SEAN-THE-MAN.blogspot.com

I will buy Khairy a plane ticket to Gaza today!

2010-06-05T14:58:00.006+08:00

Apparently Khairy wants to personally go to Gaza and fight the Israeli Defence Force.

Khairy juga berkata sebagaimana yang dilaporkan oleh Malaysiakini di SINI "Jika tiada perubahan (daripada) demontrasi di Masjid Negara (mahupun) di Kedutaan Amerika Syarikat, kita akan bangun dan terus ke Gaza untuk tewaskan Israel,"

Mr Khairy Jamaluddin, sean-the-man is so damned impressed with your bravery and commitment to the Palestinian cause... that I will personally pay for your plane ticket to Gaza!

Don't you worry about the logistics and what not. All you have to do is SHOW UP AND FIGHT! Not just them fighting words, dude. Actually FIGHT... just like you said. With guns, knives and other fighting shit.

NOW... do you have the balls to back up that big mouth of yours???

Muslims protest gambling. Non-Muslims protest polygamy.

2010-05-16T16:50:00.004+08:00

Shouldn't the abolition of the immoral and family-breaking practice of gambling be matched by the abolition of the equally immoral and home-breaking practice of polygamy?

Malaysia Islamists protest gambling, rapper Pitbull
Written by Razak Ahmad
Friday, 14 May 2010 17:59

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police broke up a protest by Islamists on Friday, May 14 against US rapper Pitbull's concert and the government award of a sports betting licence, underscoring a deepening tide of Islam in the country.

About 300 Malay Muslims representing several groups led by the opposition Pan Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) gathered in the compound of a mosque in the capital's Malay enclave after Friday prayers to denounce gambling and pop concerts.

The government recently approved a sports betting licence to a company set to be majority controlled by property-to-gaming group Berjaya Corp Bhd.

Pitbull is scheduled to perform at a dance music festival in the country on Saturday.

The concert and gambling licence are unrelated, but a PAS official said the protest was part of an ongoing awareness campaign against "immorality" in the country.

"We must act before gambling floods our country," PAS official Kamaruzaman Mohamad told the crowd. "Gambling is a cancer in our society."

Malaysia forbids its majority Muslims from gambling but allows licensed numbers forecast operations and a casino operated by Genting Group.

Condemning the US rapper whose recent hits include "I Know You Want Me," Kamaruzaman said Pitbull was not welcome.

"It's bad enough that he is named after a dog, but if you watch his video clip on Youtube, his performance and lyrics are against Malaysian cultural norms," said Kamaruzaman.

Demonstrators carried placards with the words "Malaysia is not a gambling nation", and chanted, "God is Greatest". Police moved in to disperse the crowd but made no arrests.

The protests highlight the occasional clash between modern and conservative Islam in this mainly Muslim but multi-ethnic Southeast Asian country.

PAS is part of a group led by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim which made record gains in the 2008 national elections.

It competes with Prime Minster Najib Razak's Umno for the critical Malay vote. Malays form 55% of the country's 28 million population.

Both parties often tout their Islamic credentials and the deepening conservatism saw ethno-religious tensions rise due to a row over the use of the word "Allah" by Christians to describe God. — Reuters

Real Bumiputras need help. False ones want special rights & privileges.

2010-04-03T12:00:00.004+08:00

Read this. Isn't this what any affirmative action should be targeting? Rather than ensuring rich Malay businessmen get more govt contracts, govt land or making sure millionaire Malays get big discounts when buying bungalows?

How Ketuanan Melayu has dispossessed the Orang Asli
Fri, 02 Apr 2010 22:30

By Dr Boo Cheng Hau & Helen Ang

Malaysia is the Asia-Pacific’s “best model” in dealing with the rights of indigenous peoples – or so it is claimed. Last Saturday (incidentally the same day Dr Mahathir Mohamad launched the Perkasa inaugural congress), BN MP Makcus Mojigoh said, in his paper presented at a regional conference, that the government is serious about the plight of the Orang Asli.

Really? The Orang Asli don’t think so.

Mojigoh’s comments follow on the heels of the march by more than 2,000 Orang Asli from all over the country earlier on the 17th of this month in Putrajaya. They had gathered to demand recognition of their customary rights to ancestral land – “Tanah kami, maruah kami” was the rallying cry.

The protest is not surprising as the Orang Asli have increasingly been pushed to the margins by Ketuanan Melayu – since the infamous 'Malay Dilemma' of Mahathir and long before that.

Mahathir argued in his 1970 book that the Orang Asli are not the definitive people of the peninsular as they did not form the first effective government, and moreover “at no time did they outnumber the Malays”.

Furthermore, he brushed off the notion that Orang Asli might have prior claims above “the right of the Malays to regard the Malay peninsula as their own country...” and cited his own reading of history to bolster the Malay contention.

Today, learning from school textbooks, pupils would be left with the impression that Malaysian history started from the Malaccan Sultanate, and that before the conversion to Islam of the prince Parameswara, the country was some kind of no-man’s land.

The Malay Dilemma also contended that “in fact, there are no more than a few thousand aborigines”. Contrary to Mahathir’s assertion rubbishing their numbers, in 1969 there were 52,943 Orang Asli.

Orang Asli are not a single ethnic group but collectively composed of 18 (official) tribes. The biggest grouping is classed Senoi, who are the Semai, Temiar, Jah Hut, Che Wong, Mah Meri and Semoq Beri tribes, while two other groupings are Negrito and proto-Malay. All are indigenous people.

Similar to apartheid

According to historians, Orang Asli had been victims of the slave trade by the Malays and Bataks. Despite official denials of slavery, Orang Asli oral literature has indeed recorded slave raids. The English colonial official JWW Birch had documented their enslavement since as early as 1874.

“
...one fact remains the same for all Orang Asli: they are the descendants of the earliest inhabitants of the peninsula.

Totalling some 147,500 persons in 2003, Orang Asli comprise about 0.6 percent of the population, and are disenfranchised on many counts.

Commenting on the demonstration in Putrajaya, Suhakam vice-chairman Simon Sipaun said: “It is expected that the Orang Asli community would protest as they have been marginalised in a system similar to apartheid”.

Previously in South Africa, the white Afrikaner nationalists used an ideology almost identical to that propounded by Mahathir to justify their own indigenous status above the black Khoisan, whom according to the white supremacists, had never established a ‘civilised government’.

If one were to look at Article 153 of our federal constitution, it says that the ‘special position’ is extended only to Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak. Omitting mention of the Orang Asli in the said article excludes them from the guarantee of quotas.

[But] ‘We are not Malays, we will always be Orang Asli’ – declare the placards hoisted in Putrajaya on March 17. How then?

‘Refugees’ in own country

Not too long ago on Feb 24, a group of Orang Asli held a demonstration outside the Orang Asli Affairs Department (JHEOA) hospital in Gombak. Speaking to reporters, their spokesman Sokyen Man said the hospital is dominated by non-Orang Asli who are incapable of fulfilling the needs of the community.

The group submitted a petition against the hospital which said, among other things: “A lot of us have faced medical staff who are uncomfortable with the Orang Asli. Sometimes, they pass comments on our features and skin colour.” This particular complaint infers that they are considered an ‘out group’ or ‘inferior group’ (implied by the derogatory connotations of ‘sakai’) by the mainstream.

The term ‘Orang Asli’ was first used by the post-Independence federal government and means ‘the original people’. Colin Nicholas of the Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC) notes, “one fact remains the same for all Orang Asli: they are the descendants of the earliest inhabitants of the peninsula.”

It is they whose fate could well be equated with that of aborigines in Australia, Maoris in New Zealand and Native Americans in the United States. This is a more compelling comparison than Utusan Malaysia’s constant, tiresome refrain that Malays are like Palestinians in their own homeland.

It is the Orang Asli who are akin to displaced refugees!

Most destitute group

Going by any socio-economic indicator, the Orang Asli are the worst off among all the local ethnic groups. About half live below the poverty line – according to the government’s most recent statistics. Relative to the other races, their children are malnourished and have high infant mortality rate; and Orang Asli have a lower life expectancy.

A bitter irony is that the authorities insist on perpetuating the myth that Orang Asli are ‘nomadic’. According to Robert Dentan, most of the Orang Asli have in fact settled in stable lifestyles although a small number remain semi-nomadic.

There are about 870 Orang Asli settlements (as at December 2003) mainly in Pahang, Perak and Kelantan. More than 500 of these villages are considered to be located in the fringe and 323 in the interior. About 400 villages are categorized as ‘backward’.

If at all Orang Asli can be regarded as nomadic foragers roaming in the forest or “tanah rayau” – a dismissive phraseology adopted by the government – it is this very government that is forcing them to move from place to place.

The Temuans in Sepang and Bangi had their land taken from them to build KLIA and UKM respectively. In Stulang Laut in Johor, the Orang Seletar were relocated to make way for a commercial and customs complex.

The “regroupment” – an euphemistic official doublespeak – of Orang Asli settlements has resulted in even their resettlements again giving way to logging, mining concessions, highway projects, industrial parks and golf courses.

