older than the recently demolished 60-year-old Sri Kottai Munisvarar Nageswary Temple, would be demolished by the state government.

He did not state the reasons for the pending demolitions.

Rao was lamenting that there was nothing much that he could do to save the Sri Kottai Munisvarar Nageswary Temple.

“Rao’s statement reminds us of the era of MIC and BN where they kept giving lame excuses for their inefficiency in tackling matters of public interest and concern,” said Hindraf vice-president Tamil Selvam. “He’s the lone Indian representative in the Exco and clearly outnumbered by the others.”

His helplessness, pointed out Tamil Selvam, stems from the fact he has not been given the mandate to handle the issue. “We understand his predicament.”

Hindraf, he stressed, had always maintained that these temples were never illegally built.”

The temples, he added, originated from plantations which were subsequently acquired by the government or sold to private developers. “They fail to appreciate the sensitivity of the issue.”

“Just because the plantations where the temples sit have been acquired by the government and developers, it does not mean that they can go on a demolition spree.”

Two youths charged with murder of cop’s wife

No plea was recorded and court fixed April 22 for mention as post-mortem report was not ready.

FMT

IPOH: Two youths were charged in the magistrate’s court today with the murder of a policeman’s wife at her home on Feb 11.

A. Nagarujun,19, who is unemployed, and a 17-year-old car wash employee was charged with the murder of Izaah Abdullah, 52, between 12.30am and 2am in Taman Tanjung Emas, Ulu Kinta.

When the charge was read out in Tamil by the court interpreter before magistrate Nurul Asyifa Redzuan, the youths nodded to indicate they understood the charge. However, no plea was recorded from them.

DPP Geetha Jora Singh requested the court to fix another date for mention of the case as the post-mortem report on Izaah was not ready.

Nurul Asyifa set April 22 for mention. She did not allow bail.
After the proceedings, a woman, believed to be a family member, was seen crying and hugging the 17-year-old youth.

The youth was represented by counsel Naran Singh while Nagarujun did not have a lawyer.
Four youths had been remanded from Feb 12 to yesterday to assist in the investigation into the case.

– BERNAMA

Let MCA and Gerakan Presidents explain whether MCA and Gerakan had agreed to Kelantan UMNO Assemblymen supporting PAS’s hudud legislation in Kelantan State Assembly next month as part of the UMNO strategy to break up Pakatan Rakyat?

By Lim Kit Siang blog,

The MCA President, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and the Gerakan President, Datuk Mak Siew Keong should explain whether MCA and Gerakan had agreed to Kelantan UMNO State Assemblymen supporting PAS’ hudud legislation for implementation in the Kelantan State Assembly next month as part of the UMNO strategy to break up Pakatan Rakyat?

Suspicion of such an agreement has been caused by three developments:

• firstly, the sudden increase in the number of speeches and statements by all levels of MCA and Gerakan leaders on this issue in the past few days;
• secondly, the sudden two-hour meeting of the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council last Friday night within 24 hours of the death of Tok Guru Nik Aziz on the night of Thursday, 12th February, necessitating the holding of a by-election in the Chempaka state constituency; and
• thirdly a statement by a UMNO Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and Deputy Umno Youth leader Razali Ismail on Tuesday, 17th February that “despite the death of PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, UMNO will continue to support the Islamic party on the implementation of hudud in Kelantan”.

So is the stage set for a “big drama” from the Barisan Nasional component parties for next month’s Kelantan State Assembly, with Kelantan UMNO State Assemblmen voting in support of hudud implementation in Kelantan but ignored by MCA and Gerakan leaders and publicists who will concentrate on their attacks on the DAP and PKR for “selling out the rights of the non-Muslims in Malaysia” because of PAS Kelantan State Assemblymen and women voting for implementation of hudud in Kelantan?

In the uproar and din of multi-party attacks and counter-attacks, accusations and counter-accusations, the inability of the Kelantan State Assembly to implement hudud unless Parliament authorizes it will be temporarily forgotten.

In the Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council meeting on 8th February 2015, it was unanimously agreed by PKR, DAP and PAS leaders, led by PKR Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng that as hudud and local government issues were outside the PR Common Policy Framework, the two issues would be specifically discussed at the following PR Leadership Council meeting and that no further steps would be taken to pursue these two issue in the meanwhile – which meant that any intention whether to propose an amendment to the hudud enactment in the Kelantan State Assembly or a private member’s bill in Parliament should first be brought to the PR Leadership Council for discussion and decision. This also applies to any proposal to follow-up on local government elections.

I have consistently taken the position that it is the paramount duty and challenge of every PR leader to jointly save PR by adopting an Eight-Year PR Roadmap to reaffirm the secret recipe of the PR success in the 2008 and 2013 general elections, namely adherence to the PR Common Policy Framework which binds all three parties and the operational principle of consensus requiring the consent of all three parties before any policy, issue or decision could be made or changed.

Nik Aziz will be missed greatly, especially with the revived campaign orchestrated by UMNO strategists for a “unity government” between UMNO and PAS reaching a new crescendo.

If Nik Aziz is still alive, there would be no possibility even for a revival of the “unity government” conspiracy, for he was the bulwark in PAS in opposition to it.

Now, it would appear that MCA and Gerakan top leaders have also bought into the “unity government” proposal of the UMNO strategists to break up Pakatan Rakyat, as they ware persuaded that with Nik Aziz’s death, this is the best gambit to break up Pakatan Rakyat – a two-prong attack with Umno staying out of Chempaka by-election and Kelantan UMNO State Assemblymen giving support to Kelantan PAS proposal in the Kelantan State Assembly next month for hudud implementation.

MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and MCA Datuk Mah Siew Keong should declare their party’s stand on both these issues as noises by their subordinate officials carry no weight whatsoever.

