After more than 60 years of the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional reign in Malaysia, there is now an undeniably increasing constriction of religious rights and freedom of all Malaysians.
Among Muslims, there is increasing control of what is deemed the sole interpretation of the scriptures, with no room for debate or discourse, academic or otherwise in the country. We have seen various internationally renown Muslim scholars and thought leaders banned by the Malaysian authorities.
In 2014, Islamic scholar Ulil-Abshar Abdalla was banned from entering the country to speak at a forum on the threat posed by religious fundamentalism. Ironically, the forum was being held at the headquarters of the Global Movement of Moderates established by Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Razak himself.
More recently, Mustafa Aykol, renowned Turkish author and New York Times journalist attached to Wellesley College, Boston was arrested and detained for 18 hours in Malaysia for having purportedly given a “religious talk” without license. The only problem to that charge is that he was merely participating in a roundtable intellectual discussion on the question, “does freedom of conscience open the floodgate to apostasy?”
His books were subsequently also banned by the Home Ministry as a “threat to national security”. Not only foreign scholars have been targeted, progressive young Malaysian scholars such as Wan Ji Wan Hussin has also been arrested recently while his book, “Ulama Bukan Pewaris Nabi” was also banned.
On the other hand, conservative and controversial clerics such as Zamihan Mat Zin who, among other things, defended a Muslim-only laundrette was praised as an “asset” by the Home Minister, Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi.
The increasingly narrow interpretation of what Islam is and the outright condemnation of those who disagree, has also been matched over the past decade with the increasing attempt to demonise other religions, in particular, Christianity.
We have seen the confiscation of bibles, seditious and incendiary talks to incite hate against Christianity by renown fraudulent ‘scholars’ such as Irene Handono, as well as banning the use of the term “Allah” by other religions.
Christians are the convenient bogeymen for the UMNO politcal elites to continue to strike fear among their core Malay-Muslim supporters to ensure that all other transgressions by the Party, such as brazen corruption and outrageous scandals, will be set aside to face a concocted Christian threat head on.
However last week, the open attack in Parliament by Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Asyraf Wajdi that atheism is unconstitutional opens a whole new chapter in diminishing the religious rights of ordinary Malaysians.
He claimed that atheism should be outlawed because it will incite people to leave their religion or to profess no religion. As such, it violates Article 11(4) of the Constitution, which allows state laws and federal laws to control and restrict the propagation of any religious doctrines or beliefs among Muslims. He even said that “anyone who tries to spread ideologies and doctrines that promote atheism and similar beliefs, which tarnish the sanctity of other religions, can be charged under the Sedition Act.”
The Deputy Minister who apparently possess a Doctorate on Islamic Banking and Finance is talking utter rubbish.
Firstly, the Constitution clearly states “every person has the right to profess and practise his religion…” How in the world did Datuk Asyraf interpret someone having “the right to profess” to everyone “must profess” in a religion?
When the Constitution says under Article 10, “every person has the right to freedom of speech” and “every person has the right to assemble peacefully without arms”, would the Deputy Minister with a Doctorate also interpret it as “everyone must speak (and hence cannot remain silent)” and that “everyone cannot refuse to participate in peaceful assembly”?
Of course not. When someone “has the right to profess… his religion”, it clearly means that he has the freedom of choice to believe in a religion. But it does not at any point compells him or her to adopt a religion!
In addition, an atheist or a free-thinker, by not believing in any religion or participating in any religious activities, does not make him or her, by default, run afoul of Article 11(4) which prohibits propagating other beliefs to Muslims. That would be sheer illogical nonsense.
Unfortunately, propagating illogical nonsense isn’t illegal in Malaysia. Hence such illegal nonsense is being abused by ruling political elite to strengthen their grip by striking fear into the hearts and minds of Muslims – to focus on the purported threat of Christianity, and now atheism; and of non-Muslims, by taking away their freedom, one bit at a time.
Showing posts with label Religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Religion. Show all posts
Sunday, November 26, 2017
Monday, April 10, 2017
There is no need for Senior State Executive Councillor, Teng Chang Khim to resign as to err is only human, and the errors upon discovery are rectified
The DAP Selangor State Committee met in an emergency meeting this afternoon to discuss the public concerns over the guidelines and planning restrictions over non-Muslim places of worship.
The DAP Selangor State Committee unanimously agreed that the recommendation that non-Muslim places of worship should not be built within 50m of a home owned by Muslims, as well as several other guidelines are not appropriate for a multi-racial, multi-religious society which encourages mutual respect and tolerance.
It should be noted that such guidelines are the status quo for other BN-led states like Johor and Negeri Sembilan.
The State Committee heard the explanation provided by Selangor Vice-Chairman and Senior State Executive Councillor, Teng Chang Khim, that despite having requested state government officials to make the necessary changes, the changes were not incorporated into the final version of the guidelines.
As reported during his press conference in the morning, Teng has apologised for the unintended error and even offered to resign from his position.
The State Committee found that the question of Teng resigning from his government office does not even arise as he has committed no crime. He has neither stolen money from the state government coffers, nor abused his powers to benefit vested interest parties like developers.
Instead, DAP Selangor would like to commend Teng for stepping forward to take full responsibility over the unintended error and omission, despite the fact that the guidelines manual was approved by the Selangor State Planning Committee.
To err is certainly human, but what is most important is the fact that immediate steps are being taken to ensure that these errors are corrected upon discovery. No one has yet suffered or been penalised by the guidelines for new non-Muslims places of worship.
Hence, DAP Selangor state committee supports Teng’s decision to seek the State Executive Council’s (Exco) approval on Wednesday for immediate suspension of the guidelines implementation pending revision.
At the same time, in the light of the gravity and sensitivity of the matter, the Selangor State Committee also resolved to set up a special sub-committee to assist Teng. This will ensure that no stones are left unturned in the revision process. The sub-committee will be led by Vice-Chairperson, Hannah Yeoh and four other members, Rajiv Rishyakaran, Dr Abdul Aziz Bari, Yeo Bee Yin and Ng Sze Han.
DAP Selangor would like to reiterate that the constitutional provisions providing for Islam as the religion of the Federation and guaranteeing the freedom of religion would be defended at all cost. We firmly believe that such provisions can only be achieved with tolerance, respect and acceptance of such freedoms by all Malaysians.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Dr Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki Perlu Meminta Maaf Atas Pendapat Yang Rasis Dan Ekstremis
Pengarah Operasi Pusat Penyelidikan PAS (PPP) Dr Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki perlu
meminta maaf kepada semua rakyat Malaysia ke atas pendapat beliau yang
bersifat rasis dan ekstremis.
