Police storm Sydney cafe to end hostage siege, three dead
Posted by Kit in Islamic state on Tuesday, 16 December 2014, 5:16 am
By Lincoln Feast and Colin Packham
Reuters
Dec 16, 2014
SYDNEY – Heavily armed Australian police stormed a Sydney cafe on Tuesday and freed a number of hostages being held there at gunpoint, in a dramatic end to a 16-hour siege in which three people were killed and four wounded.
New South Wales police said two men, aged 34 and 50, and a 38-year-old woman died. The attacker was among the fatalities.
Heavy gunfire and blasts from stun grenades filled the air shortly after 2 a.m. local time (1500 GMT on Monday).
Moments earlier at least six people believed to have been held captive managed to flee after gunshots were heard coming from the cafe, and police later confirmed that they made their move in response.
So far 17 hostages have been accounted for.
Medics tried to resuscitate at least one person after the raid and took away several wounded people on stretchers, said a Reuters witness at the scene in downtown Sydney. Bomb squad members moved in to search for explosives, but none were found.
The operation began shortly after a police source named the gunman as Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee and self-styled sheikh facing multiple charges of sexual assault as well as being an accessory to murder. Read the rest of this entry »
Hudud: 20 soalan untuk PAS
– Eric Paulsen
The Malaysian Insider
15 December 2014
Walaupun ditentang hebat pelbagai pihak, PAS dalam kebijaksanaannya masih lagi berkeras sekarang waktu yang sesuai untuk melaksanakan hudud di Kelantan dan akan mengadakan sidang Dewan Undangan Negeri Khas pada 29 Disember ini untuk mengemukakan satu pindaan terhadap Rang Undang-undang Kanun Jenayah Syariah II 1993 (Pindaan 2014).
Hudud merupakan sebahagian undang-undang jenayah Islam yang memperuntukkan hukuman paling keras yang dapat dibayangkan, lantaran versinya di Kelantan termasuklah merejam sehingga mati (dengan batu bersaiz sederhana), kematian diikuti dengan penyaliban, pemotongan anggota badan dan sebatan.
Hukuman sedemikian sudah tidak ada tempatnya pada zaman ini atau mana-mana masyarakat moden dan demokratik kerana ia melibatkan penyeksaan, hukuman kejam dan tidak berperikemanusiaan.
Walaupun PAS dan penyokong hudud tidak bimbang dan secara membuta-tuli yakin semuanya akan baik-baik belaka dengan pelaksanaannya, meskipun tiada asas bagi andaian hudud akan berjalan dengan lancar di Malaysia, sepertimana ia gagal di kesemua negara yang melaksanakan hudud seperti di Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria Utara, Afghanistan dan Pakistan.
Malah, sebaliknya yang benar, hudud menjadi perkataan yang menunjukkan ketidakadilan yang dilakukan atas nama Islam, terutamanya terhadap kanak-kanak perempuan dan wanita.
Kita ketepikan sebentar isu sama ada keadaan adalah bersesuaian di bawah falsafah perundangan Islam bagi hudud dilaksanakan, sama ada ia menepati Perlembagaan atau wajar diamalkan dalam sebuah negara seperti Malaysia.
Ramai rakyat Malaysia mempersoalkan, seberapa adil, saksama dan praktikal untuk hudud dilaksanakan di Kelantan sahaja manakala negeri-negeri lain di negara ini atau warga bukan Islam seolah-olah sepatutnya tidak akan terjejas langsung.
Oleh demikian, saya kumpulkan 20 soalan yang paling kerap ditanya untuk PAS –dan saya berharap PAS akan bertanggungjawab memberikan jawapan yang sewajarnya dan bukan hanya sekadar menyeru nama Allah, yang kebiasaannya menutup ruang dan mengakhiri semua perbincangan lanjut. Read the rest of this entry »
Patriotism by universal standards is alive again in Malaysia – Concerned Malaysians
Posted by Kit in Islam, Malaysian Dream, nation building on Monday, 15 December 2014, 8:48 pm
The Malaysian Insider
14 December 2014
We the undersigned Malaysian citizens from all walks of life hereby register our hopes, admiration and, above all, our support to the call for rational dialogues that was recently penned by 25 right-minded, inspired and courageous citizens.
The widely-published Letter penned by 25 eminent and determined Who-is-Who in Malaysia certainly ignites a bright and encouraging light at the end of Malaysia’s darkened tunnel of politics.