The UMNO leadership has yet to give a commitment to support a PAS private member’s bill in Parliament but it has given a commitment that its PAS Kelantan State Assembly persons would support PAS proposal in Kelantan State Assembly for hudud implementation.

Why is MCA and Gerakan supporting UMNO and UMNO Kelantan State Assemblymen endorsing hudud implementation in Kelantan?

Produce Highly Creative, Innovative And Value-Added Products, Says Najib

Datuk Seri Najib Tun RazakPUTRAJAYA, Feb 24 (Bernama) -- The production of highly creative, innovative and value-added products should be given utmost priority instead of just price competitive products, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

"If we continue to compete just on pricing based on low inputs then we will only compete at a low level and reap less returns on investments," he said at the launch of the Public-Private Research Network (PPRN) here today.

The premier said the country would feel the impact if other countries were to lower their cost of production as this would force Malaysia to further reduce cost to withstand the stiff competition.



"In order to survive in an ever competitive world, we must realise our strengths and look at areas where we can make improvements," he said.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said attention should also be accorded to the manufacture of knowledge intensive and high technology products to meet market demand.

"To succeed global competition entails the production of differentiated and high-value products which is not easily imitated or copied by competitors," he added.

"As an example, iPhone 6, if compared with other brands of mobile phones, enjoys a strong demand that outstrips supply.

"Customers are prepared to sleep on five-foot paths in order to be the first to get their hands on the iPhone 6 when stores open the next day.

"Why is this product much sought after compared to the rest?" he asked.

On the PPRN, Najib said it was an innovative incentive introduced by the government in the 2015 Budget to promote demand-based innovative programmes.

Najib announced a RM50 million allocation for PPRN which would establish an ecosystem that is triple-helix in nature and knowledge-friendly, where knowledge is produced, assimilated and distributed to those companies that need it to upgrade their technologies and business models.

Missing MH370 data 'strongly suggests' the Malaysia Airlines jet was deliberately flown off course towards ANTARCTICA, experts tell new documentary

• New documentary tries to find out what happened to flight MH370
• Satellite data suggests plane flew for hours after losing contact
• Expert says it 'strongly suggests' it was deliberately flown off course
• Australian search co-ordinator confident MH370 will be found by May
• Flight vanished on March 8, 2014 travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing

By Sara Malm for MailOnline and Louise Cheer for Daily Mail Australia

Flight MH370 may have been deliberately flown off course by someone in the cockpit, a new documentary claims.

Aviation disaster experts have analysed satellite data from the lost Malaysian Airlines flight and discovered that the plane flew on for hours after losing contact.

Careful examination of the evidence has revealed that MH370 made three turns after the last radio call, first a turn to the left, then two more, taking the plane west, then south towards Antarctica.

According to Malcolm Brenner, a world's leading expert in the causes of aviation disasters, those turns 'strongly suggest' someone in the cockpit deliberately flew MH370 off course.

'This accident has caught the attention of the world in a way I have not seen in a forty-year career in aviation,' Mr Brenner says.

The claims are being made in a new National Geographic documentary out next month where Mr Brenner and a team of experts try to solve the mystery of MH370.

This follows confident claims by the Australian co-ordinator of the search that the doomed jetliner will be found within the next few months.

As the current search for the Malaysia Airlines plane is set to wrap up by the end of May, Australian Transport Safety Bureau Commissioner Martin Dolan said he was hopeful his team would unearth the wreckage by then, News.com.au reported.

But the Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre is remaining tight lipped about the issue, saying the Chinese, Malaysian and Australian governments would be assessing what to do next.

Flight MH370 vanished on March 8, 2014 while travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

No trace of the jet has been recovered since then but Mr Dolan believes his team are close to discovering the wreckage.

'I don't wake up every day thinking 'This will be the day' but I do wake up every day hoping this will be it, and expecting that sometime between now and May that will be the day,' Commissioner Dolan told News Corp.

'It's been both baffling and from our point of view unprecedented - not only the mystery of it, but also on the scale of what we're doing to find the aircraft.

'As we keep on pointing out, we don't have a certainty only a confidence that we'll find the missing aircraft.'

The search for MH370 has so far been fruitless, with the crash site initially thought to be in the South China Sea or Gulf of Thailand.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2965399/Missing-MH370-data-strongly-suggests-Malaysia-Airlines-jet-deliberately-flown-course-ANTARCTICA-experts-tell-new-documentary.html

Sirul: Saya selamat, tunggu masa sesuai beri kenyataan

Saudi sentenced to death for abusing Islam

Man also charged with ripping copy of Holy Koran

A Saudi court sentenced a local man to death after he was found guilty of insulting Islam and its Prophet (PBUH), a newspaper reported on Monday.

The unidentified man, in his 20s, was also charged with ripping a copy of the Holy Koran, filming the act and publishing it on social networks, ‘Sharq’ said.

“The court sentenced the man to beheaded after finding him guilty in those charges,” the paper said in a report from the northeastern town of Hafr Albatin.

It said a three-judge panel issued the death verdict against the defendant but it did not make clear if he can appeal.

Despite peace deal, MIC man sues RoS over fresh polls directive

A Barisan Nasional-brokered (BN) peace deal is at risk in MIC after a central working committee member filed a judicial review to compel the authorities to retract an order for fresh party polls.

K.Ramalingam, who is the MIC strategic director, filed the ex-parte application for the court to set aside directives from the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to ask the MIC to conduct fresh election for three vice-presidents and 23 CWC positions.

The suit names the respondents as the RoS and its director-general Mohammad Razin Abdullah. The judicial review was filed at the High Court here through Messrs Selvam Shanmugam & Partners.