Berikutan kontroversi yang terbangkit seteleh mesej WhatsApp Dr Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki
dalam kumpulan Ahli Jawatankuasa PAS Pusat terdedah secara meluas, beliau telah
menjelaskan bahawa beliau “tidak termasuk dalam senarai mereka yang menyokong usul
keluar PR itu.”
Beliau berkata “semoga dengan penjelasan ini, nama saya dapat dibersihkan daripada
tanggapan buruk pelbagai golongan ekoran sikap segelintir pihak di dalam PAS yang
membangkitkan fitnah yang sedang tidur."
Rakyat Malaysia tidak mempertikaikan langkah Dr Mohd Zuhdi mengkaji sama ada PAS patut
berada di dalam ataupun keluar daripada gabungan Pakatan Rakyat. Pendirian Dr Mohd
Zuhdi untuk keluar atau kekal dalam Pakatan juga tidak merupakan tumpuan kritikan. Itu
merupakan hak ahli PAS.
meminta maaf kepada semua rakyat Malaysia ke atas pendapat beliau yang
bersifat rasis dan ekstremis.
Berikutan kontroversi yang terbangkit seteleh mesej WhatsApp Dr Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki
dalam kumpulan Ahli Jawatankuasa PAS Pusat terdedah secara meluas, beliau telah
menjelaskan bahawa beliau “tidak termasuk dalam senarai mereka yang menyokong usul
keluar PR itu.”
Beliau berkata “semoga dengan penjelasan ini, nama saya dapat dibersihkan daripada
tanggapan buruk pelbagai golongan ekoran sikap segelintir pihak di dalam PAS yang
membangkitkan fitnah yang sedang tidur."
Rakyat Malaysia tidak mempertikaikan langkah Dr Mohd Zuhdi mengkaji sama ada PAS patut
berada di dalam ataupun keluar daripada gabungan Pakatan Rakyat. Pendirian Dr Mohd
Zuhdi untuk keluar atau kekal dalam Pakatan juga tidak merupakan tumpuan kritikan. Itu
merupakan hak ahli PAS.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
When National Schools Cultivates Schism and Seggregation
I am a proud product of a Malaysian national school and continues to harbour romantic notions of how the school was able to bring various races of different religions together under a single roof.
However today, such thoughts are mere nostalgic reminiscenes of days long past. Instead of bringing Malaysians together, the national schools have become the ironic reason, directly and indirectly for our young to be seggregated by race and religion.
There are two key reasons why the non-Malays of this country, particularly the Chinese community has chosen to shun the national schools today. This will include parents who have gone through the national school system, who often don’t even speak a word of Chinese besides their own name.
The first and perhaps the most dominant reason is the drastic decline in the quality of teaching at the national schools. Parents who can’t afford private schools would prefer to send their children to the Chinese vernacular schools to ensure that they receive an education of sufficient rigour and quality. National test results have proven that the Chinese vernacular schools outperform the national schools significantly.
However, the quality of education isn’t the only factor. No parents would want to send their children to a school where their child will be seggregated and discriminated against, by teachers, schoolmates and the school administration.
Malaysians are up in arms over the news reports yesterday of photographs which have emerged online allegedly showing non-Muslim students of a primary school being made to eat in a shower room during fasting month. The pictures show students of SK Seri Pristina in Sungai Buloh sitting around tables set up in the school’s changing or shower room.
The school authorities have made the students eat in the makeshift dining room, located next to the toilets. No food is believed to be served in the canteen, which is said to be closed during Ramadan.
Although the Ministry of Education has “pledged” action on this matter, the above while extreme in its nature, is certainly not the first case, nor will it be expected to be the last. Over the past few years, we have read many such reports, including a principal in Kedah telling off the Chinese pupils for being insensitive towards their Muslim peers by eating in the school compound during Ramadan and telling them to “balik Cina”.
There were equally ridiculous cases of cheerleading teams being disbanded, decrees for lion dance without drums during Chinese New Year as well as blanket bans on Christian fellowship groups. And certainly, if one were to pay a visit to practically any national school today during the month of Ramadan, non-Muslim students are seggregated in secluded corners during recess, to “respect” their Muslim peers.
Even during normal months, students in many schools are seggregated so as not to contaminate Muslim food and utensils. What’s more, many students have in the past complained that they were forced to take Arabic or attend Islamic classes despite being non-Muslims.
Is this the “respect” that our national education system seeks to cultivate? Shouldn’t it be such that while non-Muslims understand and give respect to Muslims who are fasting, Muslims should equally understand and respect non-Muslim who are not?
The “transformation” of our national schools into such religious hardline schools has major negative ramifications for the country’s future. Not only are non-Malays extremely deterred from sending their children to these national schools, those who do – both Malays and non-Malays – will be scarred for life.
The non-Malays who attend these schools, such as SK Sri Pristina above, will see the entire country’s system as biased against non-Malays and they will forever be discriminated as unworthy second class citizens. The Malay students who attend these schools will on the other hand deem it is right and proper to subject other races, religions and cultures to their own beliefs and practices.
If the BN Government is serious about making the national schools, the school of choice for Malaysians and the grounds to breed national unity, then some very drastic reforms need to take place.
We call on the Ministry of Education to mete out swift and severe punishment to the school authorities who had the audacity to come up with policies demeaning our Malaysian children in SK Sri Pristina. More importantly, we call upon the Ministry to come out of strict guidelines on these matters in our schools. For example, non-Muslim students must be allowed to eat in school canteens during fasting month, and the canteen must be operated instead of being closed. The failure to even come up with, and enforce such guidelines would only mean that the Ministry is granting tacit approvals for such actions, and will almost certainly make racial polarisation in Malaysia an irreversible process.
Monday, July 22, 2013
1Malaysia Or 1Race-1Religion?
Housing & Local Government’s Minister’s Defence of Ibrahim Ali’s Bible-burning call proves there is no 1Malaysia, but only Malaysia for 1Race and 1Religion
For those who are familiar with the antics of Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Member of Parliament for Kota Belud and new Housing and Local Government Minister, he will be the first in the House to stand up and concoct a reason to defend “why the chicken cross the road?”
However his latest response as to why Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali's urging to burn bibles containing the word ‘Allah’ cannot be compared with the present case against the sex bloggers Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee for insulting Muslims certainly takes the cake.
Datuk Rahman Dahlan argued that Ibrahim’s remark was merely to “correct the error of printing the said bibles”, and hence “burning them was the proper thing to do” just as Muslims burn copies of the Quran that have misprints.
He further added that "what Ibrahim Ali said was normal”, but has been “twisted”.
