Archive for 2012
No fatwa on ‘belligerent infidel’ term used in ‘Utusan’, says minister
By Mohd Farhan Darwis
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 06, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 — The National Fatwa Council has never issued any fatwa (religious orders) to refer to non-Muslims as “kafir harbi” or belligerent infidels, minister Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom said today, referring to the label some conservative Muslims had used to describe the secular DAP opposition party earlier this year.
The minister in charge of Islamic affairs also said that any statements calling non-Muslims as “kafir harbi” or “kafir zimmi” are merely personal opinions, and added that Muslims are not bound by these personal convictions.
His statement comes just months after Umno-owned Malay daily Utusan Malaysia reported several Islamic religious scholars as saying that it is “haram” or forbidden for Muslim voters to support the DAP, which they have described as a “belligerent infidel” party.
“Until now, there is no fatwa or legal opinions related to the position of non-Muslims in Malaysia as Kafir Harbi or Kafir Zimmi issued by the state Fatwa Committee, or MKI (National Council for Islamic Affairs Malaysia),” Jamil Khir said in a written reply to PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.
Legal opinions are only valid and recognised after receiving approval from the states’ Fatwa Committee and the MKI, Jamil said.
“Fatwa and legal opinions in this country can only be issued by the authorities.
“Therefore, any opinion or institutions apart from the two entities cannot be considered as fatwa, but only personal conviction.” Read the rest of this entry »
9 takeaways from 2012 election
Posted by Kit in Elections, International on Tuesday, 6 November 2012
By Politico
NewJersey.Com
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
Election Day is finally here.
And even though neither Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney has been declared a winner yet, there are some things that will still hold true no matter which candidate wins the White House tonight — or in the wee hours of the morning.
Here are POLITICO’s nine takeaways from the 2012 campaign:
1. Luck matters — a lot
Obama has assembled some of the best field operatives around. His team has run the gauntlet before, prepared a ground game for five years, had a basic playbook for the 2012 cycle and (mostly) stuck to it. Obama’s natural skills as a politician are far better than Romney’s. The auto bailout helped Obama maintain what has been a small but consistent polling lead in critical states like Ohio.
And yet a little bit of luck goes an awfully long way. For all his troubles throughout his term, Obama caught some needed breaks. Read the rest of this entry »
What would Tunku do today?
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Education, Media, nation building, Parliament, Politics on Tuesday, 6 November 2012
— Ooi Kok Hin
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 06, 2012
NOV 6 — When students look at portraits of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj (1903-1990), the first Prime Minister of Malaysia is perceived as a distant figure from an era gone-by. He’s the Father of Independence, the legend, and the unknown. We are told how great he was; yet we know so little of him. He is a myth. This shouldn’t be happening, because Tunku was a prolific writer. After his retirement, Tunku actively wrote two columns for The Star newspaper: Looking Back and As I See It. Several articles from the first column were compiled into a book with the identical title. From that book, I draw several of Tunku’s views which are applicable in our country today.
1. Abolish AUKU
Tunku had a long and dreadful conflict with Communists. But when the government conjured a Communist conspiracy theory behind the student unrests of the early 1970s, Tunku was quick to reject that theory. “Student [ego] movement is widespread in the world. They like to be known, they like to be seen and they like to be heard like grown-ups,” Tunku wrote in 1974. He refused to blame the students and understood that suppression of the young minds will not help Malaysia to be vibrant and dynamic country. In order to be ahead of our regional peers, we need to develop intellect and critical thinking. Tunku expressed desire to include students in our country’s politics and decision-making process. He suggested, “Perhaps one or two seats be given to Universities so that their members can participate in Parliament and play their parts in the country’s politics”. Read the rest of this entry »
BN’s Evil Design of Divide-and-Rule Continues
Posted by Kit in Martin Jalleh, Najib Razak, Religion on Tuesday, 6 November 2012
By Martin Jalleh
Resistance grows within BN against AES profits
Posted by Kit in Elections, Good Governance, Transport on Tuesday, 6 November 2012
By Leslie Lau and Md Izwan
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 06, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 — A whopping 2.72 million speeding tickets will have to be issued in each of the next five years for the two concession holders of the controversial Automatic Enforcement System (AES) cameras to just recoup their reported RM700 million investments.
