Monday, 9 March 2015
'Make sure you bring lingerie': Creepy ISIS jihadi grooms undercover reporter posing as 15-year-old girl looking for way to Syria
- Journalist made contact with 'Amatullah', who claimed to be a 16-year-old member of Islamic State originally from the UK
- Reporter asked jihadi what they should bring on their trip to war-torn Syria
- Was told 'Lingerie, loool…' in creepy online exchange with militant
- Detailed instructions on how to travel to Syria were also passed over
A creepy ISIS militant told an undercover reporter he thought was a teenage girl to bring lingerie with her to Syria on her way to be a jihadi bride.
The journalist made contact with 'Amatullah', who claimed to be a 16-year-old member of Islamic State originally from the UK in a publically shared post on social media.
The reporter, posing as a 15-year-old girl, got a response within minutes after responding to the militant.
Detailed instructions on how to travel to Syria using an encrypted smartphone application were soon provided by the ISIS member to the 5 News reporter, using an encrypted smartphone application.
It included advice on how to evade the authorities.
The journalist was told: 'It's not hard. U dont need to know arabic there's plenty of britani bros here... U can stay with me if u want. Until u get married.'
'Comeasap. There's sisters coming every day.'
When the reporter posing as a teenage girl interest in heading to Syria was asked what to pack on her journey to the war-torn country, they were told: 'Lingerie, loool…'
Jim Gamble, the former chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, said radicalisation of young people needs to be treated as online grooming.
He said: 'We need to recognise as people, as a government, that radicalisation in the online world is grooming.
'These people are child abusers and we need to recognise that and we need to be using the language of child abusers when we talk about these thugs who radicalise our children and put them in harm's way.'
Last month, three schoolgirls from London left their homes to travel join jihadis.
Bethnal Green teenagers Shamima Begum and Amira Abase, both 15, and 16-year-old Kadiza Sultana are all thought to now be Syria after last month flying to Turkey and travelling on by bus.
Last year, Bristol girl Yusra Hussien joined Islamic State at just 15 years old.
The family spokesperson Anira Khokha told 5 News: 'I think people forget they are being sexually exploited. Of course they are being groomed.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2984237/Creepy-ISIS-jihadi-grooms-undercover-reporter-posing-15-year-old-girl-looking-way-Syria.html
'I heard English accents... They asked for infidels'
Crucifixions, beheadings and life in Isil-held Syria as revealed by refugees fleeing the terror to Shona Murray in Beirut
Shona Murray
'WE saw the slaughter with our bare eyes. We saw them beheading men in front of our eyes in the centre of our town.
"When we were escaping, there were heads on spikes on each route outside the city, just to remind us all of what can happen," says 39-year-old Umma Abed from Deir ez-Zor in Isil-held Syria.
Umma Abed and her four daughters and two sons fled Isil's control and managed to get to Lebanon late last year.
"They're not Syrians - I heard English accents; Tunisians. When they came first, they searched our house, and said 'do you have any infidels here?'
"I said no, we are just with God; we just want to live, and eat and save my children.
"My daughter fainted, she was so frightened; my son, Abed was crying".
The family are farmers, and owned five hectares of wheat - much of which they were eventually forced to hand over to the local Isil militants.
Isil captured the town of Deir ez-Zor late last July, during a series of lightning advances in Iraq and Syria. Its headquarters in Syria is in the city of Raqqa, next to Deir ez-Zor.
"We were working in the land; one day a missile landed 20 feet from us, and I knew Daesh [local name for Isis] was coming."
When they came, "there was no mercy", she says.
"I have daughters, and if one of them went outside without their face covered, their father would be flogged 80 times.
"This is how they used to make us wear our niqab," Umma Abed demonstrates with her headscarf, fully covering her face.
"The Isil female police would arrest us if we went outside without our husband or other men; they would have us flogged. If my son was sick, I couldn't take him to the hospital unless there was a man.
"One day I was with my son and husband in the town, and they had just crucified a local man, and my son asked me, 'what is happening, why are they doing this', and I kept telling him that it was a statue, and not real. He said 'no, it looks like a real man'.
"He didn't sleep for four nights afterwards, he was so scared. That man's crucifix was held very high, so that everybody could see. My other son wanted to study law, but they said nobody can study law anymore, Daesh says we all have to go back to the laws of when Mohammad was alive.
"My daughter used to study in a regime - Syrian - controlled school, she was in grade nine, but the female Isil police officers said the school was for infidels, and it was 'anti-Islam' for my daughters to be educated."
As well as the savagery meted out by Isil foreigners to her neighbours and family, Umma Abed explains that hunger also drove them to leave.
They now live in a one-room tent, on a campsite at the foothill of the mountains that separates Syria from Lebanon - just 40km away is Damascus. It is through this route her and her family took three days to find shelter.
"We are hungry again, but not as much as before. We need to pay rent in this tent; bread and water are expensive."
NGOs like World Vision and the UN develop sanitation methods for the thousands of refugees that arrive with nowhere to live. They also provide basic food items and clothes.
"It is good, but not enough. We need more food, and my children get sick from the cold and the hygiene in the camp.
Her five-year-old son Abed is in school in the Child Friendly Space (CFS), a designated area set up in various camps by World Vision, which allows children to get basic education while they remain as refugees.
"We just want to go back to our lands, and get rid of Daesh - they are not even Syrian; I don't think Syrians would do this to their own people"
Another alarming consequence of the Syrian war and the refugee crisis is the major rise in the number of child brides whose families can no longer support them, and in cases where a girl is married before the family flee, it is for fear that she will be kidnapped and forced to marry a 'foreign jihadi'. A UNICEF report from 2014 says that child marriages for Syrian refugees have doubled in the past year, with 32pc of recorded marriages occurring in cases where the girl was under 18, many of whom marrying men more than 10 years their senior.
Fifteen-year-old Maryam married her cousin nearly a year ago. The arrangement was made by both their families, before coming to the temporary refugee camps on the Syria/Lebanon border.
Read more: http://www.independent.ie/world-news/middle-east/i-heard-english-accents-they-asked-for-infidels-31049294.html
Shona Murray
'WE saw the slaughter with our bare eyes. We saw them beheading men in front of our eyes in the centre of our town.
"When we were escaping, there were heads on spikes on each route outside the city, just to remind us all of what can happen," says 39-year-old Umma Abed from Deir ez-Zor in Isil-held Syria.
Umma Abed and her four daughters and two sons fled Isil's control and managed to get to Lebanon late last year.
"They're not Syrians - I heard English accents; Tunisians. When they came first, they searched our house, and said 'do you have any infidels here?'
"I said no, we are just with God; we just want to live, and eat and save my children.
"My daughter fainted, she was so frightened; my son, Abed was crying".
The family are farmers, and owned five hectares of wheat - much of which they were eventually forced to hand over to the local Isil militants.
Isil captured the town of Deir ez-Zor late last July, during a series of lightning advances in Iraq and Syria. Its headquarters in Syria is in the city of Raqqa, next to Deir ez-Zor.
"We were working in the land; one day a missile landed 20 feet from us, and I knew Daesh [local name for Isis] was coming."
When they came, "there was no mercy", she says.
"I have daughters, and if one of them went outside without their face covered, their father would be flogged 80 times.
"This is how they used to make us wear our niqab," Umma Abed demonstrates with her headscarf, fully covering her face.
"The Isil female police would arrest us if we went outside without our husband or other men; they would have us flogged. If my son was sick, I couldn't take him to the hospital unless there was a man.
"One day I was with my son and husband in the town, and they had just crucified a local man, and my son asked me, 'what is happening, why are they doing this', and I kept telling him that it was a statue, and not real. He said 'no, it looks like a real man'.
"He didn't sleep for four nights afterwards, he was so scared. That man's crucifix was held very high, so that everybody could see. My other son wanted to study law, but they said nobody can study law anymore, Daesh says we all have to go back to the laws of when Mohammad was alive.
"My daughter used to study in a regime - Syrian - controlled school, she was in grade nine, but the female Isil police officers said the school was for infidels, and it was 'anti-Islam' for my daughters to be educated."
As well as the savagery meted out by Isil foreigners to her neighbours and family, Umma Abed explains that hunger also drove them to leave.
They now live in a one-room tent, on a campsite at the foothill of the mountains that separates Syria from Lebanon - just 40km away is Damascus. It is through this route her and her family took three days to find shelter.
"We are hungry again, but not as much as before. We need to pay rent in this tent; bread and water are expensive."
NGOs like World Vision and the UN develop sanitation methods for the thousands of refugees that arrive with nowhere to live. They also provide basic food items and clothes.
"It is good, but not enough. We need more food, and my children get sick from the cold and the hygiene in the camp.
Her five-year-old son Abed is in school in the Child Friendly Space (CFS), a designated area set up in various camps by World Vision, which allows children to get basic education while they remain as refugees.
"We just want to go back to our lands, and get rid of Daesh - they are not even Syrian; I don't think Syrians would do this to their own people"
Another alarming consequence of the Syrian war and the refugee crisis is the major rise in the number of child brides whose families can no longer support them, and in cases where a girl is married before the family flee, it is for fear that she will be kidnapped and forced to marry a 'foreign jihadi'. A UNICEF report from 2014 says that child marriages for Syrian refugees have doubled in the past year, with 32pc of recorded marriages occurring in cases where the girl was under 18, many of whom marrying men more than 10 years their senior.
Fifteen-year-old Maryam married her cousin nearly a year ago. The arrangement was made by both their families, before coming to the temporary refugee camps on the Syria/Lebanon border.
Read more: http://www.independent.ie/world-news/middle-east/i-heard-english-accents-they-asked-for-infidels-31049294.html
Bangladesh PM Hasina narrowly escapes bomb blast
Several crude bombs exploded in Dhaka's Karwan Bazar only 10 minutes after Hasina's convoy passed the area. Hasina was on her way to address a rally organised by the ruling Awami League in the capital's Suhrawardy Udyan, to mark the anniversary of the historic public address by the Father of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1971.
One police official received minor injuries in the blasts.
"But the official, ASI Mahbub, is fine and is still on duty," bdnews24 online quoted a police official as saying.