No right-thinking Malaysian would believe the explanation that Ibrahim’s fiery and emotional remark was just an innocent and virtuous attempt to “correct the error of printing” in the bibles. And even in the unlikely earth-shattering event that it was, that is no defence against the current Sedition Act.
For example in the landmark case of Public Prosecutor v Mark Koding, Justice Azmi Kamaruddin in the course of his judgment said: “... It is immaterial whether the accused intention or motive was honourable or evil when making the speech” when finding the latter guilty of sedition. All the judge has to do is to see whether the words are likely to create disaffection against the government, the ruler or the people.
What Datuk Rahman Dahlan has done is to defend the indefensible attempt by the right-wing Perkasa leader, Ibrahim Ali in his attempt to incite Malays and Muslims in the country to burn the holy books of Christians.
However, in the case of the bloggers Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee, better known as “Alvivi”, who probably thought it was “funny” to ridicule fasting Muslims, “justice” was meted out before those charged has an opportunity to defend themselves.
Make no mistake, those found guilty must be punished accordingly and the acts of insulting another’s religion is not acceptable. However, in the case of Alvivi, they have been denied bail on the basis that “both accused had a tendency to upload pictures that could arouse public outrage”, making them guilty before their defence is called.
The clear-cut double-standards in Malaysian prosecution system proves the hypocrisy of “1Malaysia”, a slogan preached by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself. It also makes a mockery of our Federal Constitution which provides that all Malaysians are equal before the law.
The fact that Ibrahim Ali who the open and defiant call for bibles to be burnt was not only left uncharged, but also now defended by the UMNO Minister, while summary punishment was meted out to the blogging duo who carried out the tasteless prank confirms that the Federal Government practices not “1Malaysia” but Malaysia for 1Race and 1Religion.
Sunday, June 03, 2012
Is This Najib's Moderate Malaysia?
It was just a month ago that Prime Minister Najib Razak had called forth Malaysians to show a more moderate approach way to life and challenge extremism in all facets of life. In fact, in his keynote address in January at the International Conference on Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) in Kuala Lumpur, Najib Razak had announced proudly that “here in Malaysia, moderation has always been our chosen path.”
Ezra Zaid’s charge for an alleged religious publishing offense is a stark example that what is being preached is far from being exemplified in reality, and makes a mockery of Malaysia’s quest to be the face of the ‘Movement of Moderates’
While there are more pressing issues to be addressed, such as PKFZ, NFC of which millions of Malaysians’ hard-earned money have been lost in corruption, the Barisan Nasional government seems to be more preoccupied with bringing a man to court for publishing a book that may have a differing view from the mainstream.
Ezra’s arrest and charge last week exactly epitomises Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s definition that extremism is “a head-in-the-sand refusal to acknowledge the views and the values of others”. In fact his Government is acting the exact opposite of what he advised the GMM, that it was time for the masses to stand up and say to the extremists “with a single breath a firm and resounding no.”
We certainly support the call by the Prime Minister for moderation, tolerance and acceptance of differing views, especially in our multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious society. However, the sheer abandon at which his own administration defies his rhetoric proves only that there is no sincerely or political will to ensure the goals of moderation are promoted.
This will lead only to a failure in the GMM, the brainchild of Dato’ Seri Najib Razak himself, who failed to prove that he believes in the cause. The latest episode of clear cut intolerance only adds to the unrestrained attacks by UMNO-owned Utusan Malaysia and broadcast television to spewed messages of hatred to other racial and religious groups.
Hence we call upon the Prime Minister to withdraw the charges against Ezra Zaid in order to return Malaysia to the path of moderation, as well as to uphold the spirit of Article 10 of our federal constitution, which guarantees the right of all Malaysians to freedom of expression as set out by our founding fathers.
Ezra Zaid’s charge for an alleged religious publishing offense is a stark example that what is being preached is far from being exemplified in reality, and makes a mockery of Malaysia’s quest to be the face of the ‘Movement of Moderates’
While there are more pressing issues to be addressed, such as PKFZ, NFC of which millions of Malaysians’ hard-earned money have been lost in corruption, the Barisan Nasional government seems to be more preoccupied with bringing a man to court for publishing a book that may have a differing view from the mainstream.
Ezra’s arrest and charge last week exactly epitomises Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s definition that extremism is “a head-in-the-sand refusal to acknowledge the views and the values of others”. In fact his Government is acting the exact opposite of what he advised the GMM, that it was time for the masses to stand up and say to the extremists “with a single breath a firm and resounding no.”
We certainly support the call by the Prime Minister for moderation, tolerance and acceptance of differing views, especially in our multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious society. However, the sheer abandon at which his own administration defies his rhetoric proves only that there is no sincerely or political will to ensure the goals of moderation are promoted.
This will lead only to a failure in the GMM, the brainchild of Dato’ Seri Najib Razak himself, who failed to prove that he believes in the cause. The latest episode of clear cut intolerance only adds to the unrestrained attacks by UMNO-owned Utusan Malaysia and broadcast television to spewed messages of hatred to other racial and religious groups.
Hence we call upon the Prime Minister to withdraw the charges against Ezra Zaid in order to return Malaysia to the path of moderation, as well as to uphold the spirit of Article 10 of our federal constitution, which guarantees the right of all Malaysians to freedom of expression as set out by our founding fathers.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
"Global Movement of Moderates" - A Political Scam?
Najib’s attempt to promote the “Global Movement of Moderates” is nothing but a political scam if he can’t even reign in extremist Perkasa, comprising mainly of Umno members
Dato’ Seri Najib Abdul Razak has been pushing his international agenda of “The Global Movement of Moderates” (GMM) and most recently delivered a keynote address at the inaugural “International Conference on the Global Movement of Moderates” (ICGMM) last week.
In his forward message in the conference's programme book, Najib said, “the time has come for moderates of all countries, of all religions to take back the centre, to reclaim the agenda for peace and pragmatism, and to marginalise the extremists.”
Let me state upfront that the DAP fully support and concur with Najib’s statement for “all religions to take back the centre” and “to marginalise the extremists”. It is a position that DAP Secretary-General, Lim Guan Eng has preached in his address at our 2010 party convention where he called for a “Middle Malaysia”.
He had stated clearly that “in DAP’s Middle Malaysia we prefer co-operation not conflict, consultation instead of confrontation and an inclusive shared society rather than an exclusive separate society.”
However, while Najib had sought to portray himself as a leading moderate, he has failed, intentionally or otherwise, to practise what he preaches by providing fertile ground for racism and religious extremism to prosper in Malaysia through UMNO-supported vehicles such as Perkasa.
The fact that Perkasa has with growing intensity over the past few months sought to increase religious friction between Muslims and Christians with inflammatory and unfounded statements, published in the UMNO-owned mainstream media proves that Najib is either hopeless or devious in the fight against extremism.
