Archive for July, 2014
Arab Spring, Jihad Summer
Posted by Kit in Foreign, Islam, Islamic state on Thursday, 3 July 2014
By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
2 July 2014
Welcome to IS. No typo; the final goal may be (indiscriminate) regime change, but for the moment name change will do. With PR flair, at the start of Ramadan, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS, or ISIL – the Islamic State of the Levant – to some) solemnly declared, from now on, it will be known as Islamic State (IS).
“To be or not to be” is so … metaphysically outdated. IS is – and here it is – in full audio glory. And we’re talking about the full package – Caliph included: “the slave of Allah, Ibrahim Ibn ‘Awwad Ibn Ibrahim Ibn ‘Ali Ibn Muhammad al-Badrial-Hashimi al-Husayni al-Qurashi by lineage, as-Samurra’i by birth and upbringing, al-Baghdadi by residence and scholarship”. Or, to put it more simply, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
IS has virtually ordered “historic” al-Qaeda – yes, that 9/11-related (or not) plaything of one Osama bin Laden – as well as every other jihadi outfit on the planet, to pledge allegiance to the new imam, in theological theory the new lord over every Muslim. There’s no evidence Osama’s former sidekick, Ayman “the doctor” al-Zawahiri will obey, not to mention 1.5 billion Muslims across the world. Most probably al-Qaeda will say “we are the real deal” and a major theological catfight will be on. Read the rest of this entry »
The Caliphate Fantasy
Posted by Kit in Foreign, Islam, Islamic state on Thursday, 3 July 2014
by Khaled Diab
New York Times
July 2, 2014
The jihadist insurgent group ISIS, or as it now prefers to be called, the Islamic State, appears well on the road to achieving its stated goal: the restoration of the caliphate. The concept, which refers to an Islamic state presided over by a leader with both political and religious authority, dates from the various Muslim empires that followed the time of the Prophet Muhammad. From the seventh century onward, the caliph was, literally, his “successor.”
The problem with this new caliphate, which, an ISIS spokesman claimed on Sunday, had been established under Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, an Islamist militant leader since the early days of the American occupation of Iraq, is that it is ahistorical, to say the least.
The Abbasid caliphate, for example, which ruled from 750 to 1258, was an impressively dynamic and diverse empire. Centered in Baghdad, just down the road from where ISIS is occupying large areas of Iraq, the Abbasid caliphate was centuries ahead of Mr. Baghdadi’s backward-looking cohorts. Abbasid society during its heyday thrived on multiculturalism, science, innovation, learning and culture — in sharp contrast to ISIS’ violent puritanism. The irreverent court poet of the legendary Caliph Harun al-Rashid (circa 763-809), Abu Nuwas, not only penned odes to wine, but also wrote erotic gay verse that would make a modern imam blush. Read the rest of this entry »
In the grisly delusions of Isis, past and present are one
By Tom Holland
Financial Times
July 2, 2014
Faith and memory can haunt the Middle East, often to convulsive effect. Almost 70 years after the founding of Israel in the land that devout Jews believe was promised them by God, another state has been reconstituted that similarly traces its origins back to ancient times, and claims a divine sanction for itself.
On Sunday, carefully timed to coincide with the start of Ramadan, the jihadists of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant proclaimed the resurrection of “khalifa” or caliphate. No longer, they have announced, are they to be known by the acronym “Isis”.
Instead, with pretensions so global in scope that they now haughtily dismiss the legality of all other “emirates, groups, states, and organisations”, they have rebranded themselves as a universal Islamic state. Videos on YouTube duly portray the whole world as existing in the shadow of their fluttering black banner. On Twitter, their hashtag has been upgraded with great solemnity from #ISIS to #IS. Mastery of social media and an obsession with history are the keynotes of go-getting contemporary jihadists.
This is not quite the paradox it might seem, for in their fantasies past and present are invariably conflated. The concept of the caliphate that Isis is busy pushing on Facebook and Twitter reaches back, according to the traditions told by Muslims to explain the origins of their faith, to the very beginnings of Islam. Read the rest of this entry »
In one fell swoop, Tengku Adnan has become the most callous and heartless of all Cabinet Ministers
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, Parliament on Thursday, 3 July 2014
Six months ago, it was reported that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had directed mandatory media training for his ministers to speak sensibly and to prevent missteps that have made his administration the laughing stock among Malaysians.