We concur with the issues raised by this group of distinguished Malaysian Malay-Muslims and appeal to the country’s leadership and especially the ruling political party to address the concerns raised vis-à-vis the “continuing unresolved disputes on the position and application of Islamic laws in this country”.
Indeed Malaysia’s ability and “responsibility” in “demonstrating that justice is done and seen to be done”, is the very cornerstone of this multiracial, multi-religious and multicultural population once dubbed with hope as the “Rising Asian Tiger”. Read the rest of this entry »
False choice to believe that PAS depends on hudud issue to stay in power in Kelantan in 14GE when PR common programme on good governance and justice can ensure PR victory in Putrajaya and Kelantan
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat, PAS on Monday, 15 December 2014, 4:58 pm
The announcement by the Kelantan PAS Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob of a special Kelantan State Assembly on Dec. 29 to amend the Syariah Criminal Code Enactment II 1993 as a prelude to the tabling of a private member’s bill in Parliament to seek approval for Kelantan to enforce hudud has caught PKR and DAP leaders, as well as the Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council, by complete surprise as there had been no prior hint or information whatsoever.
Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has confirmed with me that he is in the dark about the Kelantan PAS government’s plan to hold a special state assembly sitting on the implementation of hudud.
This is a breach of the Pakatan Rakyat consensus that any new measures on hudud will first be discussed in the PR Leadership Council, while taking note and respecting the previous PAS Kelantan decisions on hudud before the formation of PR.
This is not the way to restore public confidence in Pakatan Rakyat which had been seriously shaken by recent developments, or to take full advantage of the latest political landscape where a former top civil servant, who had led the Election Commission for a quarter of a century, either as Election Commission Secretary or Chairman, has passed the judgement that UMNO and Barisan Nasional are in their “death throes”.
Even the Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy UMNO President, Tan Sri Muhhyiddin Yassin knows that the ruling coalition for 57 years is in dire straits when he recently admitted that UMNO/Barisan Nasional would be ousted from power if the ruling coalition loses just two per cent of voter support in the next general elections.
For the first time in the nation’s history, UMNO/BN is poised of being toppled from power, not only in Putrajaya at the federal level, but also in the various states. Read the rest of this entry »
DAP slowly, but surely shedding its Chinese dominated party image
by G.Surach
The Rakyat Post
SUBANG JAYA Dec 14, 2014
COMMENT
The leadership and delegates at the DAP annual general assembly (AGM) held at One City here today are beginning to show winning touches after years of hard work.
In the years since the party’s formation in 1965 and its history we have all been following since, the party’s strong Chinese base looks to be eroding, but only for the better.
Long perceived as a Chinese-based Opposition party despite championing the Malaysian-Malaysia motto for years, this year’s AGM saw more colour, especially the throngs of Malay supporters and party members.
There were groups of mostly young Malay men and women in attendance contrary to the assertion made by Barisan Nasional leaders and pro-Malay rights NGOs that the DAP was using pretty Malay girls to portray the party as friendly to Malays and Muslims.
Malay volunteers were also seen in large numbers shifting though paperwork and accommodating the delegates’ needs.
The presence of the party’s multiracial and multicultural look was obvious in the crowd compared with the previous AGMs. Read the rest of this entry »
Three things we learned from: The Perkasa AGM
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Malaysian Dream, UMNO on Monday, 15 December 2014, 8:25 am
by Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malay Mail Online
December 15, 2014
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 — The theme of Perkasa’s annual general assembly this year was “Social Contract and Rukunegara, the core foundation for peace in Malaysia”.
Unsurprisingly, leaders and members of the Malay rights group zoomed in yesterday on Malay and Bumiputera rights, and the need for stricter laws and policies to protect the country’s ethnic majority.
During debates, delegates lamented how Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) have not done enough to adequately safeguard the interests of this majority group, with one leader even suggesting that Perkasa turn itself into a political party to lead the country.
Umno, complained the leader, has fallen short of expectations.
Perkasa’s president, the outspoken Datuk Ibrahim Ali, even labelled those from Umno who have criticised the group as bangsat (bastards) and declared himself the true hero of the Malays and Islam.
Taking a leaf from their leader, others used the assembly for the same purpose – as a platform to rebut criticisms against Perkasa, an NGO that has successfully muscled its way into mainstream politics and planted itself firmly at the forefront, as a presence that even Umno daren’t ignore.