The blasts occurred amid an ongoing transport blockade and a shutdown across Bangladesh, enforced by the Opposition BNP and its allies.
Bomb blasts and arson attacks have become frequent in Bangladesh during the blockade that started on January 5 and shutdowns that the 20-Party alliance led by BNP has been enforcing since the beginning of February.
More than 100 people have died in the past two months, mostly in fire-bombings. Many more have been injured.
The BNP-led strike aims to force the Hasina-government to hold fresh elections a year after the controversial elections last year which the BNP had boycotted demanding a neutral caretaker government to oversee the polls. AR ABH
Najib quells dissent in Umno… for now
Datuk Seri Najib Razak showed yesterday that he remains Umno's point person to lead the party and the Barisan Nasional (BN) government despite facing strident public criticism over Putrajaya's handling of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), which is saddled with a RM42 billion debt.Despite the absence of a few party leaders, the Umno president quelled whatever internal dissent brewing over 1MDB, which the opposition claimed could dent the country's finances if the government-owned company defaults on its mountain of debt.
All 160 of the 191 division chiefs, who had showed up at the meeting with Najib, said they were confident over their president’s handling of the issue that has taken prominence after criticism from former prime minister and party president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in recent months.
Their confidence in Najib was no different from his Cabinet's support last week although Umno deputy president and deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had asked for a thorough probe to look into any irregularities, a forensic audit and no bailout using public funds for the government firm which has RM51 billion of assets but little cash flow.
“That is what we were concerned with, if there is misappropriation. If there is wrong judgment in investing, it is still acceptable,” said Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on behalf of the division chiefs.
“But we cannot compromise is when there is misappropriation or abuse of power. So he promised no one will be protected and this what the divisions chiefs want,” said Ismail Sabri, who is a party Supreme Council member from Najib's home state, Pahang.
According to one division chief, Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin, all those at the Umno meeting were satisfied with Najib’s explanation of 1MDB, the audit reports on its accounts and the company’s finances.
“He said 1MDB actually has more assets than debts in the bank. So if we compare, the company still has more assets.
“After the audit is done, the company will be shown to be profitable,” said Bung Mokhtar, who is Kinabatangan division chief in Sabah, a key Umno vote bank.
Najib yesterday repeated his promise made to the Cabinet that Putrajaya would protect no one found guilty of fraud or mismanagement of the company, which is wholly owned by the Finance Ministry.
He also said the accounts will be vetted by the auditor-general and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to probe into whether there has been any wrongdoing.
Criticism towards 1MDB and Najib’s handling of the economy within Umno has been spurred mostly by supporters of Dr Mahathir and former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin.
The criticism appeared to have tarnished Najib’s image in public and party leaders were concerned that if left unchecked, it would lead to an erosion of support ahead of the next federal election due in 2018.
“With his explanation, we are confident of explaining the 1MDB issue to the public and the grassroots,” Ismail Sabri said in a press conference after the meeting in the party headquarters in capital city Kuala Lumpur.
There was also speculation whether the 1MDB saga had caused a rift between Najib and his deputy Muhyiddin, as the latter was conspicuously missing at the meeting.
Two days ago, Muhyiddin had come out with his own statement on 1MDB, saying there would be no public bailout of the company and that its directors must explain some of the company’s business deals which had not profited the government.
Ismail Sabri brushed off suggestions that there could be an ulterior motive behind Muhyiddin’s absence, saying the deputy prime minister had prior commitments
Party insiders have also said that grassroots members were worried over media reports on Najib and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor’s wealth, which were turning supporters away from the party.
The issue was highlighted by American daily The New York Times and one story was also translated into Bahasa Malaysia and spread in social media and in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) media.
“There is no issue with his wealth,” said Bung Mokhtar.
“His siblings are all in business so the wealth comes from these businesses.”
With more than two-thirds of the party’s division chiefs showing up for the meeting, and most of its vice-presidents, such as Datuk Seri Hishammduddin Hussein and Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi there, it would seem that Najib has cemented his hold on the party once again.
One vice-president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal was also absent but Ismail Sabri said many Sabah Umno division leaders were away at a training retreat.
But there are those such as Datuk Seri Idris Haron, who doubted that the 1MDB controversy and stories of Rosmah’s jewellery could have impacted on Najib’s standing in Umno in the first place.
For Idris, who is also Malacca chief minister, it would take more than 1MDB and gossip about Rosmah to fuel a big enough rebellion to dethrone the president.
Najib’s challenges, he said, paled in comparison with what Dr Mahathir had to go through in 1987, when the latter almost lost the presidency to former finance minister Tengku Razeleigh Hamzah.
“Umno has been through worse. We even fought till we got de-registered (in 1987),” said Idris.
“So we will overcome this as well.” – March 9, 2015.
Najib: Malays will be destitutes without Umno
Umno president Najib Razak in the run up
to his critical meeting with Umno divisions today continued to sing the
traditional Umno tune that only the ruling party can uphold the Malay
community.
"I cannot imagine Malaysia without Umno, especially Malays and Muslims.
"The answer will make the Malays destitutes in their own country," Bernama reported him saying.
He was speaking at the closing of the Perak Umno convention and simultaneous opening of Umno branches conference 2015 at Indera Mulia Stadium Ipoh last night.
Najib said Umno needed to adapt itself with the new political environment as currently social media was already regarded as mainstream media and the existing mainstream media such as print media had become second choice.
Umno leaders must avoid from becoming warlords as it would distance the grassroots from the party.
He urged Perak Umno members to fully support Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir, who is also state Umno liaison committee chairman.
Earlier Perak Umno convention committee chairman Saarani Mohamad said 10 resolutions were approved.
Among them are programmes to increase membership and voters, strengthening of party machinery, branch auditing, engaging young voters and loyalty to leaders and Umno's struggle,
Call for ‘new’ politics
At the event, Najib said the party must make thorough preparation and planning if it wishes to win the 14th general election.
Najib, who is also prime minister, said this was because the political approach that could be accepted by the people at present was no longer rigid politics but new politics.
"But this does not mean the old politics cannot be practised, some politics of development, needed by the people is the core to the old politics that still needs to be implemented by us.
"We must do what needs to be done,"
He said the voters' point of view now was different from those in the past.
"So we must practise new politics...we cannot assume that if we have given an allocation, the problem is already solved.
"Today if we say the new generation must be thankful to Umno, maybe their reception may not be like before because it seems we are claiming our rights.
"On the contrary, if we tell, if they think rationally, there is no party with better agenda than Umno and BN and this is not due to sentiment but a guaranteed future for the country at the state or national level," he said, according to Bernama.
"I cannot imagine Malaysia without Umno, especially Malays and Muslims.
"The answer will make the Malays destitutes in their own country," Bernama reported him saying.He was speaking at the closing of the Perak Umno convention and simultaneous opening of Umno branches conference 2015 at Indera Mulia Stadium Ipoh last night.
Najib said Umno needed to adapt itself with the new political environment as currently social media was already regarded as mainstream media and the existing mainstream media such as print media had become second choice.
Umno leaders must avoid from becoming warlords as it would distance the grassroots from the party.
He urged Perak Umno members to fully support Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir, who is also state Umno liaison committee chairman.
Earlier Perak Umno convention committee chairman Saarani Mohamad said 10 resolutions were approved.
Among them are programmes to increase membership and voters, strengthening of party machinery, branch auditing, engaging young voters and loyalty to leaders and Umno's struggle,
Call for ‘new’ politics
At the event, Najib said the party must make thorough preparation and planning if it wishes to win the 14th general election.
Najib, who is also prime minister, said this was because the political approach that could be accepted by the people at present was no longer rigid politics but new politics.
"But this does not mean the old politics cannot be practised, some politics of development, needed by the people is the core to the old politics that still needs to be implemented by us.
"We must do what needs to be done,"He said the voters' point of view now was different from those in the past.
"So we must practise new politics...we cannot assume that if we have given an allocation, the problem is already solved.
"Today if we say the new generation must be thankful to Umno, maybe their reception may not be like before because it seems we are claiming our rights.
"On the contrary, if we tell, if they think rationally, there is no party with better agenda than Umno and BN and this is not due to sentiment but a guaranteed future for the country at the state or national level," he said, according to Bernama.
Kula lashes out after another custodial death
Is the government blind, incompetent or both, MP asks integrity minister Paul Low
FMT
GEORGE TOWN: Once again the Coroner Court has pinpointed to police negligence as the cause of a custodial death two years ago, prompting Pakatan Rakyat parliamentarian M Kula Segaran to mock the federal government’s pathetic apathy.
Yesterday the Coroner Court decided that police had committed an unlawful omission for their failure to send a detainee C Sugumar to hospital to treat his illness.
Coroner Rozi Bainun held that police were responsible for the death of Sugumar two years ago as he was then under their custody and handcuffed.
Sugumar 39, had been detained by police in a public area in Kajang, Selangor on January 23, 2013.
“Another shocking death which ought not to have happened,” said Kula on Sugumar’s death.
“Is the government blind or incompetent or both in police custodial deaths, Datuk Paul Low?” asked the elected representative, referring to Senator Paul Low Seng Kuan, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.
Kula said something was seriously wrong with police training when professionally trained personnel, supposed to be responsible to protect lives, could commit such inhumane behavior.
“A death is not just a statistic. Custodial deaths must not become the rule of the day,” said Kula, the DAP national vice-chairman and Ipoh Barat MP.
The verdict on Sugumar case followed another court ruling on Jan 16 this year in the death of a lorry driver, Chandran Perumal, in custody,
The Coroner’s Court ruled that the death of lorry driver Chandran Perumal in a police lock-up two years ago was due to police negligence.
In June 2013, Paul Low, who is charge of integrity and corruption, assured that the federal government was determined to stop all future tragedies behind bars. “Do not think they are blind to what is out there. It is just that the process of government needs to find a solution to stop this,” he said.
Kula dismissed Low’s assertions. “So what has happened after Paul’s assurance? More custodial deaths!” Kula said, reiterating his call on setting up an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission, as recommended by a royal commission in 2005 headed by former Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah.
The Dzaiddin Report had made 125 recommendations with the independent police complaints and misconduct commission as the core proposal.