And considering the authorities had only collected an average of about 25 per cent of all traffic summonses a year — which increased to 65 per cent only after a general discount was offered last year — the two companies will have to issue far more summonses to account for the poor collection.
Such calculations have led to apprehension on the part of a growing number of Barisan Nasional (BN) politicians who are concerned about the profit motive that is built into the concession agreements.
“The privatisation of the AES could be seen as attempting to make profits because some (cameras) are placed in inappropriate places,” Umno’s Seri Gading MP Datuk Mohamad Aziz told The Malaysian Insider.
The two firms awarded the contract to implement the enforcement system — ATES Sdn Bhd and Beta Tegap — will spend between RM300 million and RM400 million each to set up traffic cameras at 831 “black spots” nationwide.
Both ATES and Beta Tegap are entitled to RM16 per valid summons for the first five million issued. They will then split the remaining revenue evenly with the government up to a cap of RM270 million each.
The firms will each receive 7.5 per cent from the remaining revenue and the government will keep the rest. Read the rest of this entry »
MyKad ‘Islamisation’ of Sabah’s Bumiputera Christians
Posted by Kit in nation building, Religion, Sabah on Tuesday, 6 November 2012
— Bob Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 05, 2012
NOV 5 — Bumiputera Christians in Sabah continue to be “converted to Islam” by the National Registration Department (NRD) simply because they have “bin” and “binti” in their names. Sabah churches are seeking urgent solutions to the crisis but none seems to be in sight.
The NRD has made it clear it would continue to list Bumiputera Christians in Sabah as Muslims as long as they are known by bin or binti. It would also not rectify past entry errors by way of changing the religion listing back to Christianity in the identity cards (MyKad) of those affected.
The NRD would only act upon an order by a syariah High Court to determine whether those Bumiputera Christians whom it had listed as Muslims are not Muslims indeed.
Even if these native Christians get a hearing from the syariah court, both the NRD and Islamic authorities may not turn up, thus causing unnecessary delays.
A current test case has been mounted by a 53-year-old widow and her two adult daughters and supported by the respective local churches. All three are from the Dusun Banggi community. Read the rest of this entry »
MyKad ‘Islamisation’
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Islam, Orang Asli, Sabah on Monday, 5 November 2012
by Martin Jalleh
Minister deserves a slap
Posted by Kit in Education, Martin Jalleh, Orang Asli on Monday, 5 November 2012
By Martin Jalleh
AES the only way to salvage Najib’s GTP and “Fighting Corruption” NKRA but has he and his Cabinet the political will and commitment to introduce and implement it?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak on Monday, 5 November 2012
Under the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s “Government Transformation Programme” (GTP), the “Fighting Corruption” National Key Result Area (NKRA) has been proclaimed as “a key focus of the GTP” as “it could stand in the way of the country attaining its ambition of being a high-income nation” because:
“Corruption erodes public confidence in the ability of the Government and other key institutions in maintaining a fair playing field for all participants, and could dissuade private investment.”
“Corruption discourages greater participation in the national economy, and therefore has an adverse effect on Malaysia’s talent pool. There is also a growing concern that corruption is siphoning resources away from the economy, with reports noting that small enterprises were paying between 8% and 9% of their revenue base to pay bribes for licenses and permits.”
By government’s own estimates in January 2010, corruption could cost Malaysia as much as RM10 billion a year or 1-2% of GDP.
But what has Najib to show in his “Fighting Corruption” NKRA after more than three years as Prime Minister? Read the rest of this entry »
Whether Najib likes it or not, its countdown for 13GE as Parliament has life-span of less than six months before it is automatically dissolved
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, Parliament, UMNO on Sunday, 4 November 2012
Malaysians have been waiting for the past two years for the 13th General Election but the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been dilly-dallying as he hunts for the best timing for the dissolution of Parliament not so much for UMNO and the Barisan Nasional, but to ensure that he could remain ensconced in Sri Perdana after the polls.
Whether Najib likes it or not, its countdown for the 13GE as the 12th Parliament which was elected in the political tsunami of 8th March 2008 has a life-span of less than six months before it is automatically dissolved followed by the “mother of all general elections” in Malaysia.
There is just four months left if we take into account the polling day on 8th March 2008.
