Sorry for the disgression too.

It may or may not well be time bomb. I am not talking about Dubai World pulling out of its MOU with MMC to develop a M$16bn maritime centre / city in the area close to the Port of Tanjung Pelepas.

I am not even referring to Dubai World’s current US$59 billion debt – to which European & Japanese banks are exposed – of which the request of 6 months standstill/moratorium of a comparatively paltry US$1.9 billion loan from Abu Dhabi bank has caused Europeans and Asian equity markets to skid on Friday. (This Arab Monetary Fund can bail Dubai World out).

What is of concern is Islamic finance legal and security documents much of which is crafted by expert Western bankers and lawyers (in conjunction with so called Sharia lawyers) to secure Islamic finance esp the Islamic bond sukuk, an instrument invented by bankers and Islamic scholars for financial expedience to integrate Western common law loan and securitisation covenants with Sharia principles against charging interest….Arguably they are neither here nor there – a conventional common law loan covenant package to cover loan and security obligations camouflaged by sharia profit element (as distinct from interest element) under a “sham” sale and purchase of assets agreements…so that it is really neither a sale nor a loan!

It is a classic request for rescheduling/standstill of debt of the kind made by Dubai World that will put everything to test. Basically the Islamic borrower (Dubai world) will tell its lenders – you either reschedule and give me time or we won’t and cannot pay. Lenders will say if you don’t pay, we call default and foreclose on all security. But can they legally? We know there so many different interpretations of what is real sharia in the Muslim World. All we need is some Sharia courts in Middle East to say this or that sukuk documentation is sham sharia and therefore legally void and unenforceable to shake up the world financial system and financial institutions wondering what to do with the US$822 billion (an estimate by HSBC Amanah) outstanding Islamic finance/sukuk world wide and whether it is adequately secured for satisfaction of its international lenders.

Sorry for disgression/out of topic.

The default by Dubai World may (or may not) put the world of Islamic finance to the test at a time when hard questions are being asked by international bankers and lawyers about the protection afforded by financial instruments based on sharia law.

1. Why have we not considered or discussed the High Court’s decision making summons issued by local authorities invalid or not prosecutable? I see none of such post here. Some of us may feel happy about it – no need to take responsibility of the summons, but have we considered the implication or the intention of such a decision. I think it is more than the rights or the constitution the court is trying to protect.
2. Transfer of money abroad through money changers to circumvent BNM regulations and supervision.

Just wondering if any GLCs, EPF or Khazanah exposed to Dubai World?

Hello, Finance Minister, Deputy Finance Minister..can u please check & make an announcement? I want to know before I sell my shares on Monday-lah.

Strange for our PM to use this when within the country UMNO and BN think they can isolate themselves from the mainstream thinking, i.e. the people in authority only care for themselves and their kindred, while the people see their situation getting more desperate.

niamah!!!!

How can a minister unite the people at one end and disunite them at the other end?

BTN taught me the Chinese are the Jews of Asia’
Muhyiddin has defended the BTN courses. — File pic
By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 — I am one of the privileged few to have attended a local public university and learned the meaning of hate, thanks to the ever popular Biro Tata Negara.

All undergraduates were forced to attend this programme or else they would not be eligible for graduation.

The BTN under the Prime Minister’s Department brought in “intellectual” speakers who were supposed to enlighten the students about the meaning of being a Malaysian but instead it felt more like a communist propaganda camp brainwashing those attending about the importance of “Ketuanan Melayu”.

The camp would usually take place during the weekends. Students would have to register early in the morning and the programme would last the whole day.

The organisers were always on their guard, asking participants to show their student identification cards each time they entered the hall, fearing the presence of outsiders.

In the hall, students were asked to turn off their mobile phones.

During the lectures, questions were planted among the audience and the students were advised not to ask any other questions.

One speaker began with the history of Malaysia and how much the country had gone through, always emphasising the May 13 riots.

He stressed the point of how much the Malays had sacrificed and how the community should be united especially from outside threat — the Chinese community.

He said that the Chinese community were “the Jews of Asia” and were just itching to take over when Malays were disunited and broken.

The speaker also revealed a greater Chinese conspiracy where the Chinese Malaysians were working together with Singapore to topple the Malay government.

“Do you want to become like the Malays in Singapore?” he asked.

He also went so far as to criticise Malay girls for dating boys from other races.

He added that they should not be cheap and embarrass their families.

Once, a student told the speaker that as Muslims, we should also respect other races who are also Muslims.

“All Muslims are Malays so it does not matter if they are Chinese or Indians. If they are Muslims then they are Malays,” the speaker replied.

This is why I was relieved when I learned that the Selangor government had moved to ban its civil servants, employees of state subsidiaries and students at state-owned education institutions from attending any BTN courses with immediate effect.

However I believe racism in varsities does not end at BTN because classrooms have also become victims of ignorant scholars.

My friend was verbally abused during his sociology class when he did not agree with the points made by his lecturer.

“You must be DKK,” the lecturer told him.

“What is DKK?” he asked.

“You must be darah keturunan keling (descendents of Indians),” the lecturer said, pointing to his dark skin.

My Saudi friend was also shocked by the comments made by his lecturer in his Islamic civilisation class.

“We should save our Orang Asli from the Chinese people. They are like the Palestinians and the Chinese are Israel. We must fight the Jews,” the lecturer told his students.

The lecturer even failed one of his students in his oral exam when he quoted a Western scholar in his presentation.

“You should be ashamed of yourselves. You are a Muslim and should only use Islamic scholars,” he scolded the student.

I was personally saddened when my Islamic law lecturer compared Christianity to Head & Shoulder’s 3 in 1 shampoo in referring to the religion’s Holy Trinity.

I feel that racism has been institutionalised in our country and that BTN is only the tip of the iceberg.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin defended BTN yesterday and claimed that it was not racist but is line with the 1 Malaysia concept.

I have to humbly disagree and would like to suggest maybe the ministers should bring their overseas children home and let them have a taste of what BTN is.