Apart from Chandran and Sugumar, other victims of custodial deaths over the years were Suresh Kunasekaran, Samiyati Indrayani Zulkarnain Putra, A Kugan, M Krishnan and K Sivam.
FMT
GEORGE TOWN: Once again the Coroner Court has pinpointed to police negligence as the cause of a custodial death two years ago, prompting Pakatan Rakyat parliamentarian M Kula Segaran to mock the federal government’s pathetic apathy.
Yesterday the Coroner Court decided that police had committed an unlawful omission for their failure to send a detainee C Sugumar to hospital to treat his illness.
Coroner Rozi Bainun held that police were responsible for the death of Sugumar two years ago as he was then under their custody and handcuffed.
Sugumar 39, had been detained by police in a public area in Kajang, Selangor on January 23, 2013.
“Another shocking death which ought not to have happened,” said Kula on Sugumar’s death.
“Is the government blind or incompetent or both in police custodial deaths, Datuk Paul Low?” asked the elected representative, referring to Senator Paul Low Seng Kuan, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.
Kula said something was seriously wrong with police training when professionally trained personnel, supposed to be responsible to protect lives, could commit such inhumane behavior.
“A death is not just a statistic. Custodial deaths must not become the rule of the day,” said Kula, the DAP national vice-chairman and Ipoh Barat MP.
The verdict on Sugumar case followed another court ruling on Jan 16 this year in the death of a lorry driver, Chandran Perumal, in custody,
The Coroner’s Court ruled that the death of lorry driver Chandran Perumal in a police lock-up two years ago was due to police negligence.
In June 2013, Paul Low, who is charge of integrity and corruption, assured that the federal government was determined to stop all future tragedies behind bars. “Do not think they are blind to what is out there. It is just that the process of government needs to find a solution to stop this,” he said.
Kula dismissed Low’s assertions. “So what has happened after Paul’s assurance? More custodial deaths!” Kula said, reiterating his call on setting up an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission, as recommended by a royal commission in 2005 headed by former Chief Justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah.
The Dzaiddin Report had made 125 recommendations with the independent police complaints and misconduct commission as the core proposal.
Apart from Chandran and Sugumar, other victims of custodial deaths over the years were Suresh Kunasekaran, Samiyati Indrayani Zulkarnain Putra, A Kugan, M Krishnan and K Sivam.
MH370 flew with expired underwater beacon battery
Official investigation shows battery shelf life ended 14 months before
FMT
KUALA LUMPUR: The battery for the underwater locator beacon on the MH370 flight data recorder, one of the two “black boxes” on the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft, had expired in December 2012, about 14 months before the plane went missing, according to the official investigation.
There was no evidence to suggest that the battery had been replaced before the expiry date, the report said.
However, the battery for the beacon on the cockpit voice recorder, the other black box, was replaced as scheduled in June 2014.
Underwater beacons are required by international law to work for a minimum of 30 days.
The report said that “while there is a definite possibility that a ULB will operate past the expiry date on the device, it is not guaranteed that it will work or that it would meet the 30-day minimum requirement.
“There is also limited assurance that the nature of the signal (characteristics such as frequency and power) will remain within specification when battery voltage drops below the nominal 30-day level,” the official Factual Information report said.
Both crash-protected recorders were equipped as provided by the regulations with ULB whose transmission time is at least 30 days, on the 37.5 kHz frequency, operating depth up to 20,000 ft (6096 m) and activated with fresh or salt water immersion.
Technical log records showed that the flight data recorder and its beacon was replaced on 29 Feb 2008; the installation records showed that the expiry date for the ULB battery was December 2012.
Interviews with the MAS Engineering staff revealed that the Engineering Maintenance System computer to track and call out maintenance was not updated correctly when the flight data recorder was replaced in February 2008.
Although the old unit was removed from the system, the new unit was inadvertently not installed.
As the system record was not updated “it did not trigger for the removal of the SSFDR for replacement of the ULB battery when it was due,” the report said.
This oversight was not noted until after MH370 disappeared a year ago today, when details of the ULBs were requested.
The report said MAS Engineering had since carried out a fleet-wide inspection of ULB records to ensure that the records of other aircraft were updated accordingly.
- BERNAMA
FMT
KUALA LUMPUR: The battery for the underwater locator beacon on the MH370 flight data recorder, one of the two “black boxes” on the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft, had expired in December 2012, about 14 months before the plane went missing, according to the official investigation.
There was no evidence to suggest that the battery had been replaced before the expiry date, the report said.
However, the battery for the beacon on the cockpit voice recorder, the other black box, was replaced as scheduled in June 2014.
Underwater beacons are required by international law to work for a minimum of 30 days.
The report said that “while there is a definite possibility that a ULB will operate past the expiry date on the device, it is not guaranteed that it will work or that it would meet the 30-day minimum requirement.
“There is also limited assurance that the nature of the signal (characteristics such as frequency and power) will remain within specification when battery voltage drops below the nominal 30-day level,” the official Factual Information report said.
Both crash-protected recorders were equipped as provided by the regulations with ULB whose transmission time is at least 30 days, on the 37.5 kHz frequency, operating depth up to 20,000 ft (6096 m) and activated with fresh or salt water immersion.
Technical log records showed that the flight data recorder and its beacon was replaced on 29 Feb 2008; the installation records showed that the expiry date for the ULB battery was December 2012.
Interviews with the MAS Engineering staff revealed that the Engineering Maintenance System computer to track and call out maintenance was not updated correctly when the flight data recorder was replaced in February 2008.
Although the old unit was removed from the system, the new unit was inadvertently not installed.
As the system record was not updated “it did not trigger for the removal of the SSFDR for replacement of the ULB battery when it was due,” the report said.
This oversight was not noted until after MH370 disappeared a year ago today, when details of the ULBs were requested.
The report said MAS Engineering had since carried out a fleet-wide inspection of ULB records to ensure that the records of other aircraft were updated accordingly.
- BERNAMA
PM must expose Jho Low’s heavy handedness in 1MDB
If there’s a need, the Prime Minister and Finance Minister should institute appropriate action against the Penangite, says DAP's Tony Pua.
FMT
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, also as Finance Minister, must confirm if he has given the go-ahead for the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the government-owned strategic investment company, to extend an additional USD500 million loan to PetroSaudi International Limited’s wholly-owned subsidiary.
For the very first time, said Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua, emails exposed by the Sarawak Report on the 1MDB scandal have implicated Najib. “There’s possible involvement on his part in the PetroSaudi International (PSI) collaboration fiasco.”
Pua, also the DAP National Publicity Secretary, was referring to a messaging conversation during which Patrick Mahony, CEO of PSI, expressed grave concern over approval by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) for a fund transfer from 1MDB to the PSI subsidiary.
The messaging showed that flamboyant Penangite Jho Low had insisted that only the Ministry of Finance approval for the loan was required, and that the loan had already been signed by the Prime Minister, who was also the Finance Minist er.
This exposed conversation, added Pua, raises several pertinent issues and questions.
Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, did Najib approve the loan which was signed between 1MDB and the PSI subsidiary?
1MDB had mysteriously converted their USD1 billion shares in the 1MDB PetroSaudi Limited joint venture (JV) on the last day of the 31 March 2010 financial year, into a USD1.2 billion (RM4.3 billion) loan in the form of Murabaha Notes to the company.
“The messaging refers to an additional USD500 million (RM1.8 billion) which was extended to the PSI subsidiary on 8 September 2010,” pointed out Pua.
Did the Finance Minister give his approval for these loans?
Secondly, the conversation exposed Jho Low’s intimate involvement in the operations of 1MDB to the extent that perhaps Shahrol Halmi, who was the CEO of 1MDB then, was a mere puppet.
“Together with the evidence exposed by the Sarawak Report earlier, Jho Low was involved from putting together the JV, to laying down the terms of the JV agreement and dictating all the relevant financial transaction sums on behalf of 1MDB, well before the 1MDB senior management were even involved,” said Pua.
Finally, warned Pua, should Najib choose to deny his knowledge or involvement as claimed by Jho Low, immediate action must be taken against the latter for his actions to defraud 1MDB by abusing the name of the Prime Minister.
“The Prime Minister must file a police report demanding an urgent investigation of Jho Low for his false claims,” said Pua. “In addition, he should also initiate a civil suit against Jho Low, not only for misrepresentation but also for tarnishing the image and reputation of the Malaysian Prime Minister.”
Najib may have allowed a major infringement to take place.
If Najib fails to take concrete actions against Jho Low, continued Pua, then he cannot blame Malaysians for speculating on his complicity and involvement in the whole 1MDB-PetroSaudi rip-off.
“We already know that out of the initial USD1 billion invested by 1MDB into the JV, USD700 million was immediately siphoned out to a Swiss Bank account belonging to Good Star Limited, controlled by Jho Low and his associates,” said Pua. “For the subsequent USD500 million loan to PSI, only USD340 million went to the PSI subsidiary while the balance of USD160 million was again deposited with Good Star Limited.”
Najib must explain how the national strategic investment company, stressed Pua, with an initial endowment of RM5 billion became a plaything for the then 27-year-old wheeler-dealer in 2009.
As the Finance Minister and the man who kick-started 1MDB, how did he allow such a major infringement to take place?
FMT
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, also as Finance Minister, must confirm if he has given the go-ahead for the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the government-owned strategic investment company, to extend an additional USD500 million loan to PetroSaudi International Limited’s wholly-owned subsidiary.
For the very first time, said Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua, emails exposed by the Sarawak Report on the 1MDB scandal have implicated Najib. “There’s possible involvement on his part in the PetroSaudi International (PSI) collaboration fiasco.”
Pua, also the DAP National Publicity Secretary, was referring to a messaging conversation during which Patrick Mahony, CEO of PSI, expressed grave concern over approval by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) for a fund transfer from 1MDB to the PSI subsidiary.
The messaging showed that flamboyant Penangite Jho Low had insisted that only the Ministry of Finance approval for the loan was required, and that the loan had already been signed by the Prime Minister, who was also the Finance Minist er.
This exposed conversation, added Pua, raises several pertinent issues and questions.
Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, did Najib approve the loan which was signed between 1MDB and the PSI subsidiary?
1MDB had mysteriously converted their USD1 billion shares in the 1MDB PetroSaudi Limited joint venture (JV) on the last day of the 31 March 2010 financial year, into a USD1.2 billion (RM4.3 billion) loan in the form of Murabaha Notes to the company.
“The messaging refers to an additional USD500 million (RM1.8 billion) which was extended to the PSI subsidiary on 8 September 2010,” pointed out Pua.
Did the Finance Minister give his approval for these loans?
Secondly, the conversation exposed Jho Low’s intimate involvement in the operations of 1MDB to the extent that perhaps Shahrol Halmi, who was the CEO of 1MDB then, was a mere puppet.
“Together with the evidence exposed by the Sarawak Report earlier, Jho Low was involved from putting together the JV, to laying down the terms of the JV agreement and dictating all the relevant financial transaction sums on behalf of 1MDB, well before the 1MDB senior management were even involved,” said Pua.
Finally, warned Pua, should Najib choose to deny his knowledge or involvement as claimed by Jho Low, immediate action must be taken against the latter for his actions to defraud 1MDB by abusing the name of the Prime Minister.
“The Prime Minister must file a police report demanding an urgent investigation of Jho Low for his false claims,” said Pua. “In addition, he should also initiate a civil suit against Jho Low, not only for misrepresentation but also for tarnishing the image and reputation of the Malaysian Prime Minister.”
Najib may have allowed a major infringement to take place.
If Najib fails to take concrete actions against Jho Low, continued Pua, then he cannot blame Malaysians for speculating on his complicity and involvement in the whole 1MDB-PetroSaudi rip-off.
“We already know that out of the initial USD1 billion invested by 1MDB into the JV, USD700 million was immediately siphoned out to a Swiss Bank account belonging to Good Star Limited, controlled by Jho Low and his associates,” said Pua. “For the subsequent USD500 million loan to PSI, only USD340 million went to the PSI subsidiary while the balance of USD160 million was again deposited with Good Star Limited.”
Najib must explain how the national strategic investment company, stressed Pua, with an initial endowment of RM5 billion became a plaything for the then 27-year-old wheeler-dealer in 2009.
As the Finance Minister and the man who kick-started 1MDB, how did he allow such a major infringement to take place?
Decrying Isma’s warped version of patriotism
The concept of patriotism takes a beating in the hands of Isma as they suggest youth “learn” how to be patriotic before thinking of furthering their studies.
FMT
It isn’t enough that university students have to take compulsory classes on how to be Malaysian, or how to be morally upright – Isma leader Mohd Hazizi Abd Rahman has now suggested that they must learn how to be patriotic before being eligible to enter public universities, or be awarded education loans and scholarships.
Hazizi makes an amazing point – these are hard times the country is experiencing and instead of standing up and defending the government, Malaysians have had the audacity to make unpatriotic statements and question issues like the impending GST, the financial troubles of 1MDB, even why a politician’s sodomy case was politicised.
As far as Isma is concerned, these statements are seditious. Akin to treason. In Isma’s eyes, if the government has flaws, that is all the more reason to love them. They’re only human after all.
Malaysians must understand it is wrong to question why a privileged few are allowed to speak freely against other races with impunity, or at the very most suffer a slap on the wrist and/or get help from top political figures who go out on a limb to justify their hurtful statements.
Malaysians must understand that the status quo cannot be questioned. Don’t like the racial policies in place? Too bad. Nobody asked you to be born here. Go back to whatever country your grandparents came from, although you have absolutely zero in common with your supposed motherland anymore.
Malaysians must understand it is not acceptable to have differing views from that of leaders in positions of power. They’re in power for a reason – which absolutely isn’t nepotism, cronyism or political power-mongering, just in case you’re wondering – so therefore, everything they say is right.
Malaysians must understand that all ultra kiasu are ignorant; they talk nonsense, and therefore their views are unimportant.
It matters not that too many of our students graduate from university with half-baked language skills and are pretty much unemployable because we don’t train them to deal with the high standards the rest of the professional world calls for, or to even hold a passable conversation in English.
Our education system is world-class, and seditious traitors in the country must not forget that.
In short, let us tell you what to say. What to think. What to feel. And what to wear.
Here’s what I think: stop trying to make our universities your propaganda outlets.
What exactly do you intend to teach students? What is your idea of patriotism? And how narrow-minded do you have to be to believe that your concept is better than ours?
How dare you call us less patriotic than you, Isma? How dare you. Because that is exactly what you’re implying. You think that we don’t love our country as much as you do.
I am patriotic because Malaysia is my home. I was born and raised here, and while I know that talk is cheap and in great supply, I will take up arms to defend my home and family in a heartbeat.
There is no other place on Earth where I feel at home. I still long for the familiar sights and smells of home when I’m in a foreign land. And wherever I go, I bring my country with me.
You speak of treason and of traitors. By all means, punish those that intentionally sabotage the country. Let the anarchists be brought to justice. But don’t think that just because some have a different concept of what this country means to them, that they are less patriotic than you.
We love our country, flaws and all. We want to see our country grow and get better. We will always criticise the government, because it is not the country. The government is simply the people we have put in place to run the country, and we can tear them down if they don’t do what they’re supposed to.
Stop trying to force-feed our youth with your warped idea of patriotism. Just because we don’t hold the same values as you, and just because we criticise our government, it doesn’t mean that we don’t love our home and country. To quote Albert Camus: “I should like to be able to love my country and still love justice.”
Those that criticise their government, barring those politically motivated, usually are those that want to protect their home, not just from outside threats, but from the corrupt and malign that would have us stick our minds in clay jars and march to their beat.
Bottom line: Are you calling on us to die for our country, or for you?
FMT
It isn’t enough that university students have to take compulsory classes on how to be Malaysian, or how to be morally upright – Isma leader Mohd Hazizi Abd Rahman has now suggested that they must learn how to be patriotic before being eligible to enter public universities, or be awarded education loans and scholarships.
Hazizi makes an amazing point – these are hard times the country is experiencing and instead of standing up and defending the government, Malaysians have had the audacity to make unpatriotic statements and question issues like the impending GST, the financial troubles of 1MDB, even why a politician’s sodomy case was politicised.
As far as Isma is concerned, these statements are seditious. Akin to treason. In Isma’s eyes, if the government has flaws, that is all the more reason to love them. They’re only human after all.
Malaysians must understand it is wrong to question why a privileged few are allowed to speak freely against other races with impunity, or at the very most suffer a slap on the wrist and/or get help from top political figures who go out on a limb to justify their hurtful statements.
Malaysians must understand that the status quo cannot be questioned. Don’t like the racial policies in place? Too bad. Nobody asked you to be born here. Go back to whatever country your grandparents came from, although you have absolutely zero in common with your supposed motherland anymore.
Malaysians must understand it is not acceptable to have differing views from that of leaders in positions of power. They’re in power for a reason – which absolutely isn’t nepotism, cronyism or political power-mongering, just in case you’re wondering – so therefore, everything they say is right.
Malaysians must understand that all ultra kiasu are ignorant; they talk nonsense, and therefore their views are unimportant.
It matters not that too many of our students graduate from university with half-baked language skills and are pretty much unemployable because we don’t train them to deal with the high standards the rest of the professional world calls for, or to even hold a passable conversation in English.
Our education system is world-class, and seditious traitors in the country must not forget that.
In short, let us tell you what to say. What to think. What to feel. And what to wear.
Here’s what I think: stop trying to make our universities your propaganda outlets.
What exactly do you intend to teach students? What is your idea of patriotism? And how narrow-minded do you have to be to believe that your concept is better than ours?
How dare you call us less patriotic than you, Isma? How dare you. Because that is exactly what you’re implying. You think that we don’t love our country as much as you do.
I am patriotic because Malaysia is my home. I was born and raised here, and while I know that talk is cheap and in great supply, I will take up arms to defend my home and family in a heartbeat.
There is no other place on Earth where I feel at home. I still long for the familiar sights and smells of home when I’m in a foreign land. And wherever I go, I bring my country with me.
You speak of treason and of traitors. By all means, punish those that intentionally sabotage the country. Let the anarchists be brought to justice. But don’t think that just because some have a different concept of what this country means to them, that they are less patriotic than you.
We love our country, flaws and all. We want to see our country grow and get better. We will always criticise the government, because it is not the country. The government is simply the people we have put in place to run the country, and we can tear them down if they don’t do what they’re supposed to.
Stop trying to force-feed our youth with your warped idea of patriotism. Just because we don’t hold the same values as you, and just because we criticise our government, it doesn’t mean that we don’t love our home and country. To quote Albert Camus: “I should like to be able to love my country and still love justice.”
Those that criticise their government, barring those politically motivated, usually are those that want to protect their home, not just from outside threats, but from the corrupt and malign that would have us stick our minds in clay jars and march to their beat.
Bottom line: Are you calling on us to die for our country, or for you?
Factual Report On MH370 Gives Convincing Details Flight Ends In Indian Ocean
KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Bernama) -- The Factual Information on the investigation of Malaysian Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 provides a clearer picture and more convincing information that MH370 ended in the Indian Ocean.
Principal Specialist at Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology, University Kuala Lumpur Ahmad Maulan Bardai said the collected satellite data had shown detailed path of the flight before it lost contact completely.
"Now we are more convinced that it had ended in the Indian Ocean. Analysis of data from the Inmarsat has shown the flight had changed course after flying passed the tip of Sumatra and heading to the southerly direction.
"And based on that information, it is right that the search and rescue team search in the Indian Ocean," he told Bernama.
The report, released by Malaysian International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370 on Sunday detailed records of preparations for the flight, communications between cockpit and air traffic control, flight path collected from various satellite data, its crew and cargo on that ill-fated flight.
Aircraft information and flight history of MH370 was also recorded in the report.
The Beijing bound flight MH370 disappeared from radar screens with all 239 passengers and crew on board on March 8, 2014.
It had made an air turn back from its intended flight path an hour after it took off from KL International Airport (KLIA) at 12.42am.
Ahmad Maulan said that the fuel capacity of the aircraft on that ill-fated flight had enabled it to travel towards the south.