In the suit, Ramalingam named RoS and Mohammad Razin as respondents and sought a review of the RoS's action through four directives dated December 5, 2014, December 31, 2014, January 6, 2015 and February 6.

Ramalingam claimed the directives sent by the respondent should be deemed mala-fide and ultra vires.

On January 3, MIC president Datuk Seri G.Palanivel in a surprise move named Ramalingam as the new Strategic Director of MIC replacing Datuk Seri Vell Paari, who is the son of former party president Datuk Seri Samy Vellu.

The MIC internal crisis started following its election of three vice-presidents and 23 central working committee members in 2013 during the party's Annual General Meeting.

Last week, Palanivel had abandoned the court battle after BN thrashed out a peace deal with his estranged deputy president Datuk Seri Dr S.Subramaniam.

Palanivel's faction had prepared to go to court over the RoS "interference" in MIC affairs, while Dr Subramaniam's supporters had gathered a number of branch chairmen and announced a challenge for the top party post.

According to The Star, both sides are expected to launch a full line-up for all posts – branch chairmen, division heads, the 23 CWC posts, three vice-presidencies and the deputy president’s post.

This is the first time in MIC’s 69-year history that two clear factions are fighting for control and power.

Heavy jostling has also broken out among prospective candidates to be included in the respective line-ups of the two leaders.

Palanivel has promised to call for a meeting of the 2009 CWC after the Chinese New Year holidays, and Dr Subramaniam has agreed to attend.

The 2009 CWC is deemed valid but the 2013 CWC, which was elected under Palanivel’s leadership as president in December 2013, has been declared invalid by the RoS because of numerous irregularities in the elections.

The 2009 CWC is also tasked with forming an independent election committee which will conduct the elections as per the RoS decision in a January 6 letter to the MIC. – February 23, 2015.

Saiful moves on, will not repeat sodomy testimony

Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's former aide who had accused the opposition leader of sodomy, said today he has no intention of repeating the testimony he had given in court anywhere else.

In a blog post, Saiful said that his testimony in the High Court previously had been recorded in the trial proceedings.

"So, the way I see it, I don't have to repeat it outside of the court. The accused (Anwar) has already been convicted and is serving his sentence," he said.

On February 10, the Federal Court found Anwar guilty of sodomising his former aide Saiful in a condominium unit at Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, on June 26, 2008.

Anwar was handed a five-year jail term and is currently serving his sentence at the Sungai Buloh prison.

The former political aide was believed to be referring to the Umno-sponsored nationwide road show to explain the judgment in Anwar's conviction, which features the lead prosecutor of the case Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin had said that Barisan Nasional (BN) will be going on a nationwide road show, which will feature Shafee, to explain the Federal Court judgment on Anwar's sodomy case now that the judiciary process has ended.

He said that the party has been accused and criticised for orchestrating a political conspiracy against Anwar since he was first charged in 2008, but it has kept silent all these years as it did not want to be in contempt of court.

Shafee has come under severe criticism following the conviction for going on a tirade against Anwar despite his incarceration, with many saying that such actions were unbecoming of a senior lawyer and that by doing so, he had clearly acted beyond his scope as prosecutor representing the Attorney-General's Chambers in the sodomy appeal.

Saiful, 30, lamented through his blog that he has endured a tough and challenging life before and after the case came to an end in the court of law, adding that his focus now is to "survive" with his wife and child.

"I have been wallowing in this case for seven years. My life was very tough and challenging. My immediate focus is to survive, support my wife and child, build a life and keep moving forward," he said.

"Although it will be hard, I believe that blessings come from Allah. Allah is not cruel."

The former political aide said that these days, many parties were giving their different opinions about the trial and appeal proceedings that have been decided, but added that they should read and understand the judgment first before drawing their opinions.

He said many are dissecting the judgment but added that it was their right.

In the lengthy posting, Saiful also noted that while there were some people who genuinely helped him and stood up for him, there were others who did so for their own selfish reasons and political gain.

"Helping me is furthest from their minds," he said.

"There are those who believe the case is true but have purposely denied the truth to the public, for the sake of the survival of their organisations and themselves.

"And for those who do not believe this case, they will continue to attack me and will never believe despite the evidence shown. But that's alright, I will always pray that Allah will open their eyes to the truth. I am not affected nor will I bear any grudge." – February 23, 2015

Sirul: I have nothing to say... for now

The much-anticipated conference call today between PAS information chief Mahfuz Omar with fugitive police commando Sirul Azhar Umar proved an anti-climax, with Sirul saying he had nothing to say at the present time.

"I fully respect the authority of the Australian government, whose protection I am under, and I need to respect Australia.

"I do not wish to make a statement at this moment. However, I will try to make a statement at a more approprate time.

"I would also like to thank all Malaysian media for their coverage and I would to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Australian government, which has provided me with full protection, besides safe and comfortable accomodation," Sirul said.

Sirul also mentioned that he was waiting for Mahfuz to call him earlier. He then said 'Thank you' with a catch in his voice.

Immediately after this, Sirul disconnected the mobile phone line without taking any questions from Mahfuz or from the remaining reporters present.

The call came after repeated attempts earlier to reach Sirul for the much-touted conference call failed. Most of the media had already left when Sirul finally was reached at 1.28pm.

Mahfuz earlier made numerous attempts to hold his conference call with Sirul in front of the press.

Will visit Australia

The conference call was supposed to be held at 11.30am at the PAS headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. It was a packed event.

However, repeated attempts by Mahfuz to call Sirul's phone was futile. He gave up after about 40 minutes.

Mahfuz also showed the press his text message exchange with Sirul to show that the latter was ready for the conference call.