At that time, the country had periodically been rocked by “foolish” remarks by Ministers which spawned Internet memes and jokes detrimental to Putrajaya’s image, like:
• Minister for Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Datuk Seri Hasan Malek who wanted the people to be thankful for having “sincere” leaders who “prioritise people’s needs above all else” in response to the people’s unhappiness at subsidy cuts and price hikes;
• Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor who made insensitive responses to the complaints of property owners in Kuala Lumpur to the hike in assessment rate;
• Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar offering advice to the people to stop eating chicken if the prices were too high and to use alternative roads if they did not want to pay toll on highways, when he spoke of impending hike in toll rates;
• Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muyiddin Yassin telling the Education World Forum 2014 in London that education should produce a “global citizen” mentality after his infamous and never retracted announcement that he was “Malay first, Malaysian second”;
• Even the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself with his “kangkung” and “RM1 chicken” gaffes.
Crying shame that after four years of GTP1 and GTP2, Najib cannot point to any BFR – Big Fast Results – in the “Fighting Corruption” NKRA to contradict Mahathir’s claim that Malaysia today is more corrupt than during his 22-year premiership 1981-2003
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Good Governance, Najib Razak on Thursday, 3 July 2014
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, is ectastic that the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) has been recognized as one of the world’s top 20 leading government innovation teams by United Kingdom’s innovation foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Nesta in its publication on Monday.
He said in his latest posting on his Facebook and Twitter accounts today that
he had established Pemandu in 2009 to support the implementation of the National Transformation Programme with its accompanying Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) to turn Malaysia into a high-income economy by 2020.
It is a crying shame that despite having Pemandu named as one of the world’s top 20 leading government innovation teams, Najib cannot point to any BFR – Big Fast Results – to contradict former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir’s claim that Malaysia today is more corrupt than during his 22-year premiership from 1981-2003.
This is a great pity for “Fighting Corruption” is one of the seven National Key Results Areas (NKRAs) pistons for the GTP engine, which cannot succeed or perform in tip-top condition if the piston to fight corrupt falters and fails. Read the rest of this entry »
Was justice done to the Herald?
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Islam, Judiciary on Thursday, 3 July 2014
Mohamed Hanipa Maidin
Malaysiakini
July 2, 2014
COMMENT Personally I was upset with the decision by the Federal Court refusing leave for the Herald to appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal. As a lawyer I found the decision was weird. As a Muslim I am of the view justice was not done to the Herald.
We all know that the issue raised by the Herald in the Federal Court was very, very important. Needless to say that being the final arbiter of any legal controversy the Federal Court should have held that the Herald ought to be given the leave to appeal.
Yes, an appeal to the Federal Court is not automatic, meaning that the Herald needed to obtain leave to appeal. Nevertheless, the practice has been that the apex court would normally grant the leave when the issue at hand involves novel and crucial legal or constitutional question and the same also attracts public interest.
No doubt the issue raised by the Herald had met all the legal prerequisites for leave to be duly given. It had raised a very important constitutional issue namely the correct interpretation of Article 11 of the federal constitution in particular Article 11 (4). Via the appeal, the Herald sought to be enlightened by the apex court the proper meaning and perimeters of freedom of religion enshrined in Article 11 of our highest law of the land. Read the rest of this entry »
1946, when it all went wrong for us
Posted by Kit in nation building on Wednesday, 2 July 2014
Wong Chin Huat
The Malaysian Insider
2 July 2014
Where Malaysia is heading, with sensational news from Muslim-only Allah, Hudud for all, body-snatching, wedding gate-crashing, police defying the Common Law Courts, to now Muslims buying only from Muslims?
The common question asked by many Malaysians is either “what have gone wrong?” or “Where have we gone wrong?” The relevant question, to my mind, is neither of these but “when have we gone wrong?”