National Land Act

The federal government expects to table amendments to the National Land Act in Parliament by June. It is learned that the new legislation will give the Orang Asli only 50,000 hectares of the 128,000-ha land they live on, which ultimately amounts to “a policy of planned poverty”.

The Bar Council has recommended the following legal measures on the Orang Asli land issues to empower the community:

1. the issuance of individual land titles to every indigenous family;
2. the gazetting of communal land parcels by the state governments under Section 62 of the National Land Code 1965;
3. the gazetting of communal land parcels under the Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954 with perpetual and unlimited foraging rights extending beyond the gazetted communal land parcels; and
4. in exceptional cases of certain semi-nomadic indigenous communities, who are the most vulnerable of indigenous peoples, perpetual and unlimited foraging rights (with concomitant and greater opportunities for education and vocational training towards sustaining their livelihood).

The authorities tend to take a narrow reading of the Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954 (revised 1974) and regard the Orang Asli’s rights to their land as being one of ‘tenant-at-will’. And that their right to remain in a particular area is at the pleasure of the state authority which can, if it so wishes, remove the Orang Asli from their lands without having to pay compensation for it.

The courts, especially in the Sagong Tasi case, have however deemed such thinking as archaic and unconstitutional. The Orang Asli do exercise native title rights over their traditional lands under common law. But it appears the government is not about to accept this legal precedent.

Writing in Aliran, Yogeswaran Subramaniam observes, “If past records are anything to go by, the states’ performance for gazetting Orang Asli reserves has been nothing short of dismal”.

Changing the face of Orang Asli

The policy that the government is now putting on the table does not recognise customary lands but instead proposes to change the face of Orang Asli land into plantations.

Orang Asli who accept the government’s deal offering 50,000 ha (amounting to just over one hectare per household and with no forests) will not be able to bring any claims later to the courts for customary lands or loss of such lands.

The Aliran article calculated that even assuming Orang Asli want to operate oil palm smallholdings at one hectare, each household will only be able to produce around 15 tonnes annually.

The cash crop sold at RM500 a tonne would bring net earnings of RM5,000 a year, or average income of just over RM400 a month – a poverty level income!

The Orang Asli are a vulnerable minority who have been physically removed from their traditional source of livelihood in the forests. Government coercion has additionally caused the erosion of their traditions, customs and values – and its attendant side-effect of mental stress.

They did not venture to the swanky Putrajaya for “school-holiday sightseeing” as gibed by the condescending Rural Development Minister Shafie Apdal. The Orang Asli descended on the administrative capital because the community has reached a crisis level.

Related stories:

Orang Asli in protest march over land rights

1Malaysia - politics first, people later

Dr Boo Cheng Hau is the Johor DAP chairman and the state assemblyman for Skudai while Helen Ang is an online media columnist. This article first appeared at the Centre For Policy Initiatives' website.

Non-malays don't join army because they are undisciplined cowards.

2010-03-19T22:14:00.005+08:00

Why non-Malays don't join the army:

- they don't like discipline
- they don't like the potential need to sacrifice their lives.

Really???

And here I was... thinking it was due to rampant discrimination. Apparently, it's because they're undisciplined cowards.

Here's a thought... let the non-Malays hold the guns for a change. I reckon they'll show you just who the cowards are.

JAIS on Valentine's Day. More sexual abuse & necromancy?

2010-01-31T11:53:00.007+08:00

Based on the other stuff JAIS is known for, no good can come from their "prowling" on Valentine's Day.

- sexual abuse (videotaping naked girls during raids)
- necromancy (snatching dead bodies away from grieving families)

A word of advice if any non-Muslims are harassed by them.

1. They have NO AUTHORITY OVER NON-MUSLIMS.
2. So, if they accost you in any way, you can treat them as robbers or attackers. You can punch them, kick them, stab them, or if you have a gun, shoot them in self defence. A hotel fork in the eye of one of those turbaned idiots would garner you a personal note of appreciation from me.

ASB vs ASW2020. 28% difference!

2010-01-24T12:58:00.006+08:00

I always wondered exactly how much more dividend ASB (Amanah Saham Bumiputra) pays compared to the other PNB (Permodalan Nasional) funds that are open to non-bumis. As far as I can tell, the best performing fund that's not exclusive to the bumis is ASW2020.

It seems that ASB has returned an average of 9.55% over the last 10 years (1999-2009), while ASW2020 has returned an average of 7.48%.

The average difference of 2.07% is significant. It is 28% more. PNB has always said that the difference in performance is due to the difference in portfolio composition (types and mix of assets) and risk-return balance between the 2 funds. However since both funds are capital guaranteed, then I have to ask... how come PNB doesn't invest ASW2020 into the same portfolio composition as ASB to extract the same returns?

And how exactly does PNB guarantee the capital for both funds when their risk-return profiles are different? This means if ASB can be capital guaranteed with 9.55% return, why can't ASW2020? Why would ASW2020's portfolio, which is similarly capital guaranteed - only manage to return 7.48%? Why the disparity?

The real question in my mind is whether there is any cross-fund subsidisation of returns and/or capital guarantee from ASW2020 to ASB?

There are 2 other things that make ASB inequitably unfair compared to ASW2020.

1. ASW2020 caps the initial "fresh funds" investment of each individual at RM20,000 to 50,000. It has changed with every new issue over the years. ASB's cap is RM200,000 per individual.

If you look at it from a per capita citizen/investor point of view, an ASB investor would have earned an average 9.55% annually on RM200,000 in ASB. He would have pocketed RM19,100 per year or a total of RM191,000 over 10 years. With an initial investment of RM200,000, he has virtually doubled his money!

A non-bumi investor in ASW2020 would have earned an average of 7.48% annually on RM50,000 (lets say that's the cap). He would have earned RM3,740 per year or a total of RM37,400 over 10 years. Assuming he was allowed to invest RM200,000, his dividends would be RM14,960 per year or a total of RM149,600 over 10 years.

That is a difference of RM41,400... where has it gone?

In addition, the dividends can be left in the funds, to be reinvested. And they typically are. This differential will therefore be compounded exponentially year after year as the fund balance grows... ie. any cross-subsidisation gets larger and larger. So, while I have (for simplicity's sake on a hot Sunday afternoon) assumed a constant RM50,000 (for ASW2020) and RM200,000 (for ASB), the account balances involved are actually much, much larger due to the compounding effect of dividends reinvested in the funds.

2. Malaysian banks are compelled to offer financing or loans to people investing in ASB. Bumis can borrow up to their individual investment limit (ie. RM200,000) with nothing more their eventual ASB certificate as collateral.

RHB is offering ASB financing at a price of BLR-1.35%. In 2009, RHB's BLR was 5.55%. That simply means that in 2009, ASB investors were borrowing money with no personal undertaking required, at a cost of 4.25% in order to earn a dividend return of 8.55%.

Think about it. Supernormal returns above any other funds that PNB manages, without having to come up with any capital or take any risk due to available bank financing. That's a sweet, sweet deal for ASB investors.

In other words, money is simply being handed to them on a silver platter! Money that is being sucked out of PNB's non-ASB funds (like ASW2020, ASM, AS1Malaysia) and other bank borrowers.

Sources:
ASB dividend history: My Malaysia Stockfolio
ASW2020 dividend history: nutri for my soul
ASB financing info: RHB Bank
2009 BLR info: Meshio.com

You don't know who your father is?!

2010-01-23T13:03:00.004+08:00

This is a hilarious one. And here I was.., thinking that only the bastard children of prostitutes and sperm donors wouldn't know who their father was. Oh shoot... did I just imply that a whole bunch of people who have father issues are the bastard offspring of whores and test tubes?

AYAH CONTROVERSY: "Tell Your Children NOT to Call You AYAH"
Friday, January 22, 2010

The following story is being circulated in the Malaysian blogosphere and email network.

A man came home from work and his children ran to him and called out ‘AYAH! AYAH!’.

His neighbor got very upset and said to him, “Can you please tell YOUR children NOT to call YOU ‘AYAH'?”

The man asked, “Why?”

The neighbor retorted, “Because MY children call ME ’AYAH’ too. They might get confused and mistake YOU for their father.”

Then the man told his neighbour, "Are you not ashamed to say that your children do not know who is their ‘AYAH'. So you are saying by using the word ‘AYAH’, your children will call me "AYAH" too without knowing who is their father."

The neighbour said, "YES, ONLY I should use the word ‘AYAH".

The man said, "Then there is something wrong in what you are teaching your children. They are NOT sure and do NOT know who is their ‘AYAH’!"

Posted by Malaysian Unplug

Johor sultan dies. Got nothing to say about it.

2010-01-23T10:48:00.003+08:00

My elders taught me that if I have nothing good to say about someone who has departed, don't say anything at all.

.
..
...
....
.....

End of blogpost.

Sultan of Johor dies

JOHOR BARU: The Sultan of Johor, Sultan Iskandar Ibni Almarhum Sultan Ismail, passed away at the Puteri Specialist Hospital here at 7.08pm on Friday. He was 77 years old.