Following this, Mahfuz said that he would be trying to visit Sirul, with the latter's mother Piah Samad, 74, next week. Details are to be announced on Friday.

"We will be there for a week to visit Sirul. A press conference will be held, most probably on Friday, to announce the date we are leaving," said Mahfuz, who is also the Pokok Sena MP.

It is not certain why the calls failed. Mahfuz and his assistants had attempted to use several mobile network providers to contact Sirul, but to no avail.

Reporters at the scene also complained that they were experiencing abnormally poor network coverage at the PAS headquarters.

Ball at Sirul's feet

Previously, Malaysiakini had managed to contact Sirul who lamented that he was convicted based on circumstantial evidence and that he was merely following orders - which led to his encounter with Altantuya Shariibuu in October 2006.

Last month, the Federal Court upheld the conviction of Sirul and Azilah Hadri for the murder of Altantuya, a Mongolian national, and their death sentence.

Sirul fled to Australia before the Federal Court decision. As he is on the Interpol red list, Australian authorities are holding him at an immigration facility in Villawood, Sydney.

Australia has stated that it is bound by laws that prevent Sirul's repatriation, unless Malaysia promises not to impose the death sentence on him.

However, Malaysiakini has learned that several Australia media outlets are attempting to interview Sirul and are in contact with him.

 

PKR to lobby Australian gov't for Sirul interview

PKR will start lobbying the Australian government, via several Australian lawmakers, to greenlight a public media interview with Sirul Azhar Umar from the immigration detention facility he is being held at in Sydney.

Sirul has been sentenced to death in Malaysia for the murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006.

The party has started engaging with several Australian lawmakers, who in turn will apply to the Australian government to approve such an interview and allow it to be broadcast.

"We are also in contact with an Australian lawmaker to try and meet Sirul personally in order to ensure his safety," PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli said today.

So far, PKR's Pakatan Rakyat partner PAS has been in touch with Sirul and his family.

Rafizi said that based on the party's understanding after several initial engagements with the Australian front, Sirul would be unable to make any media comments at the moment, until and unless such an attempt is approved directly by the Australian government.

"So far, at the forefront there is (Australian senator) Nick Xenophon (right). We also have good relationships with several lawmakers from the Greens and Australian Labor Party (ALP).

"But they can't be named at the moment as they are bound by their party regulations respectively. They will discuss with their party whips respectively," Rafizi said.

Rafizi said that the party expects some results for its lobbying efforts within "one or two weeks".

"For the next one or two weeks, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will be having some sleepless nights," Rafizi said.

Najib had previously described Sirul's claims that the murder was committed "under orders" to be "totally rubbish."

The Sikh who almost became VC of UM

COMMENT When my enigmatic and soft-spoken uncle passed away recently, aged 82, little did I expect it would set me off on an all-consuming journey to trace his life.

My beloved uncle is Professor Dr Satwant Singh Dhaliwal; a leader and teacher, one who never hungered for the limelight but was revered nonetheless by his family, friends and fellow academics from around the world.

Yes, he never made it as vice-chancellor of the University of Malaya (UM), but he did serve as acting vice-chancellor for a while. Son of a retired postmaster in Teluk Anson (now Teluk Intan), he worked his way up to the upper echelons of academic greatness in his lifetime.

A Nelson, who was Satwant’s varsity mate, adds, “When I first met him he had the gait of an army general! We got along famously and stayed together at the newly-opened Dunearn Road Hostel (in Singapore) in 1953.

An upstanding gentleman, he was a great scholar who was ferociously dedicated to his passion for science. He did not compromise on standards. Many fellow students were jealous of him because he was a very bright spark. We had lecturers from all over the world and the University of Malaya was regarded as among the top 20 in the world then!”

Celebrated historian and Emeritus Professor Khoo Kay Kim, who is four years his junior, remembers Professor Dhaliwal clearly during their school days. “He was always so brilliant and a top student, from ACS Teluk Anson to his days at the University of Malaya in Singapore to Professor of Genetics at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur.”

At 23, after earning his BSc First Class Honours in Zoology, Satwant was one of two Sikhs awarded the Shell Research Fellowship at the University of Malaya in Singapore.

In early 1957, for the first time in Malaya, the Queen’s Scholarships were awarded to two Sikhs: Chatar Singh Data (aged 27) and Satwant Singh Dhaliwal (aged 24); Chatar in Physics and Satwant in Zoology. Satwant was preparing his thesis on the genetics of Malayan rats for his Master of Science degree in Systematics and Genetics.

That same year, on Vaisakhi day, the two were honoured by the proud Sikh community before their departure to the UK, at a grand farewell party hosted by the Naujawan Sikh Association.

Eventually, Satwant completed his doctorate at University of Edinburgh, obtaining a PhD in Genetics, a first for a Malaysian! His thesis was on Mutation Studies on Mouse Tumour Cells.

Ex-Business Times bureau chief for Malaysia, S Jayasankaran, who did Genetics for a year under Prof Satwant, says, “He was regarded by many of his peers as a world-class geneticist.”

Member of Parliament for Subang YB R Sivarasa, who was also his student, shares, “I was the beneficiary of his dedication to excellence as he worked tirelessly to put the Department of Genetics at the University of Malaya on a solid footing.” Sivarasa went on to pursue law at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar.

Illustrious students

Quite a few illustrious students crossed his path and his generous nature endeared him to many including Professor Dr Suraiya Hani, daughter of our third prime minister the late Hussein Onn.

Lord Gathorne Cranbrook, the 5th Earl of Cranbrook (County of Kent), who was a colleague of Prof Satwant at the University of Malaya, emailed last week, “Prof Satwant Dhaliwal’s discipline in genetics was complementary to mine (zoology). But we shared supervision of some of the best students, including the late Dr Ho Coy Choke and Prof Yong Hoi Sen.