Yes, not what and where, but when. And my answer is 1946. Read the rest of this entry »
The Search for Malaysian Airlines MH370. Unanswered Questions. Wreck of Unidentified Aircraft in Bay of Bengal? Crucial Information Withheld
By GeoResonance
Global Research
June 30, 2014
The staff at GeoResonance are not prone to conspiracy theories, we all deal with facts and science. It appears some of the authorities involved in the search have not been completely transparent with all of the facts. The MH370 tragedy has created more world interest than any event since 9/11, under those circumstances 100% transparency is a must. There are many unanswered questions.
The families and friends of those on board MH370 are dismayed that Inmarsat admitted the raw data released was only enough to prove their original model. Everyone was expecting all of the raw data to be released which would have allowed alternative models to be created. This could have shown up any errors that may exist in the original model which “assumes” MH370 ended up in the Southern Indian Ocean.
Many people are asking why the Australian over the horizon radar Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) did not see MH370. The map below showing the JORN range is taken from an Australian Air Force fact sheet on JORN (https://www.airforce.gov.au/docs/JORN_Fact_Sheet.pdf)
On 26th of June 2014, the Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss presented the latest search area in the Southern Indian Ocean. Read the rest of this entry »
Open letter from a Malaysian living in New Zealand
— John Ling
The Malay Mail Online
July 2, 2014
JULY 2 — When the news first broke that a Malaysian diplomat had been accused of sexual assault in New Zealand, I was struck by that sharpest of emotions — shame. And soon enough, that shame deepened into disgust when official government correspondence was released. They appeared to show that diplomatic immunity had been used to sidestep a criminal conviction, and this was done at the expense of a young female victim.
This international incident has sent shockwaves through New Zealand society. Kiwis are famously known for their cheerful and unassuming nature. But, in this instance, they have grown increasingly vocal at what they perceive to be a miscarriage of justice. Anger has been directed primarily at the present National government for not pushing hard enough to prosecute the offender within New Zealand’s jurisdiction. Anger has also been directed at the Malaysian government for exploiting a loophole in the Vienna Convention that allowed them to fly the offender back to Malaysia.
To understand why this alleged crime has struck such a raw nerve with New Zealanders, you first have to understand this country’s history. Read the rest of this entry »
No way Malaysia can catapult to “top 10 or 12” of Transparency International CPI without catching any “big fishes” like what is happening in France, Indonesia, Philippines and China
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Mahathir on Wednesday, 2 July 2014
Anti-Corruption agencies in France, China, Indonesia and Philippines created shock waves in their countries in the past 48 hours when they caught “big fishes” and took action against “grand corruption” in the past 48 hours.
In France, former president Nicolas Sarkozy has just been charged with corruption and influence peddling after being questioned for 15 hours, marking the first time a French ex-head of state had been taken into custody in a criminal investigation.
If convicted of those charges, he could face a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
In the Philippines, former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was suspended from Congress as Pampanga representative for 90 days pending her trial for graft over the award of US$329 million construction contract to Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE in the National Broadband Network (NBN) controversy when she was Filipino President in 2007.
In Indonesia, the Jakarta Corruption Court handed down a historic sentence on Monday evening by sentencing 53-year-old former Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar to life imprisonment, the most severe sentence in the court’s history.
The former Golkar Party politician was found guilty of accepting Rp 57 billion (US$4.7 million) in bribes from a number of regional heads to influence decisions on election disputes during his tenure at the court.
The life sentence for Akil marks the first time the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has successfully convinced the court to sentence a graft defendant facing graft or money-laundering charges to life in prison since its establishment in 2003.
In Beijing, China’s corruption crackdown snared the highest military official in more than six decades when the Chinese Communist Party Politburo meeting presided over by President Xi Jinping expelled Xu Caihou, a former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and a retired commander of the People’s Liberation Army. With the removal of Xu’s legal protections as a senior cadre, his case has been handed over to military prosecutors.
What has Malaysia anti-corruption campaign to show compared to these major anti-corruption developments in France, Philippines, Indonesia and China? Read the rest of this entry »
Fears of extremism rise in Muslim nations, poll shows
The Malaysian Insider
2 July 2014
Fears about Islamic extremism are rising in nations with large Muslim populations from the Middle East to South Asia and support for radical groups is on the slide, according to a poll released yesterday.