He will be buried at the Royal Mausoluem at 2pm on Saturday. Members of the public can pay their respects at the Istana Besar from 9am 10.30am, while dignitaries can do so from 11am to noon.

He was admitted earlier Friday due to an unspecified illness.

Dear Malaysia... it's time for sayang sayang

2010-01-20T00:25:00.002+08:00

These are unprecedented times of communal strife n Malaysia. Yet hope and promise, in their myriad disguises, never stop trying to manifest themselves in our daily lives. There will be no heavy commentary today, no "in your face" racial rebuttal or religious rejoinder.

I'm just going to share one of my favourite songs ever. Every time I listen to it, I really feel it somehow describes us... what we are, our difficult journey, that hope beckons and what we must do as a nation. It seems to understand that the fates and fortunes of all Malaysians are joined, that we either swim together or we shall sink together. That the only way to succeed is with one hand firmly in the other.

Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Malaysians, now more than ever... it's time for a little lovin'... it's time for sayang sayang.

There seems so many things that lie before us
There's just so many things we want to do
But let's just stop and pause
For just a moment 'cos
We should do something special, me and you

It's time for sayang sayang
It's time for sayang sayang
Caring for one another, family and friends

It's time for sayang sayang
It's time for sayang sayang
As we go walking together, hand in hand

The time that we all love is here to treasure
A very special time of the year
These days are sure to find
These days are yours and mine
We'll share them with the ones we hold so dear

It's time for sayang sayang
It's time for sayang sayang
Caring for one another, family and friends

It's time for sayang sayang
It's time for sayang sayang
As we go walking together, hand in hand
As we go walking together, hand in hand...

Title: It's Time for Sayang Sayang.
Music: John Lee
Lyrics: Alvin Oon, John Lee & Tan Kheng Hua
Performed by: John Lee & Tan Kheng Hua

Proton. No wonder you're doomed.

2010-01-14T21:02:00.008+08:00

Just saw these pictures today. Proton was having its family day and one part of the festivities was the "Invention and Innovation competition, an in-house inter-department contest where staff came up with “concept cars” using units that were destined for scrapping."

From the comments on the blog where I found these, apparently teams of employees in Proton were given off-grade cars, access to Proton's parts bin, paint house, bodyshop etc and RM2,000 to buy stuff they couldn't pinch out of the workshops and warehouses.

After the first 4 or 5 pictures, all I could think was... WTF?!!!

2 points...

1. If this is the kind of inventiveness and innovation that Proton employees can muster when they are given free cars, a modest amount of money and a free hand of Proton's facilities... all I can say is no wonder Proton produces such lousy cars since parting with Mitsubishi and supposedly producing it's own cars from start to finish.

2. While I fully understand it's family day, and the employees are just having fun... let's not forget that these people are car builders by profession and had access to a supposedly world class car building facility. Was there no pride involved? Wasn't there even one creative concept you had in mind where this was just the opportunity to showcase it? Or was it all about just having a few laughs and guffaws? If I were Proton, I would have clamped down on these pictures and executed whoever leaked them out. This is really doing nothing for their brand building efforts. Can you imagine BMW or Audi doing this?

The Good... (not that good lah, but the front rips off the Nissan Silvia S13 quite well)
The rear is ala Ferrari F430 with a bad bumper job.
The Bad... beachcomber
The Ugly... Humvee
The Maybe... the Toyota Alpina
Maybe not!
Then it starts getting dumb...
The BIZARRE!.. Donald Duck?
WTF?!..
A shoe? Throwing a shoe at George W Bush was supposed to be the worst kind of insult. I wonder what this means.
Proton Kayu?! OMG...
Proton Penyu?!
Why would anyone want to drive a car that looks like a durian stall?
Double serving of crap.
Source: Paultan.org

S'pore's top O-Level student this year is M'sian. So was last year's.

2010-01-11T22:01:00.006+08:00

Here's one more for the brain drain. No prizes for guessing that she's not going to come back... since she's got a bond-free scholarship and all. She heard about her school from another Malaysian student there... also a top student. And her brother's also in Singapore... also on scholarship.

YES, pour more money into the single race residential schools, matriculation schools, MARA and ITM. That'll show Lee Kuan Yew who's boss.

Top girl not keen on S'pore

THIS year's top O-level student Lai Kai Rou, who is from Selangor in Malaysia, was initially averse to the idea of studying in Singapore.

This was because she was not confident about living away from home.

But she changed her mind after hearing the praises fellow Malaysian students sang of CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls' School (SNGS). One of them was last year's top 0-level student Haw Sue Hern, who also scored 10 A1s.

'My seniors told me about the holistic education in St Nicholas. They said we will be exposed to much more co-curricular activities as compared to schools in Malaysia. I felt it felt it was a good opportunity to be exposed to different things and to learn how to be independent,' said Kai Rou,

She is on a bond-free scholarship from SNGS and stays at the Hwa Chong Insitution (HCI) hostel. She has a younger brother, a secondary two student in HCI, who is also also on scholarship.

St Nicholas turned in a glittering performance at last year's O-levels exams - 14 of the best performers in Singapore, including Kai Rou.

Hire your own vigilantes! Not enough police to guard churches & convent schools.

2010-01-11T08:00:00.000+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan has advised churches to tighten security at their premises because there are not enough policemen to guard every one of them.

He suggested that churches raise their security by hiring guards. - The Star

I can't remember where I got this breakdown of police personnel numbers from. I think it's from one of the Opposition blogs. So, don't quote me on accuracy.

But if this is anywhere near the truth, then why do you need 38% of your people in "management" (ie. 1 manager for every 2 policemen)?

And what are the 40,608 Internal Security personnel doing now, besides protecting politicians and in the case of the FRU, staying in their barracks until the next Opposition candlelight vigil?

There are not enough police?

"Allah' in state anthems forces non-Muslims to open a can of whup-ass.

2010-01-09T10:25:00.015+08:00

Just read on the The Sensintrovert blog that the word 'Allah' appears all over the state anthems of several states. Good catch. I didn't think of it. But now that I have... jeng jeng jeng [cue epic biblical music].

If 'Allah' means the god of Muslims only, then I don't want to sing about somebody else's god. By default, it is not the true god because it is not my god. So, I don't want to commit a grievous sin by singing about a false god. In fact, I don't want it to be sung at any functions or events that I'm attending because it disrespects me and it disrespects my god.

As the most pious representitive of the gods of the Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Punjabis dan lain-lain, I DEMAND IT. As the leader of the Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Punjabis dan lain-lain, I DEMAND IT.

NOW... DON'T CABAR ME! Don't make me firebomb your house of worship and drag the head of livestock through the streets! I don't want to, but you MENGHINA my BANGSA and AGAMA. Don't CABAR my MARUAH and the KEDAULATAN of my AGAMA. Don't provoke a SENSITIVE and EMOTIONAL issue. Don't make me open a can of ULANGKAN January 8 on your ass!

Wait... hang on... where have I heard all this before? It sounds SO stupid, yet so familiar...

Ban These Songs Already!
Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Coz kafir students sing them at assemblies every week.

Johor Darul Takzim

Allah peliharakan Sultan
'Nugrahkan Dia segala kehormatan
Sehat dan ria, kekal dan makmur
Luaskan kuasa, menaungkan kami
Rakyat dipimpini berzaman lagi
Dengan Merdeka bersatu hati
Allah berkati Johor
Allah selamatkan Sultan

Selangor Darul Ehsan

Duli Yang Maha Mulia
Selamat di atas takhta
Allah lanjutkan usia Tuanku
Rakyat mohon restu
Bawah Duli Tuanku
Bahagia selama-lamanya
Aman dan sentosa
Duli Yang Maha Mulia

Terengganu Darul Iman

Allah peliharakan Raja kami
Memerintah Terengganu Negeri
Allah pelihara Raja kami
Sejahtera suami isteri
Allah pelihara Raja kami
Sejahtera rakyat Negeri

Pahang Darul Makmur

Ya Allah yang Maha Kuasa
Lanjutkan usia Duli Yang Maha Mulia
Dirgahayu Darul Makmur
Aman dan bahagia sentiasa abadi
Ya Allah selamatkan kebawah Duli Raja kami

Perak Darul Ridzuan

Dilanjutkan Allah usianya Sultan
Adil dan makmur memerintah watan
Ditaati rakyat kiri dan kanan
Iman yang soleh Allah kurniakan
Allah berkati Perak Ridzuan
Allah selamatkan Negeri dan Sultan

Kedah Darul Aman

Allah selamatkan Sultan Mahkota
Berpanjangan usia di atas Takhta
Memelihara ugama Nabi kita
Negeri Kedah serata-rata
Selamat Sultan Kelantan Darul Naim
Lanjutkan usia Sultan kami
Sultan Kelantan Raja ikrami
Aman sentosa Tuhan sirami
Berkekalan masa memerintah kami
Kasih dan taat disembahkan
Sepenuh keriangan patek ucapkan
Segala kebesaran Allah cucurkan
Darjah kemuliaan Allah tambahkan

Good Muslims should expel the church bombers from Islam

2010-01-08T20:53:00.008+08:00

Everybody seems to have roundly condemned the firebomb attacks on the churches in Selangor. That's all very nice. Strongly worded condemnations are great for quotes in newspapers and sound awesome when it's played on air during the 8pm news. It really sounded like KJ, The Jib, Hisap and the IGP (Invincible Gangster Polis) really meant what they said and are going to do something about it.