Here are three lessons we learned from Perkasa’s fifth general assembly: Read the rest of this entry »
DAP shows ‘Malay face’ as party targets Umno
Posted by Kit in DAP, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Sunday, 14 December 2014, 10:47 pm
By Nigel Aw
Malaysiakini
Dec 14, 2014
Urgings for DAP to shed its Chinese-centric image and embrace more Malay members have been a staple message since the party’s rise in 2008 but something was visibly different at the party’s convention today.
The difference was probably most felt among some of the Chinese-speaking elderly DAP members who had complained they could not understand “90 percent” of the speeches.
The apparent gulf between the party’s elderly members and its mostly young speakers who spoke at the convention in Subang Jaya was perhaps symbolic of the transition the party was undergoing.
Speeches at the DAP convention in Subang Jaya were predominantly in the national language, peppered with Chinese, English, compared to its previous more Mandarin-oriented tone.
But the changes were not only confined to speeches as there were a visible number of Malay delegates, ranging from a pakcik clad in jubah to a middle aged men sporting a kopiah or women with tudung.
The sight was unusual for a party that had often been attacked by the ruling coalition as being “Chinese chauvinist”.
The gradual change of the party’s face in just a matter of years is perhaps facilitated by DAP’s tendency to place potential leaders into key positions regardless of seniority. Read the rest of this entry »
Great battle for the soul of Malaysia – politics of inclusion to unite all Malaysians to make Malaysia a great nation in international society vs politics of exclusion based on hate, fear and imaginary enemies to further divide and polarise races and religions in Malaysia
Posted by Kit in DAP, Elections, Pakatan Rakyat on Sunday, 14 December 2014, 11:15 am
We are now engaged in a great battle for the soul of Malaysia – the politics of inclusion to unite all Malaysians to make Malaysia a great nation in international society versus the politics of exclusion based on hate, fear and imaginary enemies to further divide and polarise races and religions in Malaysia.
The UMNO General Assembly last month is a classic example of the politics of exclusion where the politics of hate, fear and lies reigned supreme, creating imaginary enemies and fears – that the Malays and Islam are under siege, that the Malays could suffer a fate similar like the Red Indians in the United States, that the Malays have become slaves in their own land, that the Chinese are out to grab the political power of the Malays, that ”if UMNO loses, Malays may never rule again”, and the “mother of all lies”, that the Chinese in Kedah burnt the Quran “page by page during a prayer ritual”!
The politics of exclusion is the politics to sow hatred, distrust, disunity and division in our multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-lingual Malaysia based on The Big Lie that the Malays and Islam are under attack in Malaysia.
It is inconceivable and unimaginable that Malays and Islam are under siege after 57 years of UMNO government and six UMNO Prime Ministers, and this is why such exclusionary politics of fear and hate have to be based on The Big Lie.
In Malaysia on the eve of welcoming the new year of 2015, Malays and Islam are not under siege although UMNO and in particular the UMNO leaders and their cronies are under attack – the Umnoputras and not the bumiputeras are under siege!
Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy UMNO President, Tan Sri Muhhyiddin Yassin recently admitted that UMNO/Barisan Nasional would be ousted from power if the ruling coalition loses just two per cent of voter support in the next general elections.
This is why UMNO and their cronies, the UMNO-puteras are under siege, and not Malays, Islam and the bumiputeras.
For the first time in the nation’s history, UMNO/BN is poised of being toppled from power, not only in Putrajaya at the federal power, but also in the various states. Read the rest of this entry »
Like Don Quixote, Perkasa officials have their imaginary enemies too
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Malaysian Dream, nation building on Saturday, 13 December 2014, 10:56 pm
COMMENTARY BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
13 December 2014
Perhaps the sedentary life of a civil servant or seeing too many ballot boxes finally got to retired Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman.
Yesterday, as the Perkasa vice-president, he warned that the Malay rights group would defend Islam against anyone that attacks the religion.
Today. he described Malays who criticised Perkasa as either idiotic or blind, and to the extent of taking potshots at Umno Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin – who is no fan of the rights group.
Now why does a man like Rashid, who rose from the ranks to be the EC chief, believe there are Malaysians who are enemies of Islam. Or that critics are just idiots or blind?