The latest statement by Perkasa secretary-general that “The faith of Islam, of Muslims is under siege in Selangor... Perkasa is concerned of a more aggressive Christianisation attempt, especially with Khalid [Ibrahim] in charge of the exco portfolio for Islam,” seeks to fan the anti-Christian sentiments in the country.
It was only 2 years ago when Malaysia suffered the worst cases of arson and attempted arsons on churches throughout Malaysia and the freedom provided to Perkasa and its ilk to do its worst will not lead to any peaceful outcome.
Dato’ Seri Najib, as the Prime Minister of the country, and a self-proclaimed “Voice of Moderation” has failed to even once admonish Perkasa, the UMNO members involved or the party’s mouth-piece Utusan Malaysia for promoting racial hatred and stirring religious intolerance and extremism. On the contrary, Najib has more than once, made policy U-turns to placate Ibrahim Ali, the Perkasa supremo.
Without sincerity and political will from the top leadership, Perkasa has the tacit approval to do its worse in the light of the upcoming general elections to sow fear into the hearts of the Malay-Muslim community in order to protect the vote bank for UMNO.
The game that UMNO and Perkasa are playing, regardless of the outcome of the next general election, is a highly dangerous one which may forever tarnish Malaysia’s reputation as a moderate country. It will leave Najib in history as the Prime Minister who failed moderation.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
TV1 False "Murtad" Report
TV1 last nite reported in its 8pm prime-time news on the existence of "Murtads in Malaysia & Singapore" Facebook group. What is most despicable and sickening is TV1 highlighting the alleged association of DAP leaders such as Tan Kok Wai, Charles Santiago, Dr Boo Cheng Hau, Ean Yong Hian Wah with the Group. TV1 even placed the spotlight on the chairman of Parti Socialis Malaysia (PSM) and ADUN for Kota Damansara Dr Nasir Hashim insinuating the betrayal of his own faith.
The “news” report is obviously calculated to inflame sentiments and anger among Malays and Muslims in the country, especially towards Pakatan Rakyat whose leaders’ names were “found” to be part of the group.
The problem is those responsible in TV1 obviously did not bother to find the truth to the story but went ahead to make the baseless insinuations above. TV1 either were too ignorant to know, or did not want to know the fact that the “add to group” function in Facebook is such that you cannot prevent a group administrator from adding you to any group. There is no requirement to secure one’s permission or approval for adding a Facebook member to a Group.
Therefore all of the accused “supporters” of the Facebook page did not intend to, or never knew they had “joined” the Group. TV1 was completely unethical in its reporting by not first verifying the above information with the relevant people who were “implicated” by the Facebook page, especially since they were Pakatan Rakyat leaders who were easily accessible.
Hence instead of making a news report to cite the existence of the “Murtads in Malaysia & Singapore” Facebook page and criticising the administrators for wantonly adding Pakatan Rakyat leaders to the page and to cause anger among the people, TV1 chose to emphasize the supposed support shown by these leaders to the page. TV1 must be charged for making and disseminating false news to incite hatred among ordinary Malaysians.
The false TV1 news report follows closely another fake news aired by TV3 on 21 August which claimed the proselytization by a tuition centre in Old Klang Road after complaints by a non-existent “Surau Al-Musyrikin”.
It is absolutely clear that the above incendiary and seditious false news reports by the Government-owned and UMNO-associated media organisations are part of a systematic and orchestrated campaign to divide the people and retain power for Barisan Nasional in the next general elections. The desperation of the Najib administration is so deep that “to win at all cost”, BN is willing to not only spread false news, but also to use the highly-charged religious sentiments to tear the country apart.
We condemn the actions of the TV stations in the strongest possible terms and demand that the Minister of Information, Communications and Culture Dato’ Seri Dr Rais Yatim apologise on behalf of the TV stations for making false and seditious news reports. Dr Rais must also conduct an immediate investigation into the completely lack of professionalism in both TV1 and TV3 and insist that the responsible parties are removed from the posts.
The “news” report is obviously calculated to inflame sentiments and anger among Malays and Muslims in the country, especially towards Pakatan Rakyat whose leaders’ names were “found” to be part of the group.
The problem is those responsible in TV1 obviously did not bother to find the truth to the story but went ahead to make the baseless insinuations above. TV1 either were too ignorant to know, or did not want to know the fact that the “add to group” function in Facebook is such that you cannot prevent a group administrator from adding you to any group. There is no requirement to secure one’s permission or approval for adding a Facebook member to a Group.
Therefore all of the accused “supporters” of the Facebook page did not intend to, or never knew they had “joined” the Group. TV1 was completely unethical in its reporting by not first verifying the above information with the relevant people who were “implicated” by the Facebook page, especially since they were Pakatan Rakyat leaders who were easily accessible.
Hence instead of making a news report to cite the existence of the “Murtads in Malaysia & Singapore” Facebook page and criticising the administrators for wantonly adding Pakatan Rakyat leaders to the page and to cause anger among the people, TV1 chose to emphasize the supposed support shown by these leaders to the page. TV1 must be charged for making and disseminating false news to incite hatred among ordinary Malaysians.
The false TV1 news report follows closely another fake news aired by TV3 on 21 August which claimed the proselytization by a tuition centre in Old Klang Road after complaints by a non-existent “Surau Al-Musyrikin”.
It is absolutely clear that the above incendiary and seditious false news reports by the Government-owned and UMNO-associated media organisations are part of a systematic and orchestrated campaign to divide the people and retain power for Barisan Nasional in the next general elections. The desperation of the Najib administration is so deep that “to win at all cost”, BN is willing to not only spread false news, but also to use the highly-charged religious sentiments to tear the country apart.
We condemn the actions of the TV stations in the strongest possible terms and demand that the Minister of Information, Communications and Culture Dato’ Seri Dr Rais Yatim apologise on behalf of the TV stations for making false and seditious news reports. Dr Rais must also conduct an immediate investigation into the completely lack of professionalism in both TV1 and TV3 and insist that the responsible parties are removed from the posts.
Saturday, July 02, 2011
SDB Should Talk, Not Force
DEVOTEES TO SELANGOR DREDGING: DON’T EVICT US, LET’S TALK
by LEVEN WOON on 9 Jun, 2011
The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) should not approve a private property project at the site of two temples in Section 19, Petaling Jaya until an amicable settlement is reached with the company behind it, said Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua today.
Pua said he would lobby MBPJ about the situation faced by an Indian temple and a neighbouring Chinese temple and ask the authorities to defer its approval of the project.
Pua’s statement comes after both temples received legal notice on May 16 from landowner Selangor Dredging Berhad (SDB), requiring them to evict the temples immediately.