The report had revealed that MH370 carried 49,100 kilogrammes of fuel that gave an endurance of seven and an half hours. The planned flight duration was five hours and 34 minutes, it said.
"The aircraft can travel 900 kilometers per hour. From the time it made an air turn back, it can still fly for another 5,400 kilometres," Ahmad Maulan said, adding that it could have glided for another hour without fuel before it ended in the Indian Ocean.
On another matter, he said that underwater locator beacon (ULB) battery of the solid state flight data recoder (SSFDR), which was reported expired 14 months before the accident, had no major impact on the recording as SSFDR was operated by aircraft power.
"The only unfortunate thing when the battery expired was that it would not be able to emit beacon when the plane crashed," he said.
However, he noted that the fact how the expired battery was not changed and that it had been overlooked by aircraft safety auditing report was rather questionable.
-- BERNAMA
Principal Specialist at Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology, University Kuala Lumpur Ahmad Maulan Bardai said the collected satellite data had shown detailed path of the flight before it lost contact completely.
"Now we are more convinced that it had ended in the Indian Ocean. Analysis of data from the Inmarsat has shown the flight had changed course after flying passed the tip of Sumatra and heading to the southerly direction.
"And based on that information, it is right that the search and rescue team search in the Indian Ocean," he told Bernama.
The report, released by Malaysian International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370 on Sunday detailed records of preparations for the flight, communications between cockpit and air traffic control, flight path collected from various satellite data, its crew and cargo on that ill-fated flight.
Aircraft information and flight history of MH370 was also recorded in the report.
The Beijing bound flight MH370 disappeared from radar screens with all 239 passengers and crew on board on March 8, 2014.
It had made an air turn back from its intended flight path an hour after it took off from KL International Airport (KLIA) at 12.42am.
Ahmad Maulan said that the fuel capacity of the aircraft on that ill-fated flight had enabled it to travel towards the south.
The report had revealed that MH370 carried 49,100 kilogrammes of fuel that gave an endurance of seven and an half hours. The planned flight duration was five hours and 34 minutes, it said.
"The aircraft can travel 900 kilometers per hour. From the time it made an air turn back, it can still fly for another 5,400 kilometres," Ahmad Maulan said, adding that it could have glided for another hour without fuel before it ended in the Indian Ocean.
On another matter, he said that underwater locator beacon (ULB) battery of the solid state flight data recoder (SSFDR), which was reported expired 14 months before the accident, had no major impact on the recording as SSFDR was operated by aircraft power.
"The only unfortunate thing when the battery expired was that it would not be able to emit beacon when the plane crashed," he said.
However, he noted that the fact how the expired battery was not changed and that it had been overlooked by aircraft safety auditing report was rather questionable.
-- BERNAMA
'Umrah' latest modus operandi to join IS
An excuse to perform the umrah is one of the
latest modus operandi used by individuals who are out to join the
Islamic State (IS) militant group, said Deputy Foreign Minister Hamzah
Zainuddin.
He said the information was obtained through cooperation and information-sharing with foreign countries including the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries.
"We already know some of the tactics used by those who want to join IS militants, some were traced going for umrah but after they arrive in Madinah they disappear," he told reporters in KL yesterday.
For this reason, he said, the ministry would continue to cooperate with foreign countries to learn in depth the ploys used by the group and subsequently prevent the spread of IS militant activities.
Currently there are 61 Malaysians detected in Syria, including 10 women, while the arrests on those suspected to be involved with IS in the country have reached 71 people.
In addition, Hamzah said the ministry was willing to help individuals involved with IS militant activities to correct their mistakes and mend their ways.
"When they return home to this country, we will try to help fix their ideological beliefs, if they have made a mistake or was mistaken we will help to correct them," he said.
Hence, he said the ministry urged the people of this country who were in Syria to go to the nearest embassy to seek for assistance.
Earlier, Hamzah attended a premier lecture ‘Islam Rahmatan Lil'Alamain: Between Fact and Reality’ by rector of Pattani Jaya University, Thailand, Ismail Lutfi.
- Bernama
He said the information was obtained through cooperation and information-sharing with foreign countries including the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries.
"We already know some of the tactics used by those who want to join IS militants, some were traced going for umrah but after they arrive in Madinah they disappear," he told reporters in KL yesterday.
For this reason, he said, the ministry would continue to cooperate with foreign countries to learn in depth the ploys used by the group and subsequently prevent the spread of IS militant activities.
Currently there are 61 Malaysians detected in Syria, including 10 women, while the arrests on those suspected to be involved with IS in the country have reached 71 people.
In addition, Hamzah said the ministry was willing to help individuals involved with IS militant activities to correct their mistakes and mend their ways.
"When they return home to this country, we will try to help fix their ideological beliefs, if they have made a mistake or was mistaken we will help to correct them," he said.
Hence, he said the ministry urged the people of this country who were in Syria to go to the nearest embassy to seek for assistance.
Earlier, Hamzah attended a premier lecture ‘Islam Rahmatan Lil'Alamain: Between Fact and Reality’ by rector of Pattani Jaya University, Thailand, Ismail Lutfi.
- Bernama
Sunday, 8 March 2015
650 Germans have joined Isis jihad: minister
So far about 650 people have travelled from Germany to the war zones in Iraq and Syria to fight for Isis, Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière said on Thursday evening.
Speaking on the Maybrit Illner TV talk show, de Maizière said that the trend in Germany – of ever more people travelling to the Levant to fight for the radical Islamist fighters there - was similar to those in France and Belgium.
Only in Britain has the number fallen back, he said.
The security services know “a great deal about” the Islamist scene in Germany and the 650 Isis recruits have been “very clearly identified,” said the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) politician.
There are also more than 1,000 high risk individuals who “we know pretty exactly”, he said.
The number of people travelling to the Middle Eastern war zones has been rising for several months.
In mid-January, de Maizière told the Bundestag (German parliament) that 600 people had travelled to the region to join Isis.
The Interior Minister was responding to comments made on Thursday George Hans Maaßen, the head of Germany's internal security service, the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschut.
Maaßen said he wished he knew more about the Islamist scene in Germany, complaining of his dependence on other countries' intelligence services - including Britain's GCHQ - and the internet.
“It is amazing how much some people give away about themselves on the internet – as much as pictures of kidnappings in Syria that they participated in as witnesses,” Maaßen told the Südwestpresse on Wednesday.
“The number of of people travelling out there has gone up, and likewise the number of those coming back has,” he said.
“And with that the number of people who have battle experience and know how to handle weapons has also risen.”
Saudi Court Sentences Gang Rape Victim to 200 Lashes And Custodial Sentence
The victim of a violent gang rape has been sentenced by a Saudi Arabian court to 200 lashes and six months in jail for the crimes of speaking to the press and indecency.
According to Sharia Law, a Saudi Arabian woman must be accompanied by a male guardian at all times in public, something the 19 year old victim did not obey when she went to meet a friend, according to website Live Buddhism.
While in a car with a student friend, retrieving a picture, two men got into the vehicle and drove them to a secluded area. She said she was raped there by seven men, three of whom also attacked her friend.
The Shi’ite Muslim woman had initially been sentenced to 90 lashes after being convicted of violating the Kingdom’s religious diktats on segregation of the sexes, where woman are treated as second class citizens.
After the sentences were handed down following the rape in 2006, which included lenient custodial sentences for the men guilty of the violent crime, the woman’s lawyer appealed to the Saudi General Court. But instead of choosing to overturn the punishments for being the victim of a crime, the court more than doubled her sentence. At the same time, they also roughly doubled the prison sentences for the seven men convicted of raping her, according to Saudi news outlets.
Abdul Rahman al-Lahem, who defended the woman, reached out to the media after the sentences were handed down. The court has since banned him from further defending the woman, confiscating his license and summoning him to a disciplinary hearing later this month.
Saudi Arabia defended the controversial decision to punish the victim, saying that she was at fault for being out without a male friend, something which was met with international outcry.
“The Ministry of Justice welcomes constructive criticism, away from emotions,” it said in a statement.
The statement also said that the “charges were proven” against the woman for having been in a car with a strange male, and repeated criticism of her lawyer for talking “defiantly” about the judicial system, saying “it has shown ignorance.” They also added that the sentence was increased because the victim had spoken to the media. “For whoever has an objection on verdicts issued, the system allows to appeal without resorting to the media,” a statement on the official Saudi Press Agency said.
Politicians from the West reacted angrily to the news, with Jose Verger, the Canadian minister responsible for women, calling it “barbaric” and saying the country would complain to Saudi authorities.
U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, “I think when you look at the crime and the fact that now the victim is punished, I think that causes a fair degree of surprise and astonishment. It is within the power of the Saudi government to take a look at the verdict and change it.”
UK political activist Angharad Yeo, who is half Saudi and has campaigned against violation of women’s rights at home and abroad. said it “sends a clear message that women are not valued and only seen as a possession.”
The UKIP member described the ruling as “disgusting”, adding that a woman was being punished “because men in Islam are weak and pathetic and hide behind Islam. What message does that send to young women?” she asked.
“You can’t ever protect yourself and your well being is a lottery. Should you be unfortunate enough to be assaulted, expect for it to be your own fault.”
The New York based Human Rights Watch said the verdict “not only sends victims of sexual violence the message that they should not press charges, but in effect offers protection and impunity to the perpetrators.”
Police to record Nurul Izzah’s statement on rally
Nurul Izzah Anwar, daughter of jailed opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, said today that police are expected to record her statement on March 16, under the Public Assembly Act 2012.Confirming that she had received the "love letter" from the police, Nurul Izzah said she will continue pressing ahead in her cause to free her father and fight for justice for everyone.
"I received a love letter... Checks showed that I am being investigated under the Public Assembly Act, the same Act that (PKR Youth head) Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad had challenged and won. My appointment is on March 16," she said.
Nurul Izzah said today's #KitaLawan rally was important because it symbolizes Malaysians coming together and that we have a vibrant democracy.
"I think it is a very important symbolism, the site that we are standing (in KLCC), shows that Malaysians are more than just about materialistic wealth. We want to show that we have a vibrant democracy," she said.