Concern about extremism has increased in the past 12 months amid the dragging war in Syria and attacks by Nigeria’s Boko Haram militants, the Pew Research Center found after interviewing more than 14,200 people in 14 countries.
Extremist groups such as al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Boko Haram and even Hamas, which won elections to take control of running the Gaza Strip, are also losing support.
And backing for the use of suicide bombings against civilian targets has dropped significantly in the past decade following a slew of brutal attacks.
The review was carried out from April 10 to May 25, before the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – now renamed the Islamic State – took over the northern Iraqi town of Mosul in a lightning offensive which has seen it seize a large swathe of territory. Read the rest of this entry »
Subsidies for the poor or Umno-Putras, part 2
Posted by Kit in NEP, UMNO, university on Tuesday, 1 July 2014
– Koon Yew Yin
The Malaysian Insider
1 July 2014
In the first part of my article on subsidies for the poor or the rich such as Umno-Putras, I drew attention to the subsidy cut on gas that has come into effect and analysed its impact on poor- and middle-class households.
In this second part, I shall look at the area of subsidies for the cronies of the political elite which run the country – subsidies which are beneath the radar, unaccountable, undeserved and which have been partly responsible for the financial mess that the country is now facing.
What should be in front line of subsidy cuts
What should comprise the first, second or third rung of subsidy cuts to balance the national budget should be open to national debate. Read the rest of this entry »
How ISIS is overshadowing al Qaeda
By Tim Lister, CNN
June 30, 2014
(CNN) — In a bold declaration of its ambition, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has laid claim to leadership of the global Islamist movement, calling on Muslims worldwide to swear allegiance to its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
By claiming such preeminence, ISIS is seeking to eclipse al Qaeda and its leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in what analysts see as the most dramatic shift in militant jihadism since 9/11. But ISIS also makes the outlandish claims — if its words are taken literally — that it leads 1.5 billion Muslims and that the world, not just the deserts of Syria and Iraq, are its new stage.
What did ISIS say?
The declaration was made Sunday in a 34-minute audio message by ISIS spokesman and ideologue Abu Muhammad al-Adnani al-Shami, who said that from now on, ISIS would simply be called the “Islamic State.” That is much more than a change of name; it simultaneously strips away the geographical limits imposed by the previous name and underlines the movement’s control of a wide swath of territory in Iraq and Syria. It even suggests that the group should exercise authority over Islam’s holiest places.
In a direct challenge to al-Zawahiri, al-Shami said it is now “incumbent upon all Muslims to pledge allegiance to the Khalifah Ibrahim and support him.”
Khalifah Ibrahim is the name now given to al-Baghdadi, a secretive figure never seen in ISIS’ voluminous propaganda output. Al-Shami says that al-Baghdadi has accepted the pledge of allegiance offered by senior figures of the “Islamic State.” Read the rest of this entry »
ISIS Threatens Al Qaeda as Flagship Movement of Extremists
By BEN HUBBARD
New York Times
JUNE 30, 2014
AMMAN, Jordan — As Syria’s civil war raged, a Kuwaiti Islamist, Ghanim al-Mteiri, funneled cash from wealthy donors in the Persian Gulf to Syria’s affiliate of Al Qaeda in hopes that it would overthrow the government and lay the foundations of an Islamic state.
So Mr. Mteiri watched in dismay as another, even more violent jihadist organization, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, seized a chunk of Syria, stormed into Iraq and not only declared itself an Islamic state, but also demanded that all Muslims swear allegiance to its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
For the first time since its emergence more than two decades ago, the Qaeda of Osama bin Laden finds itself facing a rival jihadist organization with the resources and influence to threaten its status as the flagship movement of violent extremism. For the moment, Al Qaeda has lost ground, but the question remains: Will this new group, which now calls itself simply the Islamic State, endure?
Those still allied with Al Qaeda think the new group will fall victim to the same tactics that somehow have simultaneously made it an enemy of the West and of Ayman al-Zawahri, the leader of Al Qaeda.