The problem is that mere condemnation simply doesn't work. You can condemn all you want, but as the saying goes "sticks and stones may break their bones, but words can't hurt them". How on earth can harsh words be effective when these psychos think they are either doing the work demanded by god or by UMNO (who's almost like god)?

In this case, even sticks and stones won't work. Those who are driven by god will bear the punishment with relish, like how that albino chap on Da Vinci's Code flagellated himself because that's what he thought god demanded. Those who are driven by UMNO will never be punished... period. They'll probably get a sorry ass Indian staff sergeant from the RMAF to be the scapegoat.

Therefore, when earthly punishments don't work, use spiritual ones. I recommend what good Muslims need to do is to expel these evil church-bombing Muslims from Islam. And conveniently for us, Malaysia is just about the only place where you can actually do it, since Islam and being Muslim is legislated and enforced. Just draft a law to formally expel people who commit violence in the name of Islam from the religion and get the Sultans/Agong and Jabatan Agama Islam to enforce it. Those who commit violence in god's name will lose their identity and purpose when they lose their religion. Those who commit violence in UMNO's name will lose their influence and religious credentials amongst the Muslim electorate. Hopefully, both will lose their will to live as a result.

In the words of Thomas L. Friedman in The New York Times...

"The leadership of Islam rarely take on jihadist actions and ideology openly with the kind of passion, consistency and mass protests that we have seen them do, for example, against Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.

Every faith has its violent extreme. The West is not immune. It's all about how the centre deals with it. Does it tolerate it, isolate it or shame it?"

Good Muslims... less tolerating, more isolating and shaming please.

PM, other leaders condemn arson attacks (The Star)

PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has condemned the attacks made on three churches in the Klang Valley but has asked the public not to start pointing fingers at who may have been responsible for the attacks.

The Prime Minister said he viewed the matter seriously as these actions could jeopardise harmony, adding that the Government would take all possible action to prevent such incident from recurring.

At the same time, Najib had directed the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan to beef up security and surveillance at places of worship.

“We must not allow the peace and the understanding that we have among Malaysians of various ethnic backgrounds and faiths be threatened by anyone or any parties.
Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and IGP Tan Sri Musa Hassan at a press conference at Bukit Aman on Friday.

“As I have said before, whatever problems that arise, we must use the right channel and method to solve it. Our action must not be against the law as this can jeapordise harmony,” he told reporters after chairing the fourth Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) on Friday.

Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Chief Secterary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan.

Najib also reminded the public not to point fingers on who the perpetrators behind the church attacks were but should allow the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.

“Action will be taken against those responsible based on facts and the law,” he said.

Asked if there were fears of retaliation due to the incident, the Prime Minister said the authorities must nip the problem in the bud.

“I hope with statements and action taken by the police, people will not take law into their hands. The IGP will report to me on the incident once there are evidence and new developments,” he added.
Umno Youth head Khairy Jamaluddin at the Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawati on Friday

Other public figures have come out to condemn the arson attacks against the two churches.

Urging all parties to remain calm, they also asked for swift police action to ensure the situation does not get out of control.

In the meantime, the MCA is offering the Metro Tabernacle Church the use of its hall at Wisma MCA for its services this Sunday, vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said.

The MCA, through its religious bureaus, will find an immediate place for the Metro Tabernacle to relocate, she said.

“This is the act of a very small group of Malaysians. We need to come together and work against any form of violence.
MCA vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen at the Metro Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawati on Friday.

“Do not leave it to the Government or the police alone; the rakyat (people) must come together and stand up for each other,” she said.

MCA national youth chairman Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong also condemned the attacks, saying the movement is saddened.

“Such despicable acts serve no purposes in bridging differences, and ... will ultimately destroy initiatives to help shore up harmony between the various faiths in Malaysia.

“MCA Youth urges all decent minded Malaysians not to let the mercury rise further, and pray in our own ways, that peace will prevail,” he said in a statement.

Kedah Gerakan’s youth wing condemned the acts as despicable and shameful, and described the wrongdoers as cowards trying to cause disunity.

“Our country had came a long way since independence in promoting unity among Malaysians, despite the differences in race and religion.

“As such, all Malaysians should unite to condemn these cowardly attacks that threaten national unity,” said the wing’s chief Tan Keng Liang.

“As an act of good faith in condemning the arson attacks, I hope that the Government would consider assisting, including financially, the churches in repairing the damage caused by the despicable act of arson,” he added.

Gerakan central committee member Dr Hsu Dar Ren described the arson as “a wanton attack on the freedom of practice of religions which we should all treasure and protect in this multiracial society of ours.”

“I hope politicians on both sides of the divide will refrain from fanning emotions and instead try their best to cool the temperature down and let the judicial process run its course,” he said.

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim described the attacks as heinous and said such actions were against the teachings of Islam.

“Islam teaches its followers to respect the places of worship of other religions. I urge all parties to remain calm. I have full faith that Malaysians will be able to resolve the matter without any conflict,” he said in a statement.

Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, who was at the Assumption Church, condemned the attack, describing it as a cowardly act.

“I urge the police to give protection to all churches and conduct a thorough investigation on the attack on the Assumption Church,” he added.

Khalid also said that he was grateful to the church authorities, who had given their reassurance that they would not react to the arson attack.

“I appeal to the people in Selangor to refrain from any further such action, which will only cause further trouble for all people,” he added.

Umno Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin said it was a dark day for Malaysia.

"This is a despicable act. This is not the Malaysia I know," said Khairy, who visited the Metro Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawait in Kuala Lumpur, which was attacked by arsonists early Friday.

He urged the police to act swiftly.

Saying that Barisan Nasional Youth strongly condemned the action, Khairy Jamaluddin added that whatever the feelings of anyone on the issue of the usage of the word “Allah” in the Herald, the irresponsible action of those who destroy places of worship should not be defended by Muslims.

“If Muslims are responsible for this incident, they should be ashamed and remorseful because clearly Islam advises Muslims to respect other religious beliefs.

“Malaysia is a multiracial country. There will be arguments and misunderstandings over issues which touch on race and religion.

“What is important is the people should resolve any problems with maturity and respect for each other’s sensitivity,” he said in a statement.

Selangor PAS termed the arson attacks as cowardly acts.

“We view the news of the attacks on churches, including in Selangor, with sadness and regret. Such attacks have never happened in our country and they do not at all reflect our culture, tradition or the religious beliefs of Malaysians.

“Selangor PAS sympathises with the affected churches and urges all PAS members in the state to remain calm and patient and pray for the safety of all,” its state Information chief Roslan Shahir Mohd Shahir said in a statement.

The Muslim Professionals Forum described this as “the cowardly and utterly senseless act of a group of misguided, chauvinistic bigots.”

“This act of arson, committed presumably in the name of Islam, desecrates the very religion it purports to protect. The Holy Quran unequivocally prohibits destroying the houses of worship of all religions, as warned in Surah Al-Hajj, Verse 40,” its board of directors said in a statement.

“During the reign of Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the second righteous caliph, the religious freedom of the citizens of Ilya (Jerusalem) and the sanctity of their synagogues and places of worship were confirmed, they said.

Muslim Professionals Forum urged the authorities to immediately conduct an impartial and thorough investigation to identify, apprehend and punish the perpetrators.

It also urge individuals, organisations and political parties to refrain from further issuing provocative and inflammatory statements related to the high court verdict.

“We also urge all Malaysians to empathise and stand in solidarity with our Christian community in their hour of grief and need, and urge all peace-loving Malaysians to maintain composure and let cool heads prevail,” they said in their statement.

Social activist Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir said it was very important for all Muslim Malaysians to condemn the act whole-heartedly.

"This is not what Islam is about. The leadership must play its role and come out and tell the people not to condemn houses of worship," she told reporters at the church site.

Veteran DAP leader Lim Kit Siang said all political party leaders should take a common stand to condemn the attacks.

They should condemn “in the strongest possible terms the spate of church attacks in the wake of the ‘Allah’ controversy and ensure that there is no further escalation.

“As Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should immediately impress on the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to take all urgent and necessary measures to protect the good name of the country or be held responsible for any undesirable consequences,” he said.

Wangsa Maju Member of Parliament Wee Choo Keong said he was very shocked.

“The Prime Minister and Inspector-General of Police mus take immediate action to protect all places of worship regardless of their religion.

“We do not want to inflame the present tensions in the country or the country’s unity will be set back many years -- this is a test for the Prime Minister and his 1Malaysia vision,” he said.

In Miri, Sarawak political leaders condemned the attacks as well, callling for the swift restoration of common sense and wisdom to prevent any escalation of violence.

Senior Iban state leader Datuk Peter Nyarok Entrie said his party, the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), viewed the arson as an attack against the 1Malaysia concept and an attack against all peace-loving Malaysians.