“Satwant was always a convivial member of the small group of lecturers in those days. I have nothing but happy memories of that formative time in my career as one of a friendly team of staff, among whom Prof Satwant Dhaliwal was a significant figure, charged with leading the discipline of genetics.”

Another colleague, Professor Dr Jose Furtado also emailed, “Satwant’s academic achievements were there for all to see. For us, he was the organiser of hockey games and a social life that was the envy of many in the University.

“Even the then-vice-chancellor Professor Alexander Oppenheim (just before Prof Ungku Aziz’s term as VC), understood a bit of boisterous behaviour as long as productive work got done - and that was a remarkable feature of Satwant; after a late night he was up early in his lab or giving lectures. Eccentricity is tolerated in British universities but not in many other places.”

For the uninitiated, Alexander Oppenheim was a top global mathematician and had formulated the now famous ‘Oppenheim Conjecture’.

All along, he relished his academic career at the University of Malaya and chose to stay with UM in Malaysia when the university was separated from UM in Singapore in January 1962. But he was only 32 and quickly discovered you had to be 35 to get a professorship at the University of Malaya, so he waited another three years even though he was already travelling the world on behalf of the nation.

As the youngest professor in the country, he went on to set up the newly established Faculty of Science, served as Dean of the Faculty of Science, Master of Second College, developed highly acclaimed curriculums and published numerous journals and conference papers.

Professor Satwant was contentious, but never boring!

In the early 1960s, Prof Satwant was invited for lecture tours to the United States under the auspices of the Asia Foundation and the US National Institute of Cancer. He had many sabbaticals doing major research work around the world, was a speaker at Unesco seminars in Japan, the Pacific Science Congress in Canberra and was Malaysia’s regular representative to the Council of Pacific Science Congress for nine years.

In April 1965, Prof Satwant was one of seven lecturers and a librarian who completed a two-week course at the Siputeh Territorial Army (Wataniah) training centre near Ipoh on military tactics and warfare. Graduating as a sergeant, he quickly rose through the ranks to become captain and commanding officer of the University Infantry Battalion.

In 1980, his research work took him to the Pasteur Institute, Lille and Paris, under a grant from the French government for half a year. In 1981, he was the organising chairperson of the 4th International Congress of the Society for the Advancement of Breeding Researchers in Asia and Oceania held in Kuala Lumpur.

Disdain for the mundane

His ‘unreasonableness’ and disdain for the mundane made him shine like a beacon in the night. He never said much, he didn’t have to, but was clearly a formidable genius. A very large pool of scientists remember him as their teacher.

In the 1970s, Prof Satwant was part of a team of scientific thinkers who worked on part of a paper titled ‘Codebreakers: Makers of Modern Genetics. He researched mainly in genetics and how it affected cancer and cancer cells.

Bryan Perera, current president of the Royal Selangor Club, recalls, “As a Queen’s Scholar he was indeed a great tutor and mentor to many of his students while he was professor and dean of the Faculty of Science. Many of his students later were admitted as members of the Royal Selangor Club.”

The man who helped translate scientific terms and names in fields like Zoology, Chemistry and Botany into Bahasa Malaysia for generations of students till this day, remained a legacy till the end.

His place in the annals of scientific accomplishments in Malaysia is undeniable. In the eyes of many global scholars of genetic science, Prof Satwant was a giant in science and one of Malaysia’s finest sons.

He was awarded the Kesatria Mangku Negara (KMN) in 1972 by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at the same ceremony the late Mohamed Rahmat, one of our previous information ministers, was accorded the same.

Carrying on his passion for genetics, Prof Satwant’s grandson Kharan ‘Kurry’ Vanmali recently graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Genetics at the University of Cape Town!

Thank you, Uncle... for letting us stand on your shoulders,For living 25 hours a day,
For letting us walk in your shadows,
For saying No to mediocrity,
And most of all, thank you for being You!

---

SLEDGEHAMMER aka HARMANDAR SINGH aka HAM has been a columnist for The Star for over 10 years, writing on advertising and marketing issues.

 

Najib must stop Khairy-Shafee anti-Anwar tirade

The onus is on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak or his deputy to deny Umno/BN’s involvement.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: The nationwide roadshow to character-assassinate and smear the name of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim was the brainchild of Umno Youth Leader and Minister for Youth and Sports, Khairy Jamaluddin, who announced at the first stop of the roadshow in Kelana Jaya last Tuesday that the Barisan Nasional (BN) was launching the campaign, featuring Sodomy II lead prosecutor Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, to explain the February 10 Federal Court judgment as it had “kept silent for six years because the trial was in progress”.

Will the Chief Justice of Malaysia also be leading Federal Court judges to join the nationwide roadshow to justify and win in the court of public opinion on their decision against Anwar which has not found support among the majority of thinking Malaysians?

“Malaysia has become a very strange and abnormal country, where the strangest of things can happen,” said DAP elder statesman Lim Kit Siang.

Unless the Prime Minister or the Deputy Prime Minister is prepared to come out openly to deny Khairy’s claim that the BN is behind the Shafee roadshow against Anwar, warned Lim who is also DAP Parliamentary Leader and Gelang Patah MP, “Malaysians can only conclude that the Umno/BN leadership is continuing its vile and vicious vendetta against Anwar even after incarcerating him for the fourth time in his life”.

It’s not enough that a few Umno leaders have expressed reservations about Umno/BN involvement with Shafee’s anti-Anwar tirade.

It’s not enough for Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan to claim that the campaign to smear Anwar was not funded by Umno or the government.

Who is a Deputy Minister or unnamed Umno leaders to rebut the announcement and admission of a full Minister like Khairy Jamaluddin?