Pua said the notice was served in bad faith as the temple committees have been negotiating with the property company since March, which he has been mediating.
“As landowner they are entitled to issue legal notice, but as a government we are also entitled to defer approval of their development,” he told reporters and some 50 devotees at Sri Maha Mariamman temple this morning.
The property company put up the notice board required by law to inform the public of the project last week, but the last date for objection was backdated to April 19.
Pua (right) said SDB was well-aware of the existence of the 50-year-old Hindu temple and the 45-year-old Tow Boo Keong temple when it bought over the land in 2006.
“In 2007, MBPJ had deferred a development approval for the land until SDB produced a full-fledged plan and provides the temples with 10,000 sq ft of alternative land each.
“We request the developer to seriously consider this as part of the resolution,” he said.
He stressed that the devotees are willing to negotiate with the developer to reach an amicable settlement.
Sri Maha Mariaman temple committee secretary, Raman Muniandy (left), said they prefer the temple to remain where it is. He said SDB once offered to compensate the temple with RM300,000 for its relocation, but it was rejected by the devotees.
“This is the only Hindu temple in Petaling Jaya Utara; we don’t want any cent of compensation, we just want it to remain here,” he said.
Tow Boo Keong temple committee chairman, Tan Kam Piew, said the temple should ideally remain in the community because its devotees are mainly from the Damansara Bistari flats, next door.
He noted that the entire place around Jalan SS2/72, where SS 2 Mall and Ken Damansara 3 Condominium are situated, were previously the site of Kampung Damansara Dalam.
“The two temples were the places of worship for the villagers, who have since been relocated to Damansara Bistari low-cost flats,” he said.
SDB’s corporate communication department head, Yeoh Guan Jin, when contacted, clarified that the legal notice was merely to inform the temple committees of the new landowner.
“Nowhere in the letter is stated that the temples will be demolished or the devotees will be evicted,” he said.
He added that SDB is prepared to negotiate and agree on a reasonable amount of compensation.
Footnote by Tony Pua:
Please-la SDB, we are not illiterate children - "legal notice was merely to inform the temple committees of the new landowner"? You must be kidding me. Let me quote you your letter sent on 16 May 2011 from your friendly neighbourhood lawyers, Soo Thien Ming & Nashrah:
"3. We hereby give you notice that your actions amount to trespass on our client's Land and our client WILL NOT HESITATE to institute legal proceedings and pursue ALL APPROPRIATE REMEDIES under the law against you WITHOUT ANY FURTHER NOTICE."
Yes, the lawyer's letter to the temple committee sounds so friendly and amicable. Please don't try to mislead the public to save your reputation. It is extremely bad faith that you have issued letters like this to threaten the temples while we were in the midst of negotiations.
by LEVEN WOON on 9 Jun, 2011
Picture and report courtesy of Komunitikini.com
The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) should not approve a private property project at the site of two temples in Section 19, Petaling Jaya until an amicable settlement is reached with the company behind it, said Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua today.
Pua said he would lobby MBPJ about the situation faced by an Indian temple and a neighbouring Chinese temple and ask the authorities to defer its approval of the project.
Pua’s statement comes after both temples received legal notice on May 16 from landowner Selangor Dredging Berhad (SDB), requiring them to evict the temples immediately.
Pua said the notice was served in bad faith as the temple committees have been negotiating with the property company since March, which he has been mediating.
“As landowner they are entitled to issue legal notice, but as a government we are also entitled to defer approval of their development,” he told reporters and some 50 devotees at Sri Maha Mariamman temple this morning.
The property company put up the notice board required by law to inform the public of the project last week, but the last date for objection was backdated to April 19.
Pua (right) said SDB was well-aware of the existence of the 50-year-old Hindu temple and the 45-year-old Tow Boo Keong temple when it bought over the land in 2006.
“In 2007, MBPJ had deferred a development approval for the land until SDB produced a full-fledged plan and provides the temples with 10,000 sq ft of alternative land each.
“We request the developer to seriously consider this as part of the resolution,” he said.
He stressed that the devotees are willing to negotiate with the developer to reach an amicable settlement.
Sri Maha Mariaman temple committee secretary, Raman Muniandy (left), said they prefer the temple to remain where it is. He said SDB once offered to compensate the temple with RM300,000 for its relocation, but it was rejected by the devotees.
“This is the only Hindu temple in Petaling Jaya Utara; we don’t want any cent of compensation, we just want it to remain here,” he said.
Tow Boo Keong temple committee chairman, Tan Kam Piew, said the temple should ideally remain in the community because its devotees are mainly from the Damansara Bistari flats, next door.
He noted that the entire place around Jalan SS2/72, where SS 2 Mall and Ken Damansara 3 Condominium are situated, were previously the site of Kampung Damansara Dalam.
“The two temples were the places of worship for the villagers, who have since been relocated to Damansara Bistari low-cost flats,” he said.
SDB’s corporate communication department head, Yeoh Guan Jin, when contacted, clarified that the legal notice was merely to inform the temple committees of the new landowner.
“Nowhere in the letter is stated that the temples will be demolished or the devotees will be evicted,” he said.
He added that SDB is prepared to negotiate and agree on a reasonable amount of compensation.
Footnote by Tony Pua:
Please-la SDB, we are not illiterate children - "legal notice was merely to inform the temple committees of the new landowner"? You must be kidding me. Let me quote you your letter sent on 16 May 2011 from your friendly neighbourhood lawyers, Soo Thien Ming & Nashrah:
"3. We hereby give you notice that your actions amount to trespass on our client's Land and our client WILL NOT HESITATE to institute legal proceedings and pursue ALL APPROPRIATE REMEDIES under the law against you WITHOUT ANY FURTHER NOTICE."
Yes, the lawyer's letter to the temple committee sounds so friendly and amicable. Please don't try to mislead the public to save your reputation. It is extremely bad faith that you have issued letters like this to threaten the temples while we were in the midst of negotiations.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Al-Kitab Row Not One-off
Alkitab row shows wider check on non-Muslims, says Pakatan
By Melissa Chi March 27, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — Leaders from the Opposition have described the controversy surrounding Malay bibles and the use of “Allah” by Christians as just the tip of the iceberg in the erosion of non-Muslim rights.
DAP publicity chief Tony Pua (picture) said the government did not seem to be picking specifically on Christians, but other religions other than Islam as well.
“I think that the government has the same treatment to all religions, it’s just that the Christians are speaking up today. If you look at the school system, government departments, you can see mild forms of preferences or restrictions of religions increasing over the years.
“It is already happening, it’s just that [followers of] other religions are not speaking up about it,” he said.