In short, why does he behave like the famous literary character Don Quixote, who believed windmills were giants that he had to fight to death? Read the rest of this entry »
Four twitter carpet-bombing of my twitter site by some 100 UMNO Twitter Bomber multiple accounts in nine days – two on the RCIIIS report and two on Mashitah Ibrahim
Yesterday morning, the Minister for Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government and Sabah Barisan Nasional secretary Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan issued a statement on the mounting and widespread disappointment and disaffection among Sabahans to the 368-page Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Illegal Immigrants in Sabah (RCIIIS), and the Barisan Nasional government’s lack of sincerity and political will to resolve the 40-year nightmare and problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah.
Rahman said: “My job and that of my colleagues is not to convince the likes of Jeffrey Kitingan and Lim Kit Siang. Our job is to convince the people because that is what matters most.”
This statement formed the basis of the latest series of attacks by UMNO Twitter Bombers on my twitter site by multiple accounts, with 30 spam attacks on my site at 10.50 am.
The UMNO Twittter Bombers, human and robotic, first showed their hands in their targeting of my twitter site during the launching of the RCIIIS Report in Kota Kinabalu on Dec. 3 at 4 pm, when some 100 tweet accounts, both human but most robotic, launched a “carpet-bombing” of my tweet site, lasting some 90 minutes from 3.54 pm to 5.32 pm, with the most intensive attack registered at 4.11 pm with 46 spam attacks.
There were 49 same tweet attacks in five minutes, delivered in three waves – 17 tweets at 3.54 pm; 4 tweets at 3.58 pm and 28 tweets at 3.59 pm.
We have compiled a list of the tweet attacks and these UMNO Twitter Bomber accounts. Read the rest of this entry »
Seeking moderation in a troubled Malaysia
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Malaysian Dream, nation building on Saturday, 13 December 2014, 10:35 am
— Mustafa K Anuar
Malay Mail Online
December 13, 2014
DECEMBER 13 — In recent years, as many of us are aware, ethnic bigotry and religious extremism have permeated various strata of our society to the point that ethno-religious relations have reached an all-time low.
This is bad news as it is something that our founding fathers (and mothers) did not plan for or foresee when Malaya achieved its independence from colonial rule in 1957.
Nerves were frayed as tension escalated over the years — from the cow-head incident in Shah Alam to pig heads left in the premises or near mosques to Molotov cocktails thrown into church grounds to body snatches to the seizure of Bibles in Selangor. Differences and diversity have been frowned upon while what we have in common is given less prominence or appreciation.
As if the above incidents are not enough to drive a wedge between the ethnic and religious communities in the country, the Malay community often have been warned about the purported threat from the Other, the primary objective being to create a siege mentality among them. Read the rest of this entry »
25 Moderate Malays: A One Hit Wonder or The Tip of the Iceberg?
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Malaysian Dream, nation building, UMNO on Saturday, 13 December 2014, 9:50 am
Koon Yew Yin
13th December 2014
Just before UMNO held its recent general assembly, I had written the following lines:
But I, and many other Malaysians, have not lost hope entirely. There must be individuals and groups in the party that know of the cancer and culture of corruption, authoritarianism, greed, self enrichment and opportunism within the party which many of the top leaders are bent on spreading to the rest of the country.
Surely, in a party with millions of members, there must be many of integrity, decency and sensibility who know that the party – in its present condition – is the Malay community’s worst enemy. Surely realistic platforms for real reform and change can be put up for discussion instead of the bashing of vernacular schools and self concocted enemies of Islam, royalty and the Malays. .
The main aim of this UMNO meeting should be to formulate policies to make Malaysia a developed nation; and to make the Malays a respected community that can stand on its own feet and without the need for crutches, keris-wielding or name-calling.
This group of moderate and honorable members must change the policies that have not worked. They must push out the leaders who have not performed and replace them with new blood that does not seek to make the non-Bumiputra the scapegoat for everything wrong or bad that happens in the Malay community.
Inside the battle for Ask.fm, the site where Islamic State recruited three American teens
Posted by Kit in Islamic state, IT on Saturday, 13 December 2014, 9:21 am
By Caitlin Dewey
Washington Post
December 12, 2014
When three teenage girls from Denver left their homes for an Islamic State camp in Syria two months ago, their parents — and the FBI — were quick to search social media for clues to their escape. And in the weeks since the girls were intercepted in Frankfurt and returned home, it’s become pretty clear that they were indeed radicalized and recruited online.