“SPDP, a multiracial and multi-religious party that is made up of Muslims and non-Muslims, is shocked and saddened that the dispute over the use of the name ‘Allah’ in the peninsula had erupted into violence,” he said.

Nyarok, who is deputy president of SPDP, said there was a need to restore calm and order in the Klang Valley.

Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president and state Minister Datuk Seri Dr James Masing said the issue should not have been blown out of proportion.

“Politicians should stay out of this matter and leave it to the religious bodies of the respective religions to sit down and discuss a mutually acceptable way to resolve this,” he said.

Masing said Sarawak and Sabah do not have such controversies because people of all faiths and races were mature enough to accept each others’ beliefs.

Assistant state minister Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman, from the Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu, also stressed the need for common sense to prevail, saying that the state government has always practised tolerance and acceptance when it comes to handling issues of religious and racial nature.

Keadilan Sarawak chairman Baru Bian said the usage of Allah’s name became blown out of context in the peninsula because of political meddling.

He said this is a non-issue in Sarawak despite the name being used widely by all religions in the state for so many decades.

By the way, Hisap says they won't hesitate to use ISA:

"Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the Government would not hesitate to use any means necessary, including the Internal Security Act, on anyone who threatens the security of the country."

At the same time, the IGP says they will use ISA against those who send SMSes about the church bombings.

"Those spreading vicious rumours over the arson attacks on three churches in the Klang Valley on Friday can be arrested under the Internal Security Act, IGP Tan Sri Musa Hassan warned."

Funny... neither mentioned anything about using ISA against the church bombers or those who instigated them to violence.

Sergeant charged for jet engine theft. DO YOU SMELL WHAT I SMELL?

2010-01-06T10:06:00.007+08:00

Do you smell what I smell?

A staff sergeant?! A sergeant doesn't even have authority to approve sick leave, much less approve a RM50 million inventory issue out from storage, give approval for heavy transport vehicles to enter military grounds, give approval for heavy transport vehicles to LEAVE military grounds while LADEN with 2 very conspicuous jet engines.

And he was acting alone??!

How can the RMAF storage superintendent, gate sentries and all the other highly trained military personnel walking around the base not see or not feel suspicious about a couple of heavily laden trucks with afterburners sticking out the end, driving out the gate?

And how did they ship it out of the country? How can the customs department or port authorities or shipping company not know when jet engines are being shipped out of the country?

I refuse to believe that something as large, heavy, hard to handle/transport and as eye-catching as 2 jet engines could be moved out of an airbase, and out via a world class shipping port without all the necessary paperwork and approvals from the higher ups. You, my friends, should not believe it as well.

Come on, Jib... you can come up with a better looking scapegoat than this, no? Why? Razak Baginda not free, isit?

Why even bother with an enlisted man? Just blame the Bangla who cuts grass at the RMAF base. He must have carted out the jet engine on the back of his bicycle.

RMAF sergeant, director to be charged with jet engines theft
TheMalaysiaInsider

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 6 — A Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) sergeant and a company director will be charged in the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court today in connection with the missing two F-5E jet engines despite cynicism that the government has covered up the scandalous theft.

Police had earlier said four men, three of them rank-and-file RMAF airmen, were the only ones involved in the 2007 theft of two General Electric J85-21A turbojet engines, said to be worth RM100 million, much to the chagrin of many that the scale of the crime suggests higher-ups were involved.

The RMAF had earlier denied that a brigadier-general and 40 others sacked for incompetence were involved in the crime.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said last night the RMAF airman would be charged for stealing while the company director for disposing of stolen properties.

"Investigations revealed that both F-5E jet engines were removed from the Material Udara 1 (Matra 1) godown in Kuala Lumpur as a result of a collaboration between an RMAF personnel with the rank of sergeant and a company director to dispose off both jet engines," he said in a statement issued via Bernama.

He said based on information from witnesses and documents obtained, he ordered the duo to be charged.

The sergeant will be charged under section 380 of the Penal Code to be read with section 109 of the same code, while the company director, under section 414 of the code.

The jets engines were found missing in 2007 while being taken for a routine maintenance from the 12th Squadron (Scorpion) in Butterworth to the RMAF godown in Kuala Lumpur.

The jet engines were discovered stolen by RMAF on May 22, 2008 and a police report was lodged on Aug 4 the same year.

But like the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal where four executives were charged for criminal breach of trust (CBT), prosecuting the airmen and company director will not abate calls for further investigations into how the jet engines ended up in South America.

Gani had said the engines powering the ageing F-5Es are now in Uruguay after police said it went through a Middle East nation to Argentina.

They have said that Malaysia will seek international cooperation to recover the engines.

But opposition leaders are asking for a royal commission of inquiry into the theft that happened when Datuk Seri Najib Razak was the defence minister.

Now prime minister, Najib has promised that there will be no cover-up but many are left pondering his words with just a serviceman and an aviation services firm director in the dock.

Police report is mightier than pen or sword. Just ask Dr Pornthip.

2010-01-05T08:35:00.001+08:00

Read the news on MACC officers making police reports against a PKR publication and Thai pathologist, Dr Pornthip.

See anything wrong with it?

Thai pathologist, tabloid face probe
Sunday, 03 January 2010

SHAH ALAM: Two Malaysian Anti- Corruption Commission officers lodged police reports against Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunan and Suara Keadilan yesterday for allegedly attempting to undermine the ongoing inquest into the death of Selangor political aide Teoh Beng Hock.

Hisham Mohd Yusoff, 30, and Raub Ghani, 41, of the Putrajaya MACC investigation branch, lodged the reports about 10.30am at the Shah Alam district police headquarters here over an article in the Parti Keadilan Rakyat newspaper which confirmed as murder the death of Teoh, who had been called for questioning by MACC.

Hisham said that according to the article, Teoh, who was found dead on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam on July 16 last year, was confirmed to have been murdered based on the second post-mortem conducted at Sungai Buloh Hospital on Nov 22 last year.

“As an MACC officer, I ask the police to conduct a thorough investigation in connection with the article by Suara Keadilan because I feel that what was circulated is sub judice and contrary to the ongoing inquest (into Teoh’s death).

“It is also in keeping with a reminder by the Selangor police chief prohibiting anyone from discussing the Teoh case,” Bernama quoted him as saying.

In the other police report, Raub said he lodged it against Dr Pornthip because he suspected that she had leaked the information on the forensic report to unauthorised people.

“This (police) report is made because every action of Dr Pornthip was contrary to the court’s decision and would further undermine MACC ’s image,” he said in the report.

MACC chief commissioner Datuk Abu Kassim Mohamed, when contacted, said he had just resumed work after his leave and would ask for a report from his officers on the article as well as copies of the police reports.

“If they have lodged police reports, let the police conduct their investigation,” he said.

Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed that two police reports had been made and that the police would call the persons implicated in the police reports and would decide if these people should be cited under the Sedition Act, and if so it would be for the court to decide if they had committed contempt of court.

There are 4 issues, I reckon, with all this.

“As an MACC officer, I (Hisham) ask the police to conduct a thorough investigation in connection with the article by Suara Keadilan because I feel that what was circulated is sub judice and contrary to the ongoing inquest.

In the other police report, Raub said he lodged it against Dr Pornthip because he suspected that she had leaked the information on the forensic report to unauthorised people.

“This (police) report is made because every action of Dr Pornthip was contrary to the court’s decision and would further undermine MACC ’s image,” he said in the report.

1. "He said." "He feel." Who the hell are these guys to interfere in an ongoing coroner's court inquest? Are they entitled to say or feel anything? In short, do they have any legal standing (locus standi) to throw a charge of subjudice or contempt of court?

As an interested party participating in the inquest, the MACC is possibly entitled to raise such a charge. But are these 2 chaps formally representing the MACC? I thought the MACC was being represented by their lawyers. If the MACC has such concerns, why are they not asking their lawyers to raise it to the presiding coroner? Is that not the proper channel? We Malaysians are sticklers for proper channels, are we not?

Can I then make a police report that these 2 buffoons are being subjudice in turn and are therefore also in contempt of court? I have the same legal standing as they do... I may not be employed by the MACC but my tax dollars are paying their salary.

MACC chief commissioner Datuk Abu Kassim Mohamed, when contacted, said “If they have lodged police reports, let the police conduct their investigation,” he said.

Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed that two police reports had been made and that the police would call the persons implicated in the police reports and would decide if these people should be cited under the Sedition Act, and if so it would be for the court to decide if they had committed contempt of court

2. Shouldn't any complaints of contempt of court be made to the court, not the police? And then, shouldn't the court first decide whether it feels it's being dissed... ie. the complaint has merit before it instructs the relevant enforcement agency to investigate or act?

Why is the police jumping the gun? Why is the police acting immediately on account of 2 individuals who have no legal standing or legal training/knowledge to make such a complaint, rather than wait to be instructed by the court?

The reports are charging contempt of court.., not contempt of MACC officers. The police should not put the cart before the horse by bringing the cowboy in for investigation without being told.

3. The PDRM is the one Malaysian enforcement organisation which has a worse record than the MACC for detainees being hurt or killed during "investigation". Just ask Anwar, or A. Kugan.