He said for example there was a limit on the number of temples that can be built, and that if it was in a Malay majority area, no other places of worship could be built in the vicinity.
The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) had issued a strongly worded statement yesterday accusing the government of riding roughshod over religions other than Islam when it imposed conditions for the release of 35,000 Malay bibles seized from Port Klang and Kuching.
In a series of news statements that started earlier this month, the Christian organisation denounced the government for defacing its holy books with the home ministry’s official seal, an act it said amounted to desecration.
About one in 10 Malaysians is Christian.
The MCCBCHST said the authorities seemed to want Malaysians to believe that the Alkitab conflict is solely a tussle between two creeds, Islam and Christianity; and affects only Muslims and Christians.
“After the Christians have been ‘fixed’, who next?” the council had questioned. Pua said, however, that he was anticipating the government would give “superficial forms of religious freedom”, ahead of the coming Sarawak elections.
But he remained convinced that the voters would not buy into the government’s ploy and that more Malaysians were waking up to the reality in terms of limited freedom of religion in the country.
“What they say is true. The question is whether or not it will find resonance among the communities,” he said, referring to the council’s suggestion.
When asked if the continuation of the current religious controversies might heighten the religious or racial tension in the country, he said it will have to depend on the ruling government.
“It depends on the wisdom of the ruling party or ruling elites, leaders, if they decide to uphold the constitution, then there will be no issue but if they take it upon themselves to uphold a particular belief in the expense of others, then it is hard to say,” he said.
Freedom of religion is enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution. Article 11 provides that every person has the right to profess and to practice his or her religion and is subject to applicable laws restricting the propagation of other religions to Muslims.
Under Article 3, the Constitution also provides that Islam is the religion of the country but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony.
[...]
For the full article, click here.
By Melissa Chi March 27, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — Leaders from the Opposition have described the controversy surrounding Malay bibles and the use of “Allah” by Christians as just the tip of the iceberg in the erosion of non-Muslim rights.
DAP publicity chief Tony Pua (picture) said the government did not seem to be picking specifically on Christians, but other religions other than Islam as well.
“I think that the government has the same treatment to all religions, it’s just that the Christians are speaking up today. If you look at the school system, government departments, you can see mild forms of preferences or restrictions of religions increasing over the years.
“It is already happening, it’s just that [followers of] other religions are not speaking up about it,” he said.
He said for example there was a limit on the number of temples that can be built, and that if it was in a Malay majority area, no other places of worship could be built in the vicinity.
The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) had issued a strongly worded statement yesterday accusing the government of riding roughshod over religions other than Islam when it imposed conditions for the release of 35,000 Malay bibles seized from Port Klang and Kuching.
In a series of news statements that started earlier this month, the Christian organisation denounced the government for defacing its holy books with the home ministry’s official seal, an act it said amounted to desecration.
About one in 10 Malaysians is Christian.
The MCCBCHST said the authorities seemed to want Malaysians to believe that the Alkitab conflict is solely a tussle between two creeds, Islam and Christianity; and affects only Muslims and Christians.
“After the Christians have been ‘fixed’, who next?” the council had questioned. Pua said, however, that he was anticipating the government would give “superficial forms of religious freedom”, ahead of the coming Sarawak elections.
But he remained convinced that the voters would not buy into the government’s ploy and that more Malaysians were waking up to the reality in terms of limited freedom of religion in the country.
“What they say is true. The question is whether or not it will find resonance among the communities,” he said, referring to the council’s suggestion.
When asked if the continuation of the current religious controversies might heighten the religious or racial tension in the country, he said it will have to depend on the ruling government.
“It depends on the wisdom of the ruling party or ruling elites, leaders, if they decide to uphold the constitution, then there will be no issue but if they take it upon themselves to uphold a particular belief in the expense of others, then it is hard to say,” he said.
Freedom of religion is enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution. Article 11 provides that every person has the right to profess and to practice his or her religion and is subject to applicable laws restricting the propagation of other religions to Muslims.
Under Article 3, the Constitution also provides that Islam is the religion of the country but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony.
[...]
For the full article, click here.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Hishamuddin Must Apologise to Malaysians
DAP condemns the violation and defacement of the Al-Kitabs impounded by the Home Ministry in Port Klang and calls for the Home Minister to apologise to Malaysians nationwide on its complete lack of sensitivity
We read in horror in yesterday evening’s news in The Malaysian Insider and Malaysiakini which reported that “Al-Kitab defaced” and “Port Klang’s BM Bibles ‘violated’”. The Bible Society of Malaysia has claimed that the 5,100 bibles which were seized two years ago have been stamped by the Home Minister with a serial number space and the text ‘“Al Kitab Berita Baik” ini untuk kegunaan penganut agama Kristian sahaja dengan perintah Menteri Dalam Negeri’.
The action above has been done without any consultation or agreement from the importer or the Church.
We condemn the complete lack of sensitivity of the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein in the actions taken by the Ministry which had added salt to injury already suffered by the Christian community in Malaysia. Firstly, their bibles have been impounded for no valid reasons, restricting their freedom of religion and now, their holy book is being treated as anything but holy by the authorities.
In addition, the insistence on serial numbers to “control” the circulation of these bibles are as if they are subversive documents which are a threat to national security. The titular head of the Malacca-Johor diocese, Catholic bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing have denounced the condition as “crass forms of censorship redolent of the communist era”.
The actions by the Barisan Nasional Government to date proves that the call for “1Malaysia” which promotes a multi-racial and multi-religious inclusive society under our federal constitution which guarantees freedom of religion under Article 11 which provides that every person has the right to profess and to practice his or her religion and (subject to applicable laws restricting the propagation of other religions to Muslims) to propagate it, is but an empty slogan.
We call upon the Home Minister to immediately apologise to all Malaysians for insulting the faith of the Christian community, and provide an unconditional guarantee that such incidences, including the arbitrary confiscation of Al-Kitabs will never again happen in the future.
We read in horror in yesterday evening’s news in The Malaysian Insider and Malaysiakini which reported that “Al-Kitab defaced” and “Port Klang’s BM Bibles ‘violated’”. The Bible Society of Malaysia has claimed that the 5,100 bibles which were seized two years ago have been stamped by the Home Minister with a serial number space and the text ‘“Al Kitab Berita Baik” ini untuk kegunaan penganut agama Kristian sahaja dengan perintah Menteri Dalam Negeri’.
The action above has been done without any consultation or agreement from the importer or the Church.
We condemn the complete lack of sensitivity of the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein in the actions taken by the Ministry which had added salt to injury already suffered by the Christian community in Malaysia. Firstly, their bibles have been impounded for no valid reasons, restricting their freedom of religion and now, their holy book is being treated as anything but holy by the authorities.