“We all dream of an Islamic state, but we want a political Islam that is able to stand up and not be erased from the map,” Mr. Mteiri said. “The great powers will never accept this, and they are bigger and stronger than ISIS.” Read the rest of this entry »
China’s Corruption Crackdown Snares Retired Military Chief
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Tuesday, 1 July 2014
By Bloomberg News
Jul 1, 2014
China expelled a retired deputy commander of the People’s Liberation Army from the Communist Party for bribery, the highest-level military official ensnared for corruption in more than six decades.
Xu Caihou, a former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, the highest military body, was expelled during a meeting of the Politburo presided over by President Xi Jinping, the official Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday. Evicting Xu, 71, removes his legal protections as a senior cadre and his case has been handed over to military prosecutors.
The official confirmation of the investigation into Xu, which was opened March 15, comes as Xi campaigns to eradicate corruption from both the party and the 2.3 million-strong PLA, the world’s largest army by headcount. Xi, who took over as head of the CMC when he became party leader in November 2012, is seeking to turn the PLA into a capable fighting force and make the country a maritime power.
The expulsion of Xu shows both the depth of corruption in the army and the progress of Xi’s anti-graft drive, Colonel Liu Mingfu, a professor at China’s National Defense University, said in a phone interview. Read the rest of this entry »
Any back-door attempt to enforce hudud is illegal, says Ambiga
Posted by Kit in Constitution, DAP, Islam on Tuesday, 1 July 2014
V. ANBALAGAN, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
1 July 2014
There is an attempt to rewrite the Federal Constitution by using “the back door” to introduce hudud but that plan will fail as it is illegal, says former Bar Council chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenivasan.
The remark was in reference to a move to table a private member’s bill in Parliament that will allow Kelantan to enforce its Shariah penal code in the PAS-controlled state.
The east coast state has been governed by the Islamist party PAS since 1990.
If passed by a simple majority vote, the bill will give effect to the Kelantan Shariah Criminal Code Enactment II of 1993. Read the rest of this entry »
Will first expanded Cabinet meeting tomorrow mark the end of 14-month Najib administration on autopilot since 13GE last May?
Posted by Kit in MH 370, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 1 July 2014
Malaysians have been hit by the twin disaster of two disappearances.
The first is the 115-day disappearance of the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH 370.
Despite the world’s largest and longest land, sea and under-sea search, not only is there no wreckage or debris of the aircraft with 239 passengers and crew on board after nearly four months of search, there is even controversy as to the aircraft’s flight-path and its final destination.
The latest 55-page report released by the Australian Transport Safety Board last Thursday postulated that the MH 370 flight was on autopilot with the passengers and crew having died from suffocation, with the plane likely crashed farther south into the Indian Ocean than previously thought – a distance of some 5,000 kilometres.
The idea of a “ghost plane” for a whole stretch of journey completely on autopilot as far as Kuala Lumpur to New Delhi (3,831), Kabul (4,838 km), Beijing (4,335 km), Seoul (4,662km), Tokyo (5,315 km) or Perth (4,162 km) simply boggles the mind.
But even worse than the 115-day disappearance of the MH370 Boeing 777 is the 422-day disappearance of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who was conspicuously absent to provide the hands-on leadership and direction on major issues affecting the country in the past 14 months. Read the rest of this entry »
Historic sentence for Akil
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Tuesday, 1 July 2014
Haeril Halim
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | July 01 2014
The Jakarta Corruption Court handed down a historic sentence on Monday evening by sentencing 53-year-old former Constitutional Court chief justice Akil Mochtar to life imprisonment, the most severe sentence in the court’s history.
The former Golkar Party politician, who showed no sign of remorse for his wrongdoings, was found guilty of accepting Rp 57 billion (US$4.7 million) in bribes from a number of regional heads to influence decisions on election disputes during his tenure at the court.
The life sentence for Akil marks the first time the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has successfully convinced the court to sentence a graft defendant facing graft or money-laundering charges to life in prison since its establishment in 2003.
The panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court found that Akil, who was formerly a member of the House of Representatives, had laundered Rp 160 billion during his term at the court and Rp 20 billion when he was at the House.
“Our examination has found the defendant guilty of corruption,” presiding judge Suwidya said as he read the verdict at the court on Monday night. Read the rest of this entry »
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