Lim noted that Mohd Azmi Abdul, the president of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations, in his article in malaysiakini “Let’s stop this ‘Sodomy Politics’, now” summed up not only the objection but the repulsion of ordinary Malaysians at the depths plumbed by those in authority in the vile campaign of character-assassination against Anwar, when he asked:

“Shafee’s character assassination of Anwar at the forum, with Anwar having no opportunity to defend himself, was despicable, unethical, unIslamic and cowardly.

“How can one sink so low! The roadshow shows how disconnected Shafee and Khairy (Jamaluddin) are from the teachings of Islam, resulting in them losing their moral compass.”

In the second stop of Shafee’s nationwide roadshow on Saturday night in Permatang Pauh, the media were told that they were banned from reporting the event, which was even more unfair to Anwar as it meant that the lawyer was at liberty to say anything he liked against the jailed leader while hiding from the media.

Shafee’s roadshow against Anwar, continued Lim, to have a second bite of the cherry as he could not win in the court of public opinion, is also an admission that the Federal Court’s 5-0 unanimous opinion convicting Anwar in the Sodomy II case and sentencing him to five years jail lacks credibility whatsoever.

“Although the five Federal Court judges found Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan a credible witness, the court of public opinion does not find the Federal Court decision a credible one, which also means that the court of public opinion does not agree with the Federal Court and holds that Mohd Saiful is not a credible witness.”

The Shafee roadshow, reiterated Lim, must be halted immediately.

RCI needed to address plight of ‘underclass’ Indians

.02The RCI can also be expected to ask why a population of 7 per cent is responsible for more than 60 per cent of the violent crimes in the country.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: Hindraf Makkal Sakthi, the ad hoc apolitical human rights movement working across the political divide, has called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the plight of the “underclass” Indians in the country who have been left in the twilight zone by independence and fragmentation of estates.

The underclass, according to Hindraf chairman P. Waythamoorthy, is made up of at least 800,000 displaced estate workers and 300,000 stateless people. Earlier figures cited were as high as 850,000 and 350,000 people respectively.

Statelessness keeps the people affected as a readily-available domestic pool of slave labour who don’t figure in official records.

“Only an RCI can establish the tragic reality behind these figures and the plight that has led to marginalization,” said Waytha in revisiting his exit from the Federal Government last year, after a brief few months, over a 5-year RM4.5 billion Hindraf-Barisan Nasional (BN) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on underclass Indians.

Waytha, at that time, had blamed Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak for the failure of the MOU to take off. It was used by Najib to slash Indian support for the Opposition in 2013 to 55 per cent, down from the 85 per cent in 2008. “The Government has been in complete breach on the MOU and only a RCI can help rectify this,” he said. “The RCI’s recommendations should be incorporated in the 11th Malaysia Plan.”

The emphasis in the MOU was on making land available for agricultural pursuits, training opportunities for the acquisition of marketable skills, scholarships, recognition of degrees of universities abroad which Indian students attend, and personal documents under Article 30 of the Federal Constitution.

The RCI can also be expected to ask why a population of 7 per cent is responsible for more than 60 per cent of the violent crimes in the country and leading to many deaths in police custody.

Waytha expressed regret that with Hindraf out of the Government, the BN has gone back to its old ways of dishing out crumbs to Indian-based political parties, within and outside the ruling coalition, to keep Indian voters away from the Opposition, if there’s resistance against supporting it.

The Government, he pleaded, had obligations, responsibilities and duties towards all citizens and urged that it adopt a needs-based approach instead of playing to the gallery on race and religion in the hope of remaining in power for as long as possible. “It’s not the done thing to live in a state of denial on the plight of a large number of people in the country and only pay lip service every General Election.”

The Government, he reiterated, was barking up the wrong tree by continuing to place its hopes on the discredited leaders of Indian-based political parties, within and outside the ruling coalition. “This approach has been tried since independence in 1957 and has not worked. It’s no use throwing good money after bad or down a bottomless pit.”

Group wants second legal body

The Star
BY MAZWIN NIK ANIS

PETALING JAYA: Disappointed with the Bar Council for its criticism against the judiciary, legal volunteer group SukaGuam wants to hold roadshows to gather feedback from the legal fraternity on the prospect of forming another legal body.

SukaGuam chairman Datuk Khairul Anwar Rahmat said having a second body would give lawyers the freedom of choosing the entity which they want to belong to instead of forcing theminto a situation where they are implicated along with the negative actions of the Bar Council.

“We will meet not only practising lawyers but also law graduates to get their views on the possibility of setting up another body for the legal fraternity,” he said.

On Saturday, some 100 members said they would seek the resignation and ask that the Attorney-General initiate contempt proceeding against Bar Council president Christopher Leong if he does not retract his statement on the Federal Court’s decision to uphold Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy conviction.

Senior lawyer Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman who spoke on behalf of the lawyers said they were concerned that the Bar president made such remarks about the judicial system and the courts “in the name of representing the Malaysian Bar”.

Leong, in response to the group’s demand, had welcomed their views and encouraged them to attend the Malaysian Bar annual general meeting on March 14 to raise the matter. The Bar Council has almost 16,000 members.

Yesterday, the 100 practising lawyers, known as G100 said they were not associated with SukaGuam and had not mandated anyone or group other than its official spokesman to issue statements on their behalf.

“As much as G100 as a group of concerned, independent, individual members of the Bar is calling for fellow members to support of the petition regardless of their political leanings or beliefs, this effort and exercise is not headed or arranged by any organisation, political or otherwise,” the group said in a statement.