In addition, the insistence on serial numbers to “control” the circulation of these bibles are as if they are subversive documents which are a threat to national security. The titular head of the Malacca-Johor diocese, Catholic bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing have denounced the condition as “crass forms of censorship redolent of the communist era”.
The actions by the Barisan Nasional Government to date proves that the call for “1Malaysia” which promotes a multi-racial and multi-religious inclusive society under our federal constitution which guarantees freedom of religion under Article 11 which provides that every person has the right to profess and to practice his or her religion and (subject to applicable laws restricting the propagation of other religions to Muslims) to propagate it, is but an empty slogan.
We call upon the Home Minister to immediately apologise to all Malaysians for insulting the faith of the Christian community, and provide an unconditional guarantee that such incidences, including the arbitrary confiscation of Al-Kitabs will never again happen in the future.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Home Minister "Released" Bibles since June 2010
Pua reveals Hisham ordered BM bibles release in 2010
By Clara Chooi March 14, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 — DAP MP Tony Pua unveiled documents today showing Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had issued orders last June for the release of 5,100 Malay-language bibles currently impounded at Port Klang.
The home minister had said over the weekend that the bibles had been impounded due to the ministry’s pending court appeal on the Catholic weekly The Herald’s use of the word “Allah” in its publications.
But the Petaling Jaya Utara MP revealed that Hishammuddin, in his written reply to Parliament on June 7 last year, had announced that a notice had already been issued to the books’ importers urging them retrieve their consignment.
“There are a total of 5,100 Al-Kitab Berita Baik books detained. Notice has already been sent to the importers to retrieve the consignment but until now, they have failed to do so.
“The publications are being stored in good condition in the Home Ministry’s Port Klang office although the deadline for the importers to retrieve them has expired,” was Hishammuddin’s written response to a question from Pua last year.
Pua charged that since the consignment in question is still being impounded in Port Klang, Hishammuddin had misled the House with his answer.
He added that this was further compounded by The Malaysian Insider’s publication yesterday of a ministry letter dating June 10, 2010, where a senior official wrote that the appeal by the book’s importer, Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) had been considered and the ministry had agreed to release the consignment.
“So it is a lie on two fronts,” Pua told a press conference in Parliament this afternoon.
He also referred to a response from Hishammuddin yesterday where the minister claimed that the Bibles had been impounded due to the ministry’s pending court appeal on the Catholic weekly The Herald’s use of the word “Allah” in its publications.
In his statement, Hishammuddin had also said that the ministry was presently awaiting advice from the Attorney-General to determine its next move in the controversy.
“So this is what is happening today. A lie on two fronts... the reply from the minister is a lie. And yet there is a letter proving that the notice was indeed sent.
“So you (BSM) can claim it back but until today, you still cannot claim it back? Now you (Hishammuddin) say you have to refer to the A-G but yet in Parliament earlier, you said the books were released.
“Is this because the minister is just misleading the Parliament to discourage any further questions?” said Pua.
He urged the ministry to take responsibility over the issue and clear any confusion by ordering the immediate release of the confiscated Bibles to the BSM.
This, he said, included the additional 30,000 Malay-language Bibles which are also presently held by the Home Ministry at the Kuching port.
“There should be freedom of religion in this country where Christians are allowed to practise in whatever language they please as long as these Bibles are not distributed to the Muslims,” said Pua.
DAP’s Bandar Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen agreed and added that as the issue was of public interest, it would likely be highlighted by the opposition during its campaign in the Sarawak polls.
“This is definitely an issue that concerns the people and it is unfair of the Barisan Nasional (BN) so of course we will highlight it.
“The BN government is being oppressive to those of other religions,” he said.
Click here for the full article.
By Clara Chooi March 14, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 — DAP MP Tony Pua unveiled documents today showing Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had issued orders last June for the release of 5,100 Malay-language bibles currently impounded at Port Klang.
The home minister had said over the weekend that the bibles had been impounded due to the ministry’s pending court appeal on the Catholic weekly The Herald’s use of the word “Allah” in its publications.
But the Petaling Jaya Utara MP revealed that Hishammuddin, in his written reply to Parliament on June 7 last year, had announced that a notice had already been issued to the books’ importers urging them retrieve their consignment.
“There are a total of 5,100 Al-Kitab Berita Baik books detained. Notice has already been sent to the importers to retrieve the consignment but until now, they have failed to do so.
“The publications are being stored in good condition in the Home Ministry’s Port Klang office although the deadline for the importers to retrieve them has expired,” was Hishammuddin’s written response to a question from Pua last year.
Pua charged that since the consignment in question is still being impounded in Port Klang, Hishammuddin had misled the House with his answer.
He added that this was further compounded by The Malaysian Insider’s publication yesterday of a ministry letter dating June 10, 2010, where a senior official wrote that the appeal by the book’s importer, Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) had been considered and the ministry had agreed to release the consignment.
“So it is a lie on two fronts,” Pua told a press conference in Parliament this afternoon.
He also referred to a response from Hishammuddin yesterday where the minister claimed that the Bibles had been impounded due to the ministry’s pending court appeal on the Catholic weekly The Herald’s use of the word “Allah” in its publications.
In his statement, Hishammuddin had also said that the ministry was presently awaiting advice from the Attorney-General to determine its next move in the controversy.
“So this is what is happening today. A lie on two fronts... the reply from the minister is a lie. And yet there is a letter proving that the notice was indeed sent.
“So you (BSM) can claim it back but until today, you still cannot claim it back? Now you (Hishammuddin) say you have to refer to the A-G but yet in Parliament earlier, you said the books were released.
“Is this because the minister is just misleading the Parliament to discourage any further questions?” said Pua.
He urged the ministry to take responsibility over the issue and clear any confusion by ordering the immediate release of the confiscated Bibles to the BSM.
This, he said, included the additional 30,000 Malay-language Bibles which are also presently held by the Home Ministry at the Kuching port.
“There should be freedom of religion in this country where Christians are allowed to practise in whatever language they please as long as these Bibles are not distributed to the Muslims,” said Pua.
DAP’s Bandar Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen agreed and added that as the issue was of public interest, it would likely be highlighted by the opposition during its campaign in the Sarawak polls.
“This is definitely an issue that concerns the people and it is unfair of the Barisan Nasional (BN) so of course we will highlight it.
“The BN government is being oppressive to those of other religions,” he said.
Click here for the full article.
Friday, January 28, 2011
MCA: Its OK for UMNO to be corrupt
MCA President Dr Chua Soi Lek and other MCA leaders have gone on a rampage against PAS, arguing that a vote for PAS will mean the end to religious freedom for the non-Muslim community and individual liberties in the country.