No wonder Dr Pornthip's lawyers expressed worries about her being "questioned" by the police. In these dark times, we can't blame her and her lawyers for thinking that the Selangor police chief's statement that the police intends to "investigate" and "call" her - is nothing short of a barely veiled warning to Dr Pornthip not to set foot in this country... or else.

4. This last one's the most worrying. The lodging of police reports have long been used as an excuse to intimidate. Members of the public are detained against their will "for questioning" (interrogation) for no better reason than that someone made a police report.

It doesn't matter if the report is baseless or based on an individual's personal opinion or based on a charge made by a person who has no business or learning to make such a charge in the first place. The police's position is that they "have to investigate" as long as a report is lodged... even if the report reads like a children's fairy tale or cerita dongeng.

Now... having said that, if the police actually investigate ALL reports, that would be fair... in a sense. At least everybody on both sides gets interrogated, beaten up or killed. Nobody's left out. But the fact that these reports seem to be selectively "investigated" gives rise to the argument that it is being used as a weapon by some people against other people. I'll leave it to you to guess who these people are and whether this argument holds water.

Additional reading for armchair lawyers:

Who is the Coroner: Wikipedia
What is a Coroner's Court: The subordinate courts of Singapore
What is an Inquest: Wikipedia
What is subjudice: Wikipedia, The subordinate courts of Singapore (Media Guide sections 7.3.5 - 7.3.9)
What is Contempt of Court: Malaysian Bar, Crown Prosecution Service (UK), Ministry of Justice (UK), Scottish Courts.

Question to Ustazs... Why the Selective Outrage?

2010-01-04T21:01:00.006+08:00

Some obvious but nonetheless, pertinent questions to PAS religious leaders... and published on PAS' propaganda website, no less. I'd be definitely interested to know the reasons behind the outrageously selective outrage. It is almost always directed to the softest (and generally innocuous) targets that garner the most sensationalised, mouth frothing headlines.

3 soalan bukan Islam untuk ustaz PAS
Li Fook Gao in harakahdaily.net

JAN 4 — Wahai ustaz-ustaz PAS sekalian,

Diharap ustaz-ustaz dapat membantu saya dalam mencari jawapan-jawapan terhadap beberapa kebuntuan dan persoalan saya mengenai agama Islam dan juga isu hangat yang sedang dibincangkan sekarang mengenai kalimah Allah.

Untuk makluman ustaz-ustaz, saya pernah membaca buku al-Quran demi memahami intipati saranan ajaran Islam yang dipeluk oleh beribu juta manusia ciptaan Tuhan (Bolehkah saya menggunakan perkataan Allah di sini?). Walaupun pernah membacanya, masih ada banyak perkara yang saya tidak faham mengenai ajaran Islam; mungkin sebab itulah sehingga kini saya tetap tergolong dalam kategori seorang yang kafir.

Soalan 1: Perkara-perkara haram.

Mengapa umat Islam mempunyai perasaan berbeza terhadap perkara-perkara dan benda-benda yang dikelaskan sebagai haram di dalam ajaran Islam? Umpamanya – mengapa umat Islam lebih senang merasa jijik dan mempunyai ketahanan diri yang jauh lebih tinggi terhadap binatang haram seperti khinzir daripada perkara-perkara seperti rasuah, berjudi, berminum arak dan berzina sedangkan perkara-perkara ini sama haramnya di sisi agama Islam?

Adakah fenomena ini berlaku disebabkan budaya kita yang suka untuk membezakan bangsa atau kesilapan proses pengajaran dan penghayatan terhadap agama Islam itu sendiri? Bagaimana ustaz-ustaz sekalian boleh memperbetulkan keadaan ini supaya umat-umat Islam boleh menjauhkan diri dan merasa jijik terhadap benda-benda haram secara sama rata tanpa ada tafsiran tersendiri?

Soalan 2: Persoalan mengenai khutbah.

Di sini saya ingin memberikan satu senario untuk dibahaskan bersama ustaz-ustaz sekalian. Setahu saya, ramai ustaz yang memberikan ceramah agama di masjid-masjid. Persoalan pertama saya, adakah ustaz-ustaz menyediakan khutbah-khutbah itu sendiri ataupun khutbah ini telah disediakan oleh orang lain untuk dibaca ustaz-ustaz sekalian sahaja?

Andai kata jikalau khutbah yang disediakan (sama ada sendiri ataupun orang lain) itu bermasalah dan mempunyai unsur menyeleweng daripada agama Islam, apakah hukum dan tahap dosanya terhadap ustaz-ustaz yang masih sanggup membacanya kepada para hadirin solat sekalian kerana takut dikenakan hukuman manusia seperti penarik-balikan sijil tauliah mereka?

Jika benar perkara di atas berlaku, apakah yang perlu dilakukan oleh ustaz-ustaz untuk mengatasi masalah di atas dalam membendung terlahirnya lebih banyak umat Islam yang berfikiran sempit di dunia ini?

Soalan 3: Kalimah Allah dan nama baik Islam.

Pada pendapat saya, sebuah negara yang majoritinya Muslim perlu sentiasa kelihatan bersih, amanah, cekap dan berintegriti di mata rakyat dan juga dunia. Sebarang kecalaran pada imej negara tersebut akibat amalan rasuah yang berleluasa, kroniisme, nepotisme dan tidak menghormati undang-undang patut dilihat sebagai satu penghinaan besar terhadap nama baik Islam. Sedihnya, sehingga kini tidak banyak pertubuhan gerakan Islam (selain PAS) menggerakkan jentera untuk membantah atau memboikot parti pemimpin yang merosakkan nama baik Islam.

Dalam isu kalimah Allah ini pula, umat-umat Islam negara kita telahpun mula menggerakkan bantahan demi bantahan sekitar negara dengan alasan untuk menjaga kalimah Allah daripada dihina dan disalahgunakan. Semangat “sediakan payung sebelum hujan” di sini amatlah dikagumkan, tapi perkara ini juga amat membinggungkan banyak orang kafir seperti saya, kerana, kebanyakan kami hairan mengapa pula semangat yang membara ini tidak wujud dalam hal isu menjaga nama baik Islam daripada dikaitkan dengan amalan rasuah, kroniisme dan nepotisme yang dipraktikkan secara terang-terangan oleh pemimpin-pemimpin negara kita.

Wahai ustaz-ustaz PAS sekalian,

Mengapa umat Islam tidak pula mempunyai semangat yang membara (seperti semangat yang ditunjukkan dalam mempertahankan kalimah Allah daripada disalahgunakan) terhadap penghinaan terhadap nama baik Islam akibat perbuatan pemimpin-pemimpin Muslim yang jauh menyeleweng daripada ajaran Islam walaupun setelah 29 tahun lamanya? Adakah ini menunjukkan nama baik Islam tidak lebih penting daripada kalimah Allah? Saya rasa sudah tentu tidak, akan tetapi saya tidak tahu di mana silapnya. Adakah ustaz-ustaz sekalian tahu jawapannya?

Sekiranya semangat yang membara dalam menjaga kalimah Allah ini dapat diaplikasikan oleh umat Islam secara sama rata dalam hal penjagaan nama baik Islam daripada diseleweng pemimpin-pemimpin negara yang jahat; sudah pasti kejadian-kejadian seperti kehilangan enjin pesawat, kematian saksi di MACC, bumbung-bumbung bangunan yang sering keruntuhan, skandal kes pembunuhan, pembelian RM42,000 untuk komputer dan katak-katak diutamakan daripada rakyat tidak akan berlaku. Betul tak?

Itulah sahaja soalan-soalan daripada saya pada masa ini. Diharap dapat mendengar jawapan daripada ustaz-ustaz PAS yang sudi menjawab. Saya memohon beribu ampun sekiranya terdapat silap bahasa dan ketelanjuran ayat-ayat saya yang menyinggung perasaan mana-mana pihak.

Buku ilmiah dibawa belayar,
Untuk dibaca mencari tema,
Niat saya mahu belajar,
Bertanya demi muafakat bersama.

Why I dismiss your god.

2009-12-30T11:18:00.004+08:00

Quote of the day:

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do.

When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.”

- Stephen F Roberts

Brief history of The Quote

...Yep, that's me! I am the author of the above quote which has become a bit of a popular statement throughout the net (and some in the real world too).

...I first used The Quote as a tag line for postings on the newsgroups alt.atheism and talk.atheism at some point before October 1995.

...The Quote is an original quote that came from an online debate I was having with religious people in the newsgroups. I used the a similar comparison in a debate when my opponent wondered why I ignored the evidence for god, and in return, I wondered why my debate opponent chose to ignore the evidence for Shiva, or Zeus, or any of the other possible gods.

1Malaysia. Whose one? Your one or my one?

2009-12-29T17:03:00.010+08:00

Najib's administration has been dragging a kicking and screaming Malaysia towards his concept of 1Malaysia. But the thing is... what is in fact, 1Malaysia? Which one is the 1?

The Non-Malays and Non-Muslims are afraid of this 1...

The Malays and Muslims are afraid of this 1...