More Responsible MP In Permatang Pauh If Voters Choose BN - Liow

BENTONG, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- Voters in Permatang Pauh will have a more responsible Member of Parliament (MP) if the Barisan Nasional's (BN) candidate is given the chance to represent them through a parliamentary by-election expected to be called soon.

MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said although Permatang Pauh was deemed PKR's stronghold, the residents were clearly in need of a representative who could really serve them and BN was prepared to do so and to give them the opportunity to make a change.

Liow, who is also Transport Minister, said this to reporters after attending a Chinese New Year do at Sungai Penjuring Community Hall here Monday.

He said although Penang was being ruled by the opposition pact, it was no secret that the component parties were having domestic crisis.

"They have not been able to reach an agreement or find solutions to several issues, such as the implementation of hudud law and local government elections," he said.

Liow said the situation clearly differed in BN which had always showcased solidarity in every issue for the sake of the multi-racial and multi-religious people in the country.

Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election is expected to be called as the seat held by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim may be declared 'officially vacant' soon.

The Federal Court on Feb 10, threw out Anwar's appeal against charges of sodomising his former aide, Saiful Bahari Azlan in 2008, and upheld his five-year jail sentence.

The Permatang Pauh incumbent had 14 days from the date he was convicted and sentenced for sodomy, to file a petition for royal pardon, but has not made any move so far.

-- BERNAMA

Muslim boy 'forced' to lodge report against Hindu dad

A 14-year-old schoolboy has alleged that he was locked up in a room in an Islamic missionary centre in Negri Sembilan for more than three hours.

S Thiyaggurudeen said he was locked up before being forced by two of his teachers to lodge a police report against his Hindu father, who is trying to change the boy's religion from Islam to Hindu.

The boy, who goes to a school near Port Dickson said two Muslim teachers took him out of the school on Feb 13 and made him drink some 'air penawar' before forcing him to sign the police report blindly.

He was forced to sign the police report against his father at the Lukut police station, the boy said.

In Malay traditions, 'air penawar' commonly refers to water which is prayed over giving it healing properties.

He related this in a police report he lodged on Feb 17 on the incident, sent to Malaysiakini by PKR leader S Jayathas.

The boy said he was taken to the missionary centre where he was grilled for more than three hours by a group who claimed to be Islamic affairs department officers.

He was eventually rescued by his father who managed to track down the boy's whereabouts.

The teenager is still listed as a Muslim on his MyKad identity card although his father is a Hindu and his mother an Indonesian Muslim.

His father, S Ganesan, had applied to the Syariah Court to change his son's religion but was told he needed to wait until the boy is 18 years of age to obtain his consent.

Hindu, Muslim, back to Hindu

Ganesan said the police report the two teachers forced his son to sign alleged that Ganesan had been physically abusing the boy since 2012 to ensure the boy left Islam.

"Until now, I have not received an explanation from the school as to why the teachers acted in such a manner," an unhappy Ganesan told Malaysiakini.

Ganesan himself was once Muslim. He converted to Islam when he married a Muslim woman in 1982 but was successful with his apostasy application in 1987 along with his wife and three kids.

His second wife, an Indonesian Muslim, left for Indonesia with the couple's second child after divorcing him.

Thiyaggurudeen is the eldest child from Ganesan's second marriage and has faced problems with his identity card and birth certification ever since.

Ganesan tracked down his son after being tipped off by a security guard at his son's school.

Both the teachers, when confronted, denied any suggestion that they took the boy anywhere, Ganesan said.

Teachers or religious officials?

"About three weeks before the incident, the school had acknowledged my request not to teach my son Islamic Studies after I explained his status and his situation to them," he further said.

Ganesan said he lodged a police report regarding his son's ordeal on the night of Feb 13, while Thiyaggurudeen lodged his own police report at the Seremban police station on Feb 17.

Jayathas said that the teachers had acted in an "improper manner" by bringing the child about without the father's consent.

"There is rule of law in this land. There is no need for teachers to behave like religious officials," he said.

Watch: Arab Children Harass Jewish Visitors to Temple Mount

New tactic: Islamists encourage kids to shout 'Allahu Akbar', wave PLO flags in faces of Jewish visitors to Temple Mount; police do nothing.

By Uzi Baruch, Cynthia Blank

As is commonly the case, a group of Jews who ascended the Temple Mount Sunday were forced to endure provocation and harassment at the hands of Muslims - an all too common occurrence on the Mount.

What was surprising, however, was that instead of the "usual culprits", this morning's disturbances were caused by Arab children, seen chanting "Allahu Akbar" at Jews, shouting insults at them and waving the PLO flag in their faces.

The "Hozrim LaHar" (Returning to the Mount) movement condemned the new crop of harassers, noting that, "the children rioting on the Temple Mount are undergoing a stage to become terrorists."

"In a few years we will see the same faces stabbing soldiers and running over civilians," the organization said, alluding to a spate of terror attacks across Israel, but particularly in Jerusalem, in recent months.

"Police must stop the children now before it is too late," Hozrim LaHar warned.

A man named Yair, who witnessed the incident said that "it seems the terrorists don't have enough money to hire older women to provoke Jews ascending to the Mount, so they moved on to employ children to do that job."

Recently investigators from the Shin Bet and elite police unit Lahav 433 exposed two organizations - "Al-Fajr" in Nazareth and "Muslim Women for Al-Aqsa" in Jerusalem - who finance Islamist thugs and rioters on the Temple Mount.

The so-called activists come daily to the Temple Mount and stand in the area designated for visitors and tourists. When groups of Jewish visitors arrive, the activists use both physical and verbal violence against them.

According to Hozrim LaHar, the police did not question or arrest any of the children involved in this provocation.