Police had earlier warned the public not to join today's street protest, which began from 3pm from three points in the city – Central Market, Masjid Jamek and the PAS headquarters on Jalan Raja Laut – before marching to congregate outside the Sogo shopping centre on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.
Continuing the march to KLCC, the rally today ended at 6.12pm under the supervision of lawyers and the authorities. PKR claimed to have gathered a crowd of 10,000 in support of Anwar and to call for the resignation of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. – March 7, 2015.
MH370 next of kin recall their disbelief at news of missing plane
United in sorrow, the next of kin of crew members on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 gathered tonight for strength and solidarity as they recounted the disbelief and terror they felt one year ago upon hearing that the plane carrying their loved ones had vanished."Oh My God, oh my God, oh my God, what's going on, what's going on," was the first thing Melanie Antonio said when she first heard the news of the Beijing-bound jetliner's disappearance on March 8, 2014.
Antonio, the wife of chief steward Andrew Nari recalled the shock and the speechlessness she felt that morning.
"They said the flight had lost contact and I said, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, what's going on, what's going on... seriously that's what I said because I was shocked," she told The Malaysian Insider tonight at the One Year Remembrance of MH370 Cabin Crew Families event in Petaling Jaya.
There were 12 crew members, including the pilot and co-pilot, on board the plane that lost contact with civilian radar over the waters off Vietnam as it headed towards Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. The plane then did an air turn back before flying southwards to the Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have ended, and where a massive undersea search is ongoing.
Kelvin Shim, whose wife Christine Tan was the lead stewardess, said he told himself that what he was experiencing could not be true.
"My first reaction was to feel very scared, and I called my mum. I was telling myself, it could't be me.
He said he was first informed by WhatsApp about a missing plane at around 8.30am on March 8.
"First, I received the information on WhatsApp about an aircraft missing, then later, it was a Malaysia Airlines plane that had gone missing. I knew it was a Beijing-bound flight, but I didn't know how many flights go to Beijing in one day."
"After I saw the WhatsApp, I quickly checked whether the flight number was the same with the flight that she boarded," he said.
With the current search in the southern Indian Ocean expected to end in May, Shim said he hoped the government would continue trying to find the plane.
"If nothing is found, I hope the government would sit down again, analyze all the information, data and continue to search."
"I'm not sure whether they should search other areas. The world is so big, I can understand that you can't simply search everywhere, the search is expensive. You have to depend on correct data, then only you search," he said.
Another spouse of a crew member, Choi Loong Chow, said he last spoke with his wife Goh Sock Lay, at 9.24pm on March 7, before she boarded the plane.
She reminded him to apply for leave from work in April to observe the Qing Ming festival, a time when Chinese clear the graves of their ancestors and pay respect to them.
"That day on March 7, around 9.24pm, she first called me when I had my shower, but I didn't pick up, so she called me a second time at my other phone. She talked in a very rushed manner, saying, Daddy, daddy…I remind you, we need to go back to Malacca for Qing Ming," Choi said.
Jacquita Gonzales, the wife of steward Patrick Gomes said the first thing she did after hearing of the plane's loss of contact was to send him a message.
"That was my first message, Where are you."
"Right now at this time last year, our spouses were preparing to go on the flight, we were having dinner, right now, almost a year ago. My husband was playing with his grandson on the iPad," Gonzales said, adding that the memory was still fresh in her mind.
"[If only we could] just press the rewind button," she said.
The gathering tonight observed a minute of silence.
Gonzales, speaking on behalf of the next of kin of the crew members, then gave a speech thanking several parties, including the Malaysian government, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, then acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor, and Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin, who had headed a committee for the next of kin.
"Thank you to Malaysia and to every other country that has sent us prayers and wishes, to tell us to be strong, and keep the faith," she said, adding that they also thanked the search team of MH370.
Hamzah, who attended the gathering tonight, said he decided to be with the next of kin even though he was supposed to be at an Umno meeting in Perak.
"I realise the importance of someone from the government to assure them that the government will always be with them," he said, adding that he would follow through with the issues raised in the interim investigation report on the plane that is expected to be released on Sunday. As required by international aviation convention, an interim report on any air disaster must be released a year from the incident. – March 7, 2015.
Najib's lawsuit won't silence me on 1MDB
MP SPEAKS I
will not be shackled by the defamation suit brought by Prime Minister
Najib Razak because I am supported by millions of Malaysians out there
who demand good governance, transparency and accountability from the
Prime Minister and his Government
My lawyer, Gobind Singh who is also the MP for Puchong, has received the writ served by Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s lawyers at 4.30pm yesterday evening.
The
suit by the prime minister accused me of having defamed him in my
speech at a DAP Petaling Jaya Fund-Raising Dinner on November 3, 2014
where I spoke extensively on the “mother of the mother of the mother of
all scandals”, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
This suit is the first defamation suit ever brought by a prime minister against a member of parliament in Malaysia.
It appears that the timing of the suit is coming at a time when 1MDB is facing a massive crisis on all fronts - the inability to service its massive RM42 billion debt, and mounting exposés on fraudulent transactions and even possibly embezzlement billions of ringgit of 1MDB funds.
Hence the suit could have been filed as a strategy to silence me and other government’s critics.
However, I would like to inform the prime minister that if that was the plan, he has failed miserably.
Resolve strengthened
Instead, the suit only strengthened my motivation to pursue, investigate and expose more corruption, abuse of power and incompetence in 1MDB as well as other government activities, knowing that I am on the right track.
I
will certainly not be shackled by the suit because I know I am
supported by millions of Malaysians who are equally astounded by the
sheer audacity of the 1MDB scam.
Like me, they demand good governance, transparency and accountability from the prime minister and his government.
I would like to declare here that I will contest the suit by the prime minister. At the same time, I would like to express my gratitude to the many lawyers who have contacted me to offer their services pro bono.
TONY PUA is Petaling Jaya Utara MP.
My lawyer, Gobind Singh who is also the MP for Puchong, has received the writ served by Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s lawyers at 4.30pm yesterday evening.
The
suit by the prime minister accused me of having defamed him in my
speech at a DAP Petaling Jaya Fund-Raising Dinner on November 3, 2014
where I spoke extensively on the “mother of the mother of the mother of
all scandals”, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).This suit is the first defamation suit ever brought by a prime minister against a member of parliament in Malaysia.
It appears that the timing of the suit is coming at a time when 1MDB is facing a massive crisis on all fronts - the inability to service its massive RM42 billion debt, and mounting exposés on fraudulent transactions and even possibly embezzlement billions of ringgit of 1MDB funds.
Hence the suit could have been filed as a strategy to silence me and other government’s critics.
However, I would like to inform the prime minister that if that was the plan, he has failed miserably.
Resolve strengthened
Instead, the suit only strengthened my motivation to pursue, investigate and expose more corruption, abuse of power and incompetence in 1MDB as well as other government activities, knowing that I am on the right track.
I
will certainly not be shackled by the suit because I know I am
supported by millions of Malaysians who are equally astounded by the
sheer audacity of the 1MDB scam.Like me, they demand good governance, transparency and accountability from the prime minister and his government.
I would like to declare here that I will contest the suit by the prime minister. At the same time, I would like to express my gratitude to the many lawyers who have contacted me to offer their services pro bono.
TONY PUA is Petaling Jaya Utara MP.
10,000 throng KLCC to call for Anwar's release
LIVE REPORT
[VIDEO] [PHOTOS]
10.54pm: PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil said that Kelana Jaya PKR Youth chief Saifullah Zulkifli, who was arrested earlier, will be sent to the Dang Wangi police station.
Meanwhile, Selangor exco Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad has been asked to go to the Dang Wangi police station at 10am, perhaps for his statement to be taken in connection to today's rally. Nik Nazmi said he will be going there with a lawyer.
8.46pm: Almost all of the rally participants have dispersed and the scene at the venue has returned to normal.
The police, despite declaring the rally illegal earlier this week, took a hands-off approach. The few police officers seen on the streets were helping to smoothen traffic flow.
However, PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil told Malaysiakini that a party leader was arrested near Masjid Jamek at 7.45pm.
Kelana Jaya PKR Youth chief Saifullah Zulkifli was detained by the police in connection to the rally and he was sent to the Jinjang police station.
7.07pm: PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli on Twitter thanks those involved and quips that the authorities will underplay the turnout today.
"If Umno counts (the turnout), a few zeros will disappear. That's why the 10,000 will become 100," he tweeted.
"If 1MDB takes RM42 billion, they think its RM42 million," he said on his Twitter.
6.55pm: About
500 protestors are still at KLCC. A driver in a Nissan car passing by
tries to provoke the crowd by waving a baseball bat from the car.The resting crowd gets agitated and starts chasing the car but is stopped by activist Adam Adli and a few friends.
He holds back one angry protester who is seen chasing the car. After the incident, the situation calms down again.
6.40pm: One of the Kita Lawan secretariat members Mandeep Singh tells Malaysiakini that they have no plans to stay overnight at KLCC.
“Initially, we did not plan to stay overnight here.
“But it’s up to the protesters, if they want to, they can spend the night here,” he says
Semambu assemblyperson Lee Chean Chung concurs that the secretariat did not have such plans.
“Maybe we will do so in other rallies,” says Lee.
6.30pm: Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) executive director Eric Paulsen is in favour of the one-night camp-over at KLCC as suggested by DAP's Hew Kuan Yew.
"As long as rally goers do not damage public property, I think it's fine," he says.
Paulsen, who was among the crowd who marched from Central Market to KLCC, praised Kita Lawan organisers for their efforts in organising the rally.
"Despite misrepresentation of the rally by the police force, I think the people have shown their support by demonstrating peacefully," he told Malaysiakini.
6.07pm: NGO Jingga 13 chief Fariz Musa announces the Kita Lawan rally is officially concluded and that whoever wants to stay on should get candles for a candlelight vigil at KLCC.
The NGO's members stay on to entertain the protestors who are still there while others disperse.Thus far, no untoward incidents have been observed by Malaysiakini.
6.10pm: PKR Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin gives the last speech and organisers call it a successful day.
Huge crowds are still lingering around, but some have begun to disperse.