However, as Article 55 (3) provides that “Parliament unless sooner dissolved shall continue for five years from the date of its first meeting and shall then stand dissolved”, the 12th Parliament’s tenure will only end on April 27, 2013 as its first meeting was held on 28th April 2008.
Najib has already created two “history” – firstly, being the longest Prime Minister without an elected mandate of his own, compared to any of his predecessors which would include his father, Tun Razak, as well as the ensuing three Prime Ministers Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah.
His second “history” is to be Prime Minister of the longest Parliament to be dissolved, now entering into the last six months of its tenure.
The question is whether Najib will achieve a “triple” in making Malaysian history – of being the last UMNO Prime Minister in Malaysia. Read the rest of this entry »
Call for AES (Automatic Enforcement System) to fight “grand corruption” in Malaysia by making unusual and extraordinary wealth an automatic corruption offence
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak on Sunday, 4 November 2012
Since Datuk Seri Najib Razak became Prime Minister nearly 44 months ago, one of his constant themes is that “the era that the government knows best is over”.
This is however one of his most broken pledges and the most recent example of this violation is the Barisan Nasional government’s stubborn determination to implement the AES (Automatic Enforcement System) for traffic offences, despite the loud, unmistakable and growing demand by the Malaysian public for the suspension of the AES implementation until there is a proper study and the fullest public consultation and preparation, which is reinforced by the decision of the four Pakatan Rakyat state governments of Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan to suspend the AES implementation in their respective states.
There is however one AES which should be introduced and implemented immediately – and this is to fight and eradicate “grand corruption” by top political and government leaders by making unusual and extraordinary wealth an automatic corruption offence!
There can be no doubt that one of the biggest failures of the Najib premiership, whether his Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and National Key Result Areas (NKRAs), is the battle against corruption.
This is why Malaysia under Najib is even more corrupt than under previous Prime Ministers as reflected in Malaysia’s worst ranking and score in the 2011 Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) when compared to all the TI CPIs of the past 17 years. Read the rest of this entry »
Now, even children are split by race and religion
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, nation building on Sunday, 4 November 2012
Kon Onn Sein
Malaysiakini
Nov 1, 2012
As parents who are concerned with playing our responsible role in nation-building and bridging the ethnic divide, we had consciously sent our children to national school despite the horror stories of sub-standard education.
We had intentionally encouraged our daughters to make friends with their Malay and Indian classmates, especially the poor.
My seven-year-old daughter has been enthusiastically following our encouragement.
Today, when I chatted with her about her friends in school, she related that she had wanted to join her Malay classmates in their play during recess.
However, one classmate said this to her: “Kamu bukan Islam, kamu tidak boleh main sini. Kamu Cina”.
(You are not a Muslim; you can’t play here.You are a Chinese.) Read the rest of this entry »
Revisiting the secular state debate
Posted by Kit in Islamic state on Sunday, 4 November 2012
— Ahmad Farouk Musa
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 03, 2012
NOV 3 — One of the most contentious issues in our country is the debate on Islamic State vis-à-vis Secular State. It should be highlighted at this initial point that the Islamic State concept was borne out only early in the 20th century after the demise of the Ottoman Caliphate. Irrespective of which divide we are on, one basic fact that we have to agree upon is that the terminology Dawlah Islamiyyah or Islamic State was never mentioned in the Qur’an.
However, Islamic State remains the main agenda of political Islam that defines Islam as ad-deen wa-dawlah or “religion and state”. It could be argued that since there is no single predominant interpretation of what an Islamic state is, a vicious contestation still exists among the Islamists about the concept of Islamic State. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should present Ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday on the RM40 million “donation for Sabah UMNO” scandal of Michael Chia as well as whether Nazri violated conflict-of-interest principles
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak, Parliament on Saturday, 3 November 2012
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should present a Ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday on the RM40 million donation scandal of Sabah timber trader Michael Chia as well as whether the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had violated conflict-of-interest principles when answering questions in Parliament on the issue.
Although the Prime Minister last month (Oct. 19) denied that there was any attempt to smuggle the RM40 million “donation for Sabah UMNO” into the country and claimed that the whole issue had “already been explained in Parliament”, the facts are the contrary.