But while accounts of similar Western recruits have fingered major social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr, or popular messaging platforms like Kik, a report out from NPR claims another social network, Ask.fm, was actually the major force at play.
Which means Ask.fm — late of several recent cyberbullying and teen suicide scandals — may now officially qualify as the worst-reputed social network on earth. But don’t tell that to the site’s new owner, the blue-chip Internet company IAC: Ask.fm’s new owners are confident they can save the site, trolls and terrorists be damned.
“I absolutely believe rehabilitation is possible if you do the right thing,” said Doug Leeds, the site’s CEO. “There is that perception that [Ask.fm] is a parent’s worst nightmare … but safety is our first priority.”
Unfortunately for Leeds, that reputation has dogged Ask.fm since its beginning. The anonymous question-and-answer site — both a pioneer and an early warning, in the anonymous networking space — was founded in Latvia in 2010, and quickly grew to more than 100 million users in 150 countries. Its premise, both simple and mind-numbingly self-involved, is perfect for the teenage set: Essentially, when you log into Ask.fm, you’re greeted by a series of personal questions other users have left for you, with no indication of who wrote them or how they know you in real life.
You, in turn, get to pontificate to the anonymous masses on topics like “what do you do to fall asleep?” and “what’s the most delicious fruit?” — as well as, naturally, ask anonymous questions, yourself. Read the rest of this entry »
Bagaimana kerajaan mendaulatkan Bahasa Malaysia sedangkan terjemahan Laporan Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja Pendatang Asing di Sabah pun menggunakan bahasa yang bermutu rendah, cincai dan nampak malas.
Gesaan Kerajaan Negeri Melaka supaya sekolah-sekolah menggunakan papan tanda dengan tulisan Jawi dengan alasan mendaulatkan Bahasa Kebangsaan boleh ditempelak dengan sekadar menunjukkan kepada mereka mutu terjemahan laporan Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja Pendatang Asing di Sabah (RCIIIS) yang dikemukakan kerajaan pada 3 Disember lalu.
Barangkali kerana begitu tergesa-gesa mahu menyiapkan laporan terbabit, pihak yang bertanggungjawab menyediakan naskhah rasmi dalam Bahasa Kebangsaan akhirnya menggunakan khidmat penterjemahan Google sahaja, dan menghasilkan terjemahan yang begitu rendah mutunya bagi sebuah laporan bertaraf ‘Diraja’.
Lebih 200 muka surat awal Laporan RCIIIS nampaknya seakan-akan tiada masalah, dan menggunakan bahasa yang begitu ringkas. Namun jika dicermati betul-betul kita akan mendapati bahawa terjemahan yang diberikan adalah dibuat secara langsung (direct translation) daripada teks asal dalam Bahasa Inggeris dan kedengaran seperti ditulis oleh murid sekolah rendah sahaja. Read the rest of this entry »
India-based Twitter account hailing Islamic State jihadists shut down
Posted by Kit in Islamic state on Saturday, 13 December 2014, 5:52 am
Chris Johnston
The Guardian
11 December 2014
Owner of the ShamiWitness account, with almost 18,000 followers, was an executive at a company in Bangalore
A Twitter account followed by supporters of Islamic State (Isis) has been shut down after a reporter exposed the Indian man who had sent thousands of tweets about the jihadist group.
Channel 4 News revealed on Thursday night that the owner of the ShamiWitness account was an executive at a company in Bangalore called Medhi. It did not reveal his full name because he said his life would be in danger if he was identified.
However, after being tracked down he agreed to shut down the account, which hailed foreign Isis fighters who were killed as martyrs.
ShamiWitness had almost 18,000 followers and the tweets were seen an estimated 2 million times a month. They were mostly sent from his smartphone.
Mehdi said he would have joined Isis, but that he could not leave his family: “If I had a chance to leave everything and join them I might have … my family needs me here.” Read the rest of this entry »
‘I no longer care about my political position,’ says Pulai MP
by Michael Murty
The Rakyat Post
Dec 12, 2014
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12, 2014:
“I no longer care about my political position”.
This was the reply by Pulai MP Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed when asked about his attendance at the “Freedom of Expression Under Threat?” forum held by the Bar Council here yesterday.
According to Sinar Online, Nur Jazlan said he wanted to use the opportunity while he still had it, to voice his opinion.