There is a mixed reaction to the proposal that the protestors continue to stay overnight at KLCC.
Some tell Malaysiakini that they would not stay as they have other matters to attend to.
Others are more positive, saying they will stay for as long as they have the energy to do so.PKR Youth communications director Johan Ariff says all will depend on the momentum of the rally.
"If the momentum is good like right now, then maybe we will do this overnight, but where I don't know yet," he tells Malaysiakini.
6.15pm: After his speech, PKR's Subang MP R Sivarasa says there is no problem for the people to stay overnight at KLCC as they are battling oppressive laws.
"The people here are willing to take to the streets to end these oppressive laws that govern us."Some don't even mind being arrested, as long as they have made their stand and hopefully (called for) a change for their children and grandchildren," he tells Malaysiakini.
Legally, the lawyer adds, there shouldn't be a problem with the protesters staying overnight as long as they cause no provocation or destroy any public property.
6pm: Activist Adam Adli Abdul Halim reads the 'Sumpah Pemuda' oath (Youth Pledge).
Before that he states: “If Malaysians are not firm, we will be bullied by the government.
“There is only one word when we get oppressed and caught by the authorities, and that is ‘lawan’ (fight back).
“Do we want to retreat? Fellow police officers, you can go home, we know how to take care of ourselves. Go and rest all you want, we will come back here,” he says.
He then reads the oath, saying that they are not doing it for Anwar, but for the oppressed.“We swear we will continue fighting this corrupt regime.
“We swear that we will continue to move the rakyat forward to continue fighting, in the name of courage, brotherhood, justice."
"Today we 10,000 have come, next week, 100,000 will come," he continues and chants, "Long live the rakyat" and "Reformasi".
5:57pm: Subang MP R Sivarasa addresses the crowd and says the rally today is meant to show the government that people are not satisfied with the judicial system in the country allegedly manipulated by the ruling government.
"Will we stop the struggle of the people and the youth?" he asks the crowd who replied with a rousing response of: "No!"
"This rally is sending a clear message to the judges who have sent Anwar to jail.
"We want to remind the judiciary, we want freedom, we don't want a judicial system that is being controlled (by politicians).
"We will struggle until Malaysia is free and independent," he says, followed with chants of "Free Anwar."
5.50pm: PAS leader Hatta Ramli says the protest has succeeded in being a peaceful one.
"Not one stone has been thrown," he says.He urges the youth to channel their anger with Prime Minister Najib Razak and the imprisonment of Anwar into votes to be cast at the ballot box.
"We have a future, and I'm sure we have a dream for a better future," he adds.
5.50pm: KLCC - DAP's 'superman' Hew Kuan Yew addressing the crowd urges the ralliers to camp at KLCC for a day.
"Can we?" he asks the crowd, to the response, "Can!""But it's up to you all," he adds. Hew has often advocated for rallies to end in camp-ins to send a stronger message.
PAS leader Hatta Ramli then jokes he understands Prime Minister Najib Razak will be sending mattresses to KLCC for them.
"Who wants to stay, please do. I will hold a feast at the end of the month," he quips to laughter from the crowd.
5.35pm: KLCC - The rally has congregated around KLCC. At the main entrance, D'BangsART entertains the crowd with political songs in the face of the rain.
Some in the crowd wave their hands in the air to music and the sound of drums.One song calls on Najib to step down, and is sung to the tune of Johor's football team 'Luaskan Kuasamu' (Expand your power).
"Oh Najib, oh cheater, we want you to step down. We come, we fight, along with the citizens of Malaysia.
"Fight, fight, we fight until we win. We fight along with the citizens of Malaysia," they sing, as the crowd sings along.
PKR Youth chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad meanwhile says Malaysiakini's estimate of 10,000 ralliers is lower than what he observes."To me the figure is conservative. There are many more who have shown up," he says.
He says the rally is a success and hopes the photographs will be widely circulated.
"This struggle is not easy, we have to always try harder and we will not be defeated," he says.
He also thanks the police for their cooperation.
5.30pm: KLCC - More explosions are heard, but so far the crowd has remained calm.
One of the marchers Nicholas Law, 27, tells Malaysiakini that he believes it might be an attempt to intimidate the crowd.
"They might be trying to intimidate us, but so far no one is panicking," he says.He also brushes off alleged attempts to pit Pakatan partners against one another in the lead up to the rally.
"Everyone is here, so it's not an issue," he says.
DAP's special task unit has been helping to facilitate the crowd's movement in the rear guard, protecting them from crossing into traffic and from blocking roads unnecessarily.
PAS's Unit Amal meanwhile is tasked with ensuring the entire rally's security.
5.10pm:
PKR vice president and Anwar Ibrahim's eldest daughter Nurul Izzah says
she is "speechless and taken aback" with support from the people who
have turned up today."I'm so proud to be a Malaysian and to see so many people turn up for this rally.
"This rally is not just about Anwar, but the people's unhappiness with the Najib regime and how it has affected them.
"Many issues like the impending Goods and Services Tax (GST) and 1MDB have driven the people to the streets," she tells Malaysiakini.
5pm: Jalan Ampang - A steady stream of motorists have queued up behind the marchers.
Traffic however resumes smoothly when the crowd turns into Jalan Ampang, the entrance to which police have barricaded for vehicles.
Along the way, a loud bang is heard about 50 metres to the left of the rear guard.
Momentarily startled by the thundering crack, the crowds quickly realise it's a firecracker and shrug it off and move on.
Some policemen are seen directing the traffic to assist the rally.
5pm: The crowd of several thousands brave the rain, singing songs and beating drums while marching towards KLCC.Chants of "Reformasi" and "Undur Najib" fill the air.
One protester is seen carrying an effigy resembling Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak. The crowd is led by groups holding a poster that stretches as wide as two lanes of the road.
4.30pm: As the crowds march towards KLCC, about 50 supporters are staying back at Sogo because of the rain.
One supporter who did not wish to be named tells Malaysiakini that he will join them once the drizzling has stopped."I'm waiting for the rain to stop," he says.
4.30pm Sogo - A group of protesters calling themselves the 'PKR grassroots members club' arrives at Sogo with a banner bearing the face of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The group shouts, “Hidup Mahathir, hidup Anwar” (long live Mahathir and Anwar).
When asked, one of them named Jaz says they want PKR to collaborate with Mahathir as only the former premier can free Anwar.
“Do you think Mahathir is a child? He is capable of doing great things.“PKR no longer have brave souls after Anwar was incarcerated. Even Azmin has kept quiet.
“As such, only Mahathir is our hope!” Jaz says.
Meanwhile, several PKR members seem uneasy with this group, and yells, “Undur Mahathir” (down with Mahathir).
They ask the group to prove their PKR memberships by showing their PKR membership cards.
Jaz then shows his card and the two groups argue further.
The 'Mahathir supporters' finally leave the area after 30 minutes.
4.20pm: Thunder roars as Kita Lawan and Pakatan leaders address the crowd.
They are speaking at two different spots at Sogo, one on the mall's sidewalk, and another in the middle of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.
They have begun marching to KLCC.
4.15pm: PKR president Dr Wan Azizah tells the crowd she will convey the message to Anwar Ibrahim that the people have not forgotten him."The crowd present here shows how many people care about him. We will never surrender!," she calls out to the crowd of over 10,000, while wearing a poncho to brave the rain.
Alongside her is PAS central comittee member Khalid Samad and her younger daughter, Nurul Nuha Anwar who heads the March 2 Freedom campaign.
4pm: Sogo - Former Bar Council president and Bersih leader S Ambiga addresses the crowd, urging them to fight for Anwar's freedom.
"I am here today to demand the freedom of Anwar. We must fight for his release. We will never surrender!" she shouts.PAS Youth chief Suhaizan Kaiat then takes the loudspeaker. He says PM Najib Razak will soon step down.
"Najib has too many problems. GST, Altantuya and 1MDB. Najib won't last for long, and soon we will be rid of Rosmah too," he tells the cheering crowd.
3.55pm: Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman - The marching crowd at Masjid Jamek occupy half the road, and traffic moves slowly past while the crowd's chants echo around.
Hatta
Ramli and PAS leaders from the HQ arrive at the Sogo junction as chants
of "Down with Rosmah" reverberate outside the popular shopping centre.The roads around Sogo are packed with people as the streams from the other meeting points converge at the final destination.
Dang Wangi police chief Zainol Samah is observing developments from across the street.
3.50pm: Sogo - Among the Pakatan leaders who arrive earlier at Masjid Jamek are DAP Rasah MP Anthony Loke, Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong, DAP Youth chief Teoh Kok Seong and others.
Hulu Kelang PAS assemblyperson Saari Sungib is also present.
Loke says Pakatan will ensure Anwar remains the parliamentary opposition leader.
"Anwar's soul and spirit can never be imprisoned."We will send Anwar's voice to Parliament. We will ensure he continues to lead Pakatan to bring BN down," says Loke.
Saari meanwhile says this rally is not a gathering for Pakatan but for the people of Malaysia.
"Keep the fight, we will continue to struggle and reach Putrajaya," he declares.
3.50pm: Bar Council observer N Yohendra says he is pleased with how the rally is proceedings so far.
"So far it has been a peaceful rally. The police have also given the protesters space to speak and walk," he tells Malaysiakini.
Yohendra adds the Bar Council has two teams assigned to watch over the rally and another to handle arrests if there are any.
"We are here to observe and make sure there is no human rights violation," the lawyer adds.
Meanwhile Klang MP Charles Santiago in a statement this afternoon mulls if agent provocatuers have been planted in the rally.
"Deputy inspector-general of police Noor Rashid Ibrahim has warned
rally goers of tough action, claiming the gathering is "sedition-laced"
and 'unlawful'.
"For any assembly to be ‘unlawful’, people have to use ‘criminal force’, as provided for in the Penal Code.
"Why is the deputy police chief preempting the use of criminal force by members of the public?
"Or could this signal a covert plan or a hidden agenda, with the police
being aware of agent provocateurs put in place to instigate
rally-goers?
"Time and again, there have been speculations that when previous
rallies got messy, it was the presence of some initiators who played a
big hand in disrupting peaceful gatherings," says Santiago.