The Non-Malay Muslims really want this 1... (think Mahathir A/L Mohd Kutty of Kerala, India, Ridhuan Tee and the Mamaks in UMNO). Read Utusan's man of hour, Ridhuan Tee's bullshit here, and an enlightening rebuttal from Art Harun here.

Everyone should be afraid of this 1...

I truly hope we'll someday end up with this 1...

But as things stand, it's 11Malaysia, split into your 1 and my 1. Like 2 parallel lines that is the number 11, never the twain shall meet.

RM800K for IPOH sign. Lucky our city's got a short name. Or else pokai!

2009-12-18T11:08:00.006+08:00

Guess how much this "IPOH" signage cost?

According to Malaysian Insider, Ipoh City Council confirmed that a total of RM800,000 was spent on 2 of these giant signs.

That's RM400,000 per sign. Or RM100,000 per letter.

The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) ex-state govt said that the palace proposed the signs (and proposed 4 signs rather than the current 2). PR rejected it. BN usurped the state. Signs were then built and RM800,000 changed hands.

Look... I'm no construction engineer or signage expert, so I'm just pulling assumptions out of my ass. But I'm pretty sure RM800,000 can put a lot of stuff on the slope of those hills. Even if these signs were made of virgin marble, it wouldn't cost that much. Heck.. even if they were made from virgins, it wouldn't cost that much.

So, I'm asking. PR should be asking. The people of Perak should be asking...

WHO WAS THE CONTRACTOR WHO POCKETED THE RM800,000? IS HE LINKED TO THE PALACE OR ANY POLITICIAN?
HOW MUCH LESS WOULD IT HAVE COST UNDER A COMPETITIVE TENDER?

NON MUSLIM TAXES CANNOT BE USED TO BUILD MOSQUES!

2009-12-13T20:47:00.008+08:00

This Utusan Malaysia editorial against a question raised by a DAP politician (about the astronomical funding given to the building of mosques) is nothing less than a blatant attempt to read self-serving meaning and intent into the Malaysian constitution where (1) no such meaning and intent exists in the wording nor spirit of the document, and (2) it selectively over-interprets certain articles while ignoring the explicit application of other articles.

11/12/2009

Do not fool around with Islam

By NORAINI ABD. RAZAK

Article 3(1) of the Federal Constitution is crystal clear. No ambiguity. The expression of meaning is also unequivocal. Since its formulation, the clause has never been amended. Its position is conspicuous. Matters that give dignity to Islam as the federal religion is emplaced in Part 1 of the Constitution.

It is read after Article 1 on the name of Malaysia and other States and Article 2, which touches on new region in the Federation. Article 4 mentions about the Federal Constitution as the supreme law of the country. The Federal Constitution is structured in such a way to reflect the importance and sanctity of Islam as the official religion of the land.

However, realizing the racial complexity in the country, Article 3(1) which states “Islam is the religion of the Federation” doesn’t end with a fullstop but a semi-colon before it continues with a phrase “but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony in any parts of the Federation.” Despite undergoing a process of 40 amendments since its formulation in 1956, Article 3 has literally never been touched for any revision.

Its position and privilege remains. It should be so in line with the position of the majority of its people who are Malays and professed Islam as their religion. However after 52 years of independence, there seem to be an attempt to test the position of Islam. The first attempt which was carried out openly came after a bid to question the special privileges of the bumputera, which is interpreted as the Malay supremacy.

Matters on Islam and the Malays are spelled out in the Constitution. As such, the incessant effort actually is consciously aimed at ridiculing the spirit of the Constitution. The picture is very clear. What is the purpose of the Taiping Member of Parliament from the DAP in instigating the issue if not an attempt to question the “sanctity” of the Constitution? Does it not cross his mind before distributing the statement to the media that the issue he had raised is invariably linked with the Federal Constitution? The content of the Constitution has underlined the exalted position of Islam as official religion that should be inherent with financial allocation including for the purpose of building mosques throughout the country.

What then is the purpose of Nga Kor Ming to stir up the issue? Issuing the provocative statement at a time when the communal solidarity is running thin, is nothing more than an attempt to light up the fire of hatred among the people. The statement is crafted to link other community as tax payers that should be given equal rights in all aspect including the building of houses of worship. Has Kor Ming being blind to the houses of worship of other religions which are scattered throughout the country, many of them at strategic locations? Malaysia being a Muslim country is visited by other believers during the Thaipusam festival.

Hindus from outside Malaysia came to Batu Caves to perform their religious obligation. There are temples located right in the middle of the city. In a religious festival, the giant incenses are burnt in open space without any hindrance although it goes against environmental law. The freedom is line with the provision in the Constitution which allows other religions to be practiced in the country with the condition that it is to be carried out in harmony.

When Kor Ming charged that followers of other religions are being treated as “step-child” by the government for not being given financial allocation as much as in the construction of mosques, it is a misplaced issue. Kor Ming has forgotten that in many countries which specify a certain religion as its official religion, it comes with special privileges.

In Thailand where Buddhism is the official religion doesn’t accord Muslims, who are also tax payers, the same privileges in building their mosques. Muslims in other countries had been restricted to practice their religion and many had to flee after being persecuted. Kor Ming should not have been blind with the fate of these Muslims.

What about the developed countries which claimed to practice the highest form of democracy? Are the Muslims there accorded the same so-called freedom enjoyed by others and behave disrespectfully as Kor Ming does in this country? So what is the most logical justification for Kor Ming in kicking up the issue which is contradictive to the spirit of the Constitution? If the spirit of the Constitution is to be taken literally, the government has the right not to fork out even a single cent of allocation for other religion.

However, out of respect and generosity, the government is kind enough to give out millions of ringgit in allocation for the houses of worship of other religions. But such benevolence is seen by the likes of Kor Ming with blind eyes. More worrying is the 1Malaysia slogan which is being twisted to serve their dubious interest.

Effort initiated by Kor Ming should not be allowed to continue. The repercussion will be severe. The Federal Constitution which form the foundation of a country called Malaysia must be protected at all cost and should not be made the “basis” for any outbreak of racial tension and the fall of Islam as the official religion of the country.

The WRITER is News Editor of Utusan Melayu

The editorial tries to suggest that the wording of Article 3 that "Islam is the religion of the Federation" somehow dictates (although the constitution never specifies) that "the content of the Constitution has underlined the exalted position of Islam as official religion that should be inherent with financial allocation including for the purpose of building mosques throughout the country."

Article 3

1. Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation.

2. In every State other than States not having a Ruler the position of the Ruler as the Head of the religion of Islam in his State in the manner and to the extent acknowledged and declared by the Constitution, all rights, privileges, prerogatives and powers enjoyed by him as Head of that religion, are unaffected and unimpaired; but in any acts, observance or ceremonies with respect to which the Conference of Rulers has agreed that they should extend to the Federation as a whole each of the other Rulers shall in his capacity of Head of the religion of Islam authorize the Yang di-pertuan Agong to represent him.

3. The Constitution of the States of Malacca, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak shall each make provision for conferring on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall be Head of the religion of Islam in that State.

4. Nothing in this Article derogates from any other provision of this Constitution.

5. Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall be the Head of the religion of Islam in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan; and for this purpose Parliament may by law make provisions for regulating Islamic religious affairs and for constituting a Council to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in matters relating to the religion of Islam.

However, the Utusan editorial feigns ignorance of subarticle (4) of Article 3 that states "Nothing in this Article derogates from any other provision of this Constitution."

derogate
vb [ˈdɛrəˌgeɪt]
1. to cause to seem inferior or be in disrepute; detract
2. to deviate in standard or quality; degenerate
3. to cause to seem inferior, etc.; disparage
4. (Law) to curtail the application of (a law or regulation)

It means that nothing in Article 3 shall limit or lessen of any other article in the constitution. This indicates to me that the writers of the constitution intended to ensure that the statement that "Islam is the religion of the federation" would not be misused and misinterpreted - by people like this Utusan editor - to mean anything more than ensuring the constitutional freedom of Muslims to practice their religion with the Agong and sultans as the protectors of that freedom.

In fact, this explicitly means that Article 3 does not derogate or reduce the application of Article 11.

Article 11

1. Every person has the right to profess and practice his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it.

2. No person shall be compelled to pay any tax the proceeds of which are specially allocated in whole or in part for the purposes of a religion other than his own.

3. Every religious group has the right -
* (a) to manage its own religious affairs;
* (b) to establish and maintain institutions for religious or charitable purposes; and
* (c) to acquire and own property and hold and administer it in accordance with law.

4. State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam.

5. This Article does not authorize any act contrary to any general law relating to public order, public health or morality.

Article 11(2) states that: "No person shall be compelled to pay any tax the proceeds of which are specially allocated in whole or in part for the purposes of a religion other than his own." This, Noraini Abd Razak, is what's crystal clear, free of ambiguity, unequivocally stated in no uncertain terms.