Instead of putting the issue to rest, Nazri’s various explanations, both inside and outside Parliament, some of which contradicted each other, on the alleged RM40 million “donation for Sabah UMNO”, have only aroused greater suspicion and reinforced widespread belief that a major cover-up is afoot about the RM40 million scandal – which went as far back as more than four years ago on August 14, 2008 at the Hong Kong International Airport allegedly over currency trafficking and laundering with S$16 million cash in Singapore currency in Michael Chia’s luggage before boarding a flight to Kuala Lumpur.
Nazri’s claim that when answering in Parliament, he was only reading the answers whether given by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) or the Attorney-General and that he was not responsible for these answers is completely unacceptable and makes a total mockery of the principle of Ministerial responsibility to Parliament. Read the rest of this entry »
Ordinary, average Muslims are not easily confused, their faith is strong!
by P. Ramakrishnan
The Malaysian Insider
November 03, 2012
NOV 3 — It is difficult to understand the so-called Muslim elites who constantly and consistently convey the erroneous message that Islam is under threat and that Muslims will be easily misled.
They always seem to suggest that Muslims must be sheltered and protected otherwise they can go astray and embarrass their religion.
The latest episode involves the screening of the movie “My name is Khan” by TV3 on the second day of Hari Raya Aidil Adha.
The Muslim youth movement Abim has strongly protested against this film, claiming that the Shah Rukh Khan film “confuses Muslims as it promotes liberal Islam and religious pluralism, and warned Malaysian broadcasters not to air the hit film”.
Abim vice-president Ahmad Saparudin Yusuf “gave examples of scenes in the film such as the Muslim hero marrying a Hindu heroine, saying that it is ‘clearly against Islam’s teachings’”.
He also pointed out “that the depiction in the film of acceptance and mixing of other religions’ worship methods with Islam’s as well as giving zakat or alms to non-Muslims were ‘confusing’.”
This film has been available in Malaysia since March 2010. It has been screened in cinemas and the film’s CD has been widely sold. In the 2½ years that it was around, thousands upon thousands of Muslims and other Malaysians have seen and enjoyed the film. Read the rest of this entry »
Deceit on the ‘Islamic state’
Posted by Kit in Islamic state, Mahathir on Saturday, 3 November 2012
KJ John
Malaysiakini
Oct 30, 2012
Marina Mahathir wrote in a recent column that for any candidate seeking to be voted in this general election, the following are good and civil traits:
1. Be nice, be gracious, be polite – rudeness makes you look ugly.
2. If you disagree with someone, fine. But disagree courteously and intelligently, and do not just bad-mouth them.
3. If you do not think that someone is right, give your reasons why.
4. At least pretend that your audience is smart, and live up to them.
5. If you really think violence is the answer, we will find you a ticket to Syria, where you can indulge in all that you want to.
6. If you really think you are a defender of Islam, we will get you a ticket to trail the Republicans on their election campaign. We will even get you a spot on Rush Limbaugh’s show, where you can do your defending thing.
7. Do suddenly stop kissing babies and hugging old people. Seriously, we are not buying it.
8. Leave your expensive watch at home if you are going to sympathise with how people are coping with their monthly expenses. Unless you are going to donate the cost of the watch to some worthwhile cause.
9. Lower your volume. Shouting something stupid does not make it smarter.
10. Tell us what your principles in life are, and how you aim to stick to them.
My only addition is that no serving member of parliament should lie publicly. It is worse if one is a member of the cabinet. And because of such lies, I would argue that we need a ‘truth-o-meter’ which the CNN uses to validate claims by US presidential candidates.
I am boiling mad because Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz, the so-called minister responsible for parliamentary and legal matters, was quoted by theSun as saying: “None of the nation’s past prime minister (have) ever declared Malaysia a secular state … the only sitting prime minister who (has) made a statement on the issue was … (Dr) Mahathir Mohamad, who declared that Malaysia is an Islamic state.”
Since we do not have the privilege of a truth-o-meter service in Malaysia, allow me to assume that role since my column is also called ‘Truth Matters’. Read the rest of this entry »
In the shadow of strongmen
Posted by Kit in Bridget Welsh on Saturday, 3 November 2012
— Bridget Welsh
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 02, 2012
NOV 2 — In the last few years, both Malaysia and Singapore have been undergoing political liberalisation, evident from the increasing parliamentary representation of the opposition and more open political discussion. Yet, with this opening, the challenges the two neighbours face in liberalising are becoming clearer. One of the main obstacles involves dealing with the legacies of Lee Kuan Yew and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, as their imprint on politics continues to overshadow current transformations. How do the legacies of the two strongmen constrain contemporary political change?