ISIS vow to take over Rome and ‘throw homosexuals off of your leaning tower of PIZZA’

• Message was posted by Twitter account used to publicise ISIS activity
• ISIS supporter threatened to conquer Rome and bring shariah law to city
• Also warned terrorists will 'throw homosexuals off leaning tower of pizza'
• Comes after jihadist spoke of plans to takeover Italian capital in ISIS video
• Threats sparked flood of mocking tweets and memes from Italian public

By Stephanie Linning for MailOnline

Hapless Islamic State militants have vowed online to take over Rome - and 'throw homosexuals off the leaning tower of pizza'.

In the message, posted by a Twitter account linked to the terror group, the ISIS supporter also threatens to bring sharia law to the Italian capital.

It comes just days after masked jihadists warned of their intention to conquer the city in a video that showed the mass beheading of 21 Christians in Libya.

But rather than spark widespread panic, the threats have triggered a flood of mocking responses - with dozens taking to social media to make fun of the jihadists and their takeover plans.

In the threat posted today, Twitter user Abu Abdullah Britani, who openly publicises ISIS activity, wrote: '#We_Are_Coming_O_Rome with slaughter'.

The message was soon followed by one that read: '#We_Are_Coming_O_Rome, we will conquer & establish the justice of #shariah. We will use your leaning tower of pizza to throw off homosexual'.

The terrorists have previously thrown men off of buildings for 'being gay'.

Earlier this year, images emerged that appeared to show militants hurling one man off a building in the town of Tal Abyad in Raqqa as supposed punishment for having a ‘homosexual affair’.

This most recent threat appears to indicate the terrorists intend to bring their barbaric practices to Europe - and plan to repeat the horrific scenes off the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

It appears the tweeter is unaware the tower is in Pisa, not Rome.

The hashtag #We_Are_Coming_O_Rome has been used by Islamic State supporters to discuss plans to reach Rome after the city was mentioned in a sickening video released earlier this week.

The footage, which lasts five minutes, shows the Egyptian Christians dressed in jumpsuits being marched one by one along a lonely beach, each held by a fighter clad in black.

The captives, their faces uncovered, are made to kneel before being forced to lie down. The masked jihadists then behead them simultaneously.

In the video, one of the militants warned: 'Today we are south of Rome. We will conquer Rome with Allah’s permission.'

They claimed their prisoners had been beheaded in Libya - just 220 miles south of Italy.

In the wake of the threat, Italian security chiefs have approved plans to put 4,800 soldiers on the country's streets and post them to 'sensitive sites' to help prevent terrorist attacks.

Read more:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2963229/ISIS-vow-Rome-throw-homosexuals-leaning-tower-PIZZA.html

Quran schools not involved in spreading Isis ideology, says association – Bernama

The Selangor Association of Quran Memorising Institutions (Pitas) rejects the perception that such educational institutions (tahfiz schools) in Selangor were involved in spreading the Isis militant group's ideology in the country.

Its chairman Ashri Lateh Al-Muqril said the 160 registered tahfiz schools in the state had never encouraged their students to join any militant group, including the Isis.

"The militant group not only contravenes the tahfiz education philosophy but has also deviated far from the true teachings of Islam," he told Bernama today.

He said there were about 10,000 students in 130 tahfiz schools affiliated to Pitas, while another 30 were not part of the association.

Those affiliated to Pitas followed the syllabus provided by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) and Pitas was constantly monitoring their developments, he said.

"Jihad in tahfiz studies is not about taking up arms and going to war, but seeking knowledge like memorising and understanding the Quran which is a bigger jihad," Ashri said.

He added that tahfiz schools were to produce a generation of Quran students who were knowledgeable and well-rounded individuals, and were not training grounds for militants.

On a 14-year-old female tahfiz student who was arrested at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport for allegedly trying to join the Isis group in Syria, Ashri said this was individual in nature and an isolated case.

The girl from Muar, Johor was reportedly a student of a tahfiz school in Shah Alam.

However, Ashri said, the girl's case would be discussed at the Pitas annual general meeting next month while it would also discuss and seek ways to prevent the Isis ideology from influencing and poisoning the minds of tahfiz students. – Bernama, February 22, 2015.

Jude Pereira keeps mum, wants people to judge

The investigating officer in the Sodomy II case, Jude Pereira, has refused to make any further comments apart from a handwritten account published in the Malaysia Today blog, alleging an attempt to subvert the case's trial by My Watch chairperson R Sri Sanjeevan.

Jude told Malaysiakini that he would not becommenting on the matter, and refused to answer queries on whether he had lodged a police report regarding the attempt to subvert the trial.

He also refused to respond to Sanjeevan's claims that the whole allegation was a "complete lie".

"Sorry, I am not making any more comments. Let the people judge," Jude said when posed with the queries today.

In his handwritten note, Jude claimed that Sanjeevan - who is also a PKR member - had requested him to release a press statement alleging a conspiracy in the Sodomy II investigations, which would subvert the trial.

This supposedly happened before GE13, when the case was still pending in the Court of Appeal.

Meanwhile, Sanjeevan - when contacted - emphasised that he would only be lodging a police report if Jude is confirmed as the man who made the allegations.

Jude's handling of the evidence from the scene where the sodomy tryst allegedly took place in 2008 was extensively questioned by Anwar's lawyers throughout the seven-year legal process - which ended with Anwar being sentenced to five years in prison earlier this month.

In his account published in Malaysia Today, Jude wrote that he had met both Sanjeevan and former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan over the attempt to subvert the trial.

Jude did not sign the press statement alleging the sodomy charge to be a conspiracy, as reportedly requested by Sanjeevan.

Musa had previously confirmed the incident to Malaysiakini, claiming that Sanjeevan had made the offer to Jude, but that Jude was advised against it by Musa when the two met later.