This means that TAXES COLLECTED FROM NON-MUSLIMS CANNOT BE USED TO BUILD MOSQUES! Otherwise, taxes cannot be collected from non-Muslims... period. That politician from DAP has every right to question why such RM748.26 million of taxpayer money has been used to build 611 mosques between 2000 and 2008, when the Article 11(2) expressly forbids it. We, as non-Muslim citizens of Malaysia, have every right to question why the taxes we paid have been used for the purposes of Islam, which is a religion other than our own.

So Noraini Abd Razak... if you want to talk constitution, let's talk constitution. But please limit yourself to stuff that is actually written in the constitution. Not some imaginary position, privilege or meaning that you conjured up yourself for your own racist, thieving purposes.

Last of the Mohicans

2009-12-12T11:58:00.001+08:00

From 45% of the population at independence, to 22% now. The ethnic Chinese in Malaysia have lost half their numbers, all of their political power and the remnants of their share in the economic pie is being decimated by apartheid style affirmative action.

How did we end up like this? Robert Kuok, Lim Goh Tong and many others have been transferring their wealth out of Malaysia into Singapore and Hong Kong for a while now (Wilmar, Genting Singapore etc). Perhaps they saw years ago what many Chinese Malaysians are only coming to terms with now?

The Incredible Shrinking Chinese.

The statistics tell a very sobering story. In another short 25 years, Chinese will only be a mere 18.6 percent of the population. They will soon fall below the sustainable threshold for propagating their culture, and their diminishing numbers will only increase the pressure for assimilation – something Chinese are reluctant to do.

Neighbourhoods today are increasingly Malay, and one of the largest is Shah Alam where the authorities have disallowed the building of a Catholic church, tried to restrict the sale of beer, made it very difficult to own a dog, and residents protested against a proposed Hindu temple.

http://english.cpiasia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1804:honey-i-shrunk-the-chinese-&catid=198:helen-ang&Itemid=156

Rubbish Bru

2008-10-26T11:45:00.003+08:00

I've de-activated the link to Rocky Bru in the sidebar, as that blogger has taken to spouting rubbish these days.

Why I also believe Anwar is not guilty

2008-07-22T20:03:00.003+08:00

This is very good. You guys should read this very perceptive observation from a letter writer to Malaysiakini.

I particularly like the irony of a couple of his questions... namely...

1. How does a 61 year old man, with a bad back and ill health - hold down, rip the pants off of and stick his erect dick into the asshole of a young strapping 23 year old man? Can someone explain to me how Anwar could have possibly done that?

Does anyone realise how hard Anwar's erection had to be in order to penetrate the clenched butthole of the young chap? Wouldn't a simple erectile dysfunction test be a more logical course of investigation than a DNA sample?

2. Since when does the Deputy Prime Minister become the first port of call of an anally raped young man coming from the camp of an opposition leader? Is Najib so free? Doesn't he have something more important to do?

Has Najib ever climbed down from his ivory tower to meet any of the genuine rape victims in Malaysia?

Why I believe Anwar is not guilty
K Bing | Jul 18, 08 6:00pm

First of all, I must say that I do not possess any information which is not already public knowledge. However, I have been following news of the new sodomy allegation against Anwar closely and I’m analysing this from the perspective of ‘reasonable behaviour’ and ‘balance of probability.’ Here are the reasons why I think Anwar is not guilty.

1. Is Anwar gay? A person who has fathered six children has established his sexual orientation firmly. Bisexuality is very rare and in any case he does not fit the mould. He has a loving family and his wife is standing steadfastly by him which says a lot.

2. The highly controversial sodomy conviction of 1998 failed to convince most people. A person in a position of power who allegedly cannot control himself to even keep away from his wife’s driver, must have a string of partners. One must ask, why has nobody else come out of the woodwork? Why was it necessary to coerce false confessions from two of his associates?

3. A person on the cusp of attaining political power would not be so stupid as to risk everything. If indeed one assumes that he cannot control his urge, where are the others that he may have violated or other consensual partners? With multiple partners, it’s a secret which is almost impossible to keep for a public figure.

4. Anwar’s anger and outrage at the new allegation is exactly how a wronged person will react. His body language when he speaks of the issue is consistent with his words.

5. When news broke of the police report against him, Anwar took refuge at the Turkish embassy. I believe he did so as he feared immediate arrest and not so much a threat on his life. This shows that Anwar believes there is a conspiracy against him rather than a private complaint which would not warrant immediate arrest. A guilty person would immediately assume it’s a private complaint.

6. Saiful’s resignation e-mail to Anwar did not suggest he had been sodomised and traumatised by his boss. This e-mail has not been denied by him.

7. The notion that a 61-year-old man can force himself on a 23-year-old youth is unthinkable. If threats were used, what can Anwar possibly threaten him with as he is not in a position of power?

Is there a conspiracy against Anwar? I believe there is for the following reasons.

1. The accuser, Saiful was obviously closely connected with Umno and has been photographed with a few Umno leaders including an aide to the deputy prime minister.

2. Saiful is obviously pro-Umno as had been revealed by his online postings. Why then did he induct himself into PKR as a volunteer if not for some ulterior motive?

3. His visit to the DPM’s office a few months before the incident was explained as him having gone there to apply for a scholarship. This is a very awkward explanation. As a college dropout, Saiful was not in the market for a scholarship and in any case, the DPM’s office is the wrong department to go.

And why would a scholarship applicant have his photograph taken with a senior aide? One must ask, why is it necessary to obfuscate and conceal the real purpose of his visit?

4. Najib at first denied he had ever met Saiful and later admitted that he met Saiful at his residence when a traumatised and sodomised Saiful came to ask for his advice. Why did Najib first deny and then admit later when under pressure? Was he trying to conceal something?

5. Najib said he listened to Saiful’s story and told him it’s up to him whether he wants to lodge a police report or not. This is not credible. Wouldn’t Najib have jumped at the opportunity to discredit his political nemesis and insist that Saiful make a police report?

It is wrong for anybody - much less a minister - who has been told a crime not to bring it to the attention of the law enforcement agencies. Why is Najib giving unbelievable explanations? Is he trying to divert all thoughts away from a conspiracy and overdoing it?

6. Najib said that Saiful visited him a few days before he made his police report. The report was made on Saturday and the sodomy was alleged to have occurred on Thursday. This means Saiful could only have visited Najib on Friday, one day before he made his report.

This is stretching the definition of ‘a few days’ to breaking point. Establishing when the meeting actually took place will shed light on the veracity of the allegation.

7. How easy is it for an ordinary person to drop in and see the DPM at his residence or office on such short notice? If he has been sexually violated, there is no need to hawk his allegation to politicians first before going to the police.

8. Saiful’s smiling and confident demeanor when he emerged a few days after his police report certainly does not indicate a man who has been sodomised and traumatised.

9. Saiful’s public challenge to Anwar to swear his innocence on the Quran is unbecoming of a real victim who would be expected to feel depressed and keep a low profile rather than play politics.

To round it up, let me deal with some objections.

1. It is too outrageous to imagine that Umno would weave a sodomy conspiracy against Anwar again as nobody would believe it.

Do you think negative public opinion will stop them? Umno controls the AG’s chambers, the police, the judiciary all of which are sufficient to convict a man of trumped-up charges. For good measure, they also control the mainstream press.

2. The allegations will increase sympathy for Anwar so a conspiracy is unlikely.

On the contrary, it could well discredit Anwar. The tactic could backfire but it is not beyond politicians to miscalculate the effects of their action.

3. Anwar stands to gain the most from it so Anwar must have planned all this.

Isn’t this even more outrageous than the above? No need to waste words on this.

4. Why sodomy again? Isn’t the script 10 years old?

What else can they pin on Anwar? He is not outwardly corrupt. A legal conviction is the most efficient way to get Anwar out of the political scene for good. After serving the sentence, he will have to wait another five years before running for public office by which time he may be too old to have any political ambition.

5. It is too transparent as Saiful has been photographed with high-level Umno politicians.

The plot may have been hatched after all those photographs. We have to be realistic, there are not many candidates who would do this.

6. Why did PKR take in a person without background checks?

He volunteered at a time when PKR was desperately short of staff. Once in, a person is not easily dislodged even when his previous pro-Umno leaning is known. There’s always the notion of fair play and judging a person by his work rather than his past.

In conclusion, when events really happen, details automatically fall into place. When there’s nothing to hide, explanations do not create more questions. A person’s demeanour and facial expression is a reflection of his inner thoughts.

All the bits and pieces collected together can create a complete picture. The picture is not complete but it is complete enough for me to decide that on the balance of probabilities, the incident never happened and Anwar is again facing another political conspiracy.

It's a problem of class... not race.

2008-07-05T13:22:00.003+08:00

Interesting reading from Singapore's Today newspaper. It aptly debunks arguments that poverty and disadvantage is solely defined by race (as UMNO's holy book so says). It however is not instructive on how to kill the latest racial fetish that privilege and special (read: retarded) rights are also solely defined by race.

“Poverty and the problems associated with it are always a consequence of class, never of race.” And [there is] an alternative way to help the needy that bypass ethnic self-help groups: A ministry for the poor."

“If that (race) is the only factor that decides one’s thinking and action, it will not be healthy for a multi-racial society”