Lee and Dr Mahathir were successful leaders, delivering economic progress and giving their countries international prominence. However, views of these leaders remain divided, with some lauding them as political strongmen who delivered development and stability and others highlighting their excesses. This debate will continue, and likely intensify over time. Still, few dispute the fact that the two leaders profoundly shaped the countries they led. In order to understand contemporary politics in both countries, we need to look beyond these leaders as individuals or their tenures and appreciate how the strongmen continue to shape the two societies. Read the rest of this entry »
Daydreaming or plain cocky?
Posted by Kit in Elections, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Friday, 2 November 2012
Jeswan Kaur | November 1, 2012
Free Malaysia Today
Just why does BN/Umno find delight in playing the racism card when the issues beleaguering the rakyat are one too many?
COMMENT
The Barisan Nasional government is doing its worst to prevent the opposition alliance of Pakatan Rakyat from setting foot in Putrajaya and calling the shots.
Much castigation and accusations have been thrown upon Pakatan and its leaders by Umno, BN’s patronising arm.
Still, the rakyat seem eager to give Pakatan a chance to administer the nation, having had enough of ruling government BN’s domineering and rhetorics post-1957.
If BN is not puzzled as to why the rakyat are all thumbs-up for Pakatan, the former is either daydreaming or plain cocky.
To the people of this nation in particular the non-Malays, they have had it with the antics of BN’s top guns like Muhyiddin Yassin, the deputy prime minister.
Two years ago Muhyiddin stunned Malaysians when he claimed that he was a Malay first and then Malaysian.
Why should the people be in favour of BN as the ruling government when its leaders are doing all they can to perpetuate an agenda that only serves to discriminate and segregate Malaysians of different faiths? Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia becomes rich ‘Tiger Cub’, but still intolerant
Posted by Kit in Economics, Education, Human Rights on Thursday, 1 November 2012
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 01, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1 ― Malaysia has been singled out together with Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia as “Tiger Cub” countries fast catching up with regional leaders on a list of the most prosperous economies in the world, but was also named as among the worst countries for promoting personal freedom of its citizens.
Malaysia was ranked as the 45th most prosperous nation, trailing behind Singapore at 19th and with Indonesia fast catching up at 63rd position, on the Legatum Prosperity Index.
The London-based think-tank Legatum’s Prosperity Index assesses 142 countries based on performance in eight areas such as economy, personal freedom, health and social capital.
This year, Norway again topped the list of 142 countries, followed by Denmark, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand. The United States, the United Kingdom and Germany came in at 12th, 13th and 14th spots, respectively.
The Central African Republic propped up the list.
The Legatum Institute, which publishes the index, noted that “a new generation of Asian ‘Tiger Cub’ countries has emerged, according to the latest findings from the Legatum Institute’s Prosperity Index, with Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia all appearing in top half of the worldwide rankings this year.” Read the rest of this entry »
Nazri’s “Blow Job” in Parliament
Posted by Kit in Auditor-General Report, Parliament, UMNO on Thursday, 1 November 2012
by Martin Jalleh
1 November 2012
The Prime Minister has often preached about new winds of change and transformation blowing through Umno and into the country. There would be reform to deal corruption a deadly blow.
He has a very dependable Minister in his department who makes up for his frequent absence in Parliament, one who is very adept at blowing in the wind in the august House, i.e., providing answers that are as intangible (in meaning) as the wind – Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.
Nazri Aziz is also reputed for blowing a fuse and spewing caustic invective when he finds himself in an intellectual and logical void and when all sense and sensibility deserts him in parliament.
He blows his cool when challenged and when his trademark nonsense is made bare. Similarly, when his theatrics, temper tantrums, threats and taunts fail, he blows off steam, accompanied by low blows.
Occasionally, Parliament hears Nazri’s own blown up importance, the latest being his loud declaration and reminder to the Opposition that he is the “number one” minister of law – and of course, he knows everything about the law. Read the rest of this entry »
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