“The question about my political career is no longer on my mind. I do not care about my position within the party (Umno) as I have reached an age where I no longer am chasing positions within the party.
“But I do want to use the platform that I have to do consensual politicking, rather than bickering all the time,” he told the news portal. Read the rest of this entry »
Ex-envoy urges moderate Malays to take stand
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Islam, Malaysian Dream, nation building on Friday, 12 December 2014, 6:14 pm
By Zakiah Koya
Malaysiakini
8:36AM Dec 12, 2014
Former Wisma Putra head honcho Ahmad Kamil Jaafar has vowed that the ‘Eminent Malays statement’ signed by him and 24 others will not be a flash in the pan.
“We will continue to speak up and this (statement) will not be the end of us,” Ahmad Kamil told Malaysiakini.
He said he signed the statement, despite having served in the civil service for many decades, as he felt something must be done to get moderate Malays to stand up to the extremists who are destroying the country’s multiethnic and multireligious make-up.
Ahmad Kamil, 77, was a diplomat for 34 years before his retirement as secretary-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Until recently, he was special envoy to the prime minister.
“All the issues (mentioned in the statement) have been welling up in the society and I was feeling concerned…
“Some of them (in the government) are going overboard and they are talking of arresting the lot (those who questioned the extremists).
“We (the 25 of us) talked to one another and we wanted to take some kind of action that may influence other moderate Malays… I also want to see everyone come back to the country,” Ahmad Kamil said. Read the rest of this entry »
Over 5,000 pages are missing from the RCI Report on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah released by the government on Dec 3 – call on Najib to immediately release the missing pages
Posted by Kit in Law & Order, Najib Razak, Sabah on Friday, 12 December 2014, 5:52 pm
Firslty, let me thank the packed capacity for attending this forum organised at very short notice for taking part in a straw vote by show of hands that not a single person in this hall support the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah (RCIIIS) Report released in Kota Kinabalu on Dec. 3, and the unanimous show of hands showing disappointment or rejection of the RCIIIS Report.
This is confirmation of the deep and widespread disbelief, dismay and disquiet by the people of Kota Kinabalu and Sabah over the RCIIIS Report, which has been such a great letdown after the high hopes and expectations of the people that finally, there would be a solution to the four-decades-old problem of illegal immigrants which has changed the political demography in Sabah as well as the social, economic and security circumstances and landscape for Sabahans.
In fact, I had said – and I find confirmation tonight – that if the RCIIIS Report had been released before the 13GE in May last year, Datuk Seri Najib Razak would not be the Prime Minister today, and that if a Sabah state general elections is held now, the RCIIIS Report will be one issue which will be cause of the downfall of the UMNO/BN State Government in Sabah. Read the rest of this entry »
I don’t know if Umno is capable of reforming itself, says Ku Li
Posted by Kit in nation building, Razaleigh Hamzah on Friday, 12 December 2014, 9:29 am
The Malaysian Insider
12 December 2014
Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Malaysia’s longest-serving Member of Parliament, is decidedly despondent about his country.
“I cannot recall an experience when Malaysia, after independence, was trapped in a situation similar to that we face now,” he said in a wide-ranging interview with The Edge Review.
Malaysia’s troubled political landscape, where the sensitive issues of race and religion are dominating headlines and public discourse, is being weighed down by the serious deterioration in the country’s economic performance where mounting debt in the public sector and households is leaving the country very vulnerable to external shocks.
“We have never been in this spot before,” says the urbane 77-year-old politician, who is fondly known as Ku Li. Read the rest of this entry »
Rise of the moderate Malays
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Malaysian Dream, Najib Razak, nation building on Friday, 12 December 2014, 6:37 am
By Stephen Ng
Malaysiakini
Dec 11, 2014
COMMENT The open letter by 25 top former civil servants urging Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to show leadership in handling the intolerant right wing groups is a clear sign that the moderate Malays are finally speaking up.
It marks the rise of the voice of moderation – something that we have been waiting for in the past six years, or longer. These 25 eminent retirees have broken their silence and spoken up for the sake of preserving our decaying social fabrics.
They are like salt to decaying meat. Without such salt, the meat will continue to decay until it is no longer safe for consumption. We certainly do not want this nation to get to the extent of becoming another South Africa during the apartheid era. Read the rest of this entry »