3.50pm: Masjid Jamek - A crowd of over 1,500 including those from Central Market are heading towards Sogo.Many are seen carrying placards and some even wearing red headbands with the words 'Kita Lawan' on them
PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar and PKR's Youth chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad are seen leading the rally despite the increasing rain.
3.40pm: PAS HQ - About 300 led by Hatta Ramli begin moving towards Sogo. They shout, "Free Anwar" and "Step down, Najib".
Some bear "kita lawan" banners and shout "Reformasi" and "Takbir".
PAS' Unit Amal control the traffic that is moving through Jalan Raja Laut.
3.35pm: Sogo - It has started to drizzle, and many are now seeking shelter underneath the mall's awning. The crowd is now 500 strong.
Two policemen are walking among them, taking notes and photos.
3.30pm: Masjid Jamek - The crowd here has grown to roughly 1,000 although organisers put it at 3,000.
3.20pm: Central Market - The crowd here beings to march towards Masjid Jamek as a drizzle begins to sound of thunder.
3.20pm. PAS HQ - PAS Youth elections director Mohd Sany Hamzan says today is the climax to the call for Anwar's release from prison.
"If we look at the allegations against Anwar, even if you ask a kindergarten kid, he will say it is slander manufactured by Umno-BN," he says.
"Why?
Because he has exposed the extent of the corruption in Umno-BN's
leadership," he says, adding today the people are responding to the
ruling party."Step down, Najib. Free Anwar," he says.
PAS central committee member Khalid Samad takes his turn and says this is a peaceful rally to show support for Anwar, the political prisoner.
"What has been done to him is slander to break up and weaken Pakatan.
"We do not accept this, we have to oppose the oppression of the rulers. Malaysians are a sovereign people, we do not support (the government's) cruelty.
"We are here to show our opposition to what Umno-BN is doing."We must have courage. What we are doing is to make our country fair and prosperous," says the Shah Alam MP to shouts of "Takbir!"
3.20pm: Sogo - The crowds continue to swell, getting more upbeat with the chanting.
Meanwhile five police officers are spotted across the street from the mall, talking on their radios.
DAP Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng is also here, and assures Malaysiakini that the DAP crowd will be coming from Masjid Jamek.
3.15pm: PAS HQ - Batu MP Tian Chua tells the 100-odd crowd there this is a "historic" days as March 8 was the day Pakatan denied BN its two-thirds parliamentary majority in 2008.
He says today's rally also serves to stir up the spirit of the people shown that landmark year."The people have begun to gain awareness of the right to peaceful assembly.
"We are also proud to hold the record of (our rallies) causing no damage to public property, not having ever caused unrest and we have gathered with noble intentions, and shown courage to resist continued oppression," he says.
"We don't want to saddle our grandchildren with a political system that is corrupt. And we have no other way but to work hard to bring BN down."
He reminds the crowd to follow the instructions of PAS' Unit Amal and avoid falling prey to provocation.
He adds Human Rights Commission Suhakam and the Bar Council are observing the rally.
PKR information chief Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh is also present.
3.10pm: Sogo - The crowd has grown to 400 people, and present is Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen.
The crowd waves PKR flags, but no PAS or DAP flags are seen.
"(The number of) DAP (supporters) should be okay, and the PAS supporters will be coming from their headquarters," Wong tells Malaysiakini.
Meanwhile a water vendor gets into the spirit mimicking the opposition slogan 'lawan tetap lawan' (keep fighting) shouting, "Minum tetap minum," (keep on drinking) to draw customers.
3.05pm: Central Market - Around 300 in black T-shirts start to gather in front of the building.Among them are Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah, human rights lawyer Eric Paulsen and Perak PKR Youth chief Zafril Eusoff.
Inside the popular arts and crafts mall it is business as usual and the shopping crowd looks calm, going about their browsing through the shops and wares.
3.03pm: Lembah Pantai MP and PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah has been served notice to attend questioning by Dang Wangi police over the Kita Lawan rally at Sogo that took place on Feb 14.
According to Padang Serai MP N Surendran, police have confirmed to lawyers that the investigation is under section 9(5) of Peaceful Assembly Act.
He said this was despite that this section was declared unlawful by the Court of Appeal in Selangor exco Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad's case.
3pm: Masjid Jamek - PKR Semambu assemblyperson Lee Chean Chung addresses the crowd of over 300 at Masjid Jamek LRT station from the top of a truck .
He calls on the crowd to start the march at 3.30pm.
"Let us walk together to Sogo to show its not just the NGOs that are participating at this rally, but the people have gotten down to the streets to express their unhappiness. Reformasi!," Lee screams out on top of his lungs.
2.45pm: Sogo - There
is a crowd of at least 300 people gathered outside Sogo now. It is
difficult to discern how many are protestors and how just spectators.Only about 50 people are seen wearing Kita Lawan or Reformasi T-shirts.
Shouts of "Reformasi" and "Hancur Najib" fill the air.
2.30pm: Masjid Jamek - More than 10 members of Pahang Raub Anti-Cyanide gold mining committee are at Masjid Jamek to show their support.
"We are against unfairness and injustice," says one of the group, Hue Soo Lim.
2.20pm: Masjid Jamek - Around 50 members from the #KitaLawan Hulu Selangor division have gathered at Masjid Jamek LRT station.The members are carrying placards with slogans like 'retreat Najib' and ‘Kita lawan'. The participants in an upbeat mood sing songs calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
Cries calling for "reformasi" and "free Anwar Ibrahim" are also heard.
2.15pm: PAS HQ - PKR vice-president Tian Chua arrives at the PAS headquarters. After taking pictures with PKR members, the group shouts "lawan tetap lawan".
2.10pm: Met by reporters, Gopeng MP Lee Boon Chye says they are here to give their support and solidarity for Anwar.
“We want to state our stand on the oppression against Anwar and on economy-related matters such as the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST).
“It is clear that there was a political conspiracy in Anwar's case and the case was used to split Pakatan and to prevent the coalition from reaching Putrajaya."
Lee adds that the rally gives an opportunity to the rakyat to state their stand and that the rakyat are the judges.
2.05pm: PAS HQ -Around 40 PKR members from Perlis and the Gopeng branch have arrived at the PAS headquarters, carrying banners bearing the words “undur Rosmah undur” and “undur Najib undur” (step down Rosmah and Najib).
The group also shouts slogans of “lawan tetap lawan” and “reformasi”.
Also in attendance is Gopeng MP Lee Boon Chye.
1.50pm: Sogo - There is a calm before the storm at Sogo where the Kita Lawan rally will place.About two dozen protestors have been spotted outside the mall, spread out among crowds of shoppers who are taking shade from the blistering heat, enjoying a show being put on by buskers.
There is no police presence as yet.
1.30pm:
At least five thousand are expected to gather in downtown Kuala Lumpur
today for the first major protest of 2015, which police have branded as illegal for multiple reasons.The Kita Lawan protest at Sogo will campaign for the release of jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, and for the resignation Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
It is however unclear how much support the Pakatan coalition is giving to the rally.
PAS has not issued a directive for its members to support, while Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has advised his mostly-DAP state representatives they have state duties to perform today and should concentrate on that.
The protest is expected to kick off at 3pm, with participants marching from Central Market, Masjid Jamek and the PAS headquarters in Jalan Raja Laut, towards Sogo, and may last until midnight.
Previous Kita Lawan rallies have resulted in the arrests of activists Adam Adli Abdul Halim, PKR supreme council member Fariz Musa, and PKR Youth Chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
Now minister wants Islamic teams at varsities
After claiming world-class status, Idris wants teams to spread Islamic understanding.
FMT
IPOH: Education Minister II Idris Jusoh, who recently courted controversy by claiming world-class status for Malaysian universities, is now stepping into another possible quagmire.
In the midst of a raging public debate about Islamic prosleytisation and the distribution of free copies of the Quran, Idris has now proposed that Islamic understanding teams be set up at colleges and unversities “to monitor and provide a thorough understanding of the religion to students”.
He said the team was also aimed at preventing the spread of extremist ideology, especially those of the Islamic State militant group, among university students.
“The ministry will ensure the spread of tasawwur Islam and wassatiyah as promoted by the prime minister,” he said, according to Bernama. “Actually, the prime minister has implemented the wassatiyah concept by using a shariah index so that we fully understand Islam,” he said at a Chinese New Year event here.
Idris also urged university vice-chancellors to constantly monitor their students to ensure they were not influenced by Islamic State ideology, Bernama quoted him as saying.
Two weeks ago, Idris found himself in the midst of controversy by claiming that the rising number of foreign students showed that Malaysians were on par with universities in the west. After being taken apart by opposition politicians, among others, he held to his remark by pointing out to the new rankings of Malaysian universities on a higher education index.
His latest suggestion puts him squarely in the midst of the debate about the place of Islam among the multi-racial communities of Malaysia.
FMT
IPOH: Education Minister II Idris Jusoh, who recently courted controversy by claiming world-class status for Malaysian universities, is now stepping into another possible quagmire.
In the midst of a raging public debate about Islamic prosleytisation and the distribution of free copies of the Quran, Idris has now proposed that Islamic understanding teams be set up at colleges and unversities “to monitor and provide a thorough understanding of the religion to students”.
He said the team was also aimed at preventing the spread of extremist ideology, especially those of the Islamic State militant group, among university students.
“The ministry will ensure the spread of tasawwur Islam and wassatiyah as promoted by the prime minister,” he said, according to Bernama. “Actually, the prime minister has implemented the wassatiyah concept by using a shariah index so that we fully understand Islam,” he said at a Chinese New Year event here.
Idris also urged university vice-chancellors to constantly monitor their students to ensure they were not influenced by Islamic State ideology, Bernama quoted him as saying.
Two weeks ago, Idris found himself in the midst of controversy by claiming that the rising number of foreign students showed that Malaysians were on par with universities in the west. After being taken apart by opposition politicians, among others, he held to his remark by pointing out to the new rankings of Malaysian universities on a higher education index.
His latest suggestion puts him squarely in the midst of the debate about the place of Islam among the multi-racial communities of Malaysia.
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