Dr Chua has gone to the extent of arguing that while “UMNO is not perfect, it has corruption”, it is still a better choice than PAS for the latter’s religious principles.
The MCA President’s statement is only half-correct for not only is UMNO corrupt, it abuses Islam as a political tool to promote extremism, ultra-conservatism to spread fear among Malays against non-Malays and non-Muslims. Dr Chua has intentionally chosen to turn a blind eye on the fact that UMNO’s attempts to curtail non-Muslim rights far exceed anything PAS has to offer.
Over the past 2 years, we saw how UMNO attempted to monopolise the use of “Allah” for Muslims only and prevent Malay-speaking Christians and Sikhs from using the term for their religious prayers. The UMNO-led BN government, of which MCA is an integral part of, has chosen to fight the Catholic Church in court to restrict the freedom of the latter’s community. This is despite the fact that the term “Allah” is used by even Christian Arabs and Jews in the Middle East for centuries, commonly regarded as the home of Islam.
UMNO leaders have also sensationalised DAP MP Teo Nie Ching’s attempts to foster greater ties with the Muslim community by visiting mosques and taking part in their community activities. Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein even condemned Teo for having desecrated the mosques and insulted the religion as she was “unclean”.
UMNO’s intentional procrastination over the issue of conversion to Islam by a spouse in a civil marriage has resulted in scores of broken families and untold suffering. Non-Muslims like Tan Cheow Hong, Indira Gandhi, Nedunchelian, Shamala, and Genga Devi were told by the BN government that they must go to the Syariah court in order to exercise their constitutional rights to raise their children in their own religion.
UMNO leaders have also promoted extremism by supporting activities promoting hatred among the various races and religions, such as the “cow-head protests” against the construction of a Hindu temple in a Muslim-majority residential area. They have also used Islam at their convenience to protest against welfare policies of the Penang state government, arguing outrageously that the RM100 appreciation for the elderly is “not halal”.
In all of the above events and more, MCA has demonstrated its hypocrisy by doing absolutely nothing and remaining absolutely silent like a mouse, despite being a partner of UMNO in BN.
In contrast, it has been PAS which was highly vocal in fighting UMNO extremism and defending the rights of non-Muslims in Malaysia. PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang has openly defended non-Muslims’ use of Allah in Parliament arguing that even the Quran permits and cited such usage. It was Tok Guru Nik Aziz who comforted and defended Teo and encouraged her to continue visiting mosques and building bridges between the various communities, arguing that even Prophet Mohamed received non-Muslim visitors in the mosques. It was PAS MP for Shah Alam, Khalid Samad who stood his ground against the UMNO orchestrated onslaught to defend the rights of the Hindus in his community to build their place of worship.
It is clear as day that PAS has chosen the path of moderation while UMNO has chosen to abuse religion to achieve its political goals at all costs. Worse, MCA has chosen to abet UMNO in the process to ensure its own political survival by protecting UMNO and attacking PAS for supposed extremism.
The rakyat in Tenang needs to make a choice between PAS, a party which has proven its moderation in its words and deeds in defending non-Muslims in the interest of justice and equity, or UMNO which will stop at nothing, including manipulating the people’s religious sensitivities, promoting extremism and dividing the nation according to racial and religious lines, to hang on to political power.
Dr Chua has gone to the extent of arguing that while “UMNO is not perfect, it has corruption”, it is still a better choice than PAS for the latter’s religious principles.
The MCA President’s statement is only half-correct for not only is UMNO corrupt, it abuses Islam as a political tool to promote extremism, ultra-conservatism to spread fear among Malays against non-Malays and non-Muslims. Dr Chua has intentionally chosen to turn a blind eye on the fact that UMNO’s attempts to curtail non-Muslim rights far exceed anything PAS has to offer.
Over the past 2 years, we saw how UMNO attempted to monopolise the use of “Allah” for Muslims only and prevent Malay-speaking Christians and Sikhs from using the term for their religious prayers. The UMNO-led BN government, of which MCA is an integral part of, has chosen to fight the Catholic Church in court to restrict the freedom of the latter’s community. This is despite the fact that the term “Allah” is used by even Christian Arabs and Jews in the Middle East for centuries, commonly regarded as the home of Islam.
UMNO leaders have also sensationalised DAP MP Teo Nie Ching’s attempts to foster greater ties with the Muslim community by visiting mosques and taking part in their community activities. Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein even condemned Teo for having desecrated the mosques and insulted the religion as she was “unclean”.
UMNO’s intentional procrastination over the issue of conversion to Islam by a spouse in a civil marriage has resulted in scores of broken families and untold suffering. Non-Muslims like Tan Cheow Hong, Indira Gandhi, Nedunchelian, Shamala, and Genga Devi were told by the BN government that they must go to the Syariah court in order to exercise their constitutional rights to raise their children in their own religion.
UMNO leaders have also promoted extremism by supporting activities promoting hatred among the various races and religions, such as the “cow-head protests” against the construction of a Hindu temple in a Muslim-majority residential area. They have also used Islam at their convenience to protest against welfare policies of the Penang state government, arguing outrageously that the RM100 appreciation for the elderly is “not halal”.
In all of the above events and more, MCA has demonstrated its hypocrisy by doing absolutely nothing and remaining absolutely silent like a mouse, despite being a partner of UMNO in BN.
In contrast, it has been PAS which was highly vocal in fighting UMNO extremism and defending the rights of non-Muslims in Malaysia. PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang has openly defended non-Muslims’ use of Allah in Parliament arguing that even the Quran permits and cited such usage. It was Tok Guru Nik Aziz who comforted and defended Teo and encouraged her to continue visiting mosques and building bridges between the various communities, arguing that even Prophet Mohamed received non-Muslim visitors in the mosques. It was PAS MP for Shah Alam, Khalid Samad who stood his ground against the UMNO orchestrated onslaught to defend the rights of the Hindus in his community to build their place of worship.
It is clear as day that PAS has chosen the path of moderation while UMNO has chosen to abuse religion to achieve its political goals at all costs. Worse, MCA has chosen to abet UMNO in the process to ensure its own political survival by protecting UMNO and attacking PAS for supposed extremism.
The rakyat in Tenang needs to make a choice between PAS, a party which has proven its moderation in its words and deeds in defending non-Muslims in the interest of justice and equity, or UMNO which will stop at nothing, including manipulating the people’s religious sensitivities, promoting extremism and dividing the nation according to racial and religious lines, to hang on to political power.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Chua Soi Lek Mocks 1Malaysia
Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek sheer ignorance and arrogance confirms MCA as the Malaysian chauvinist association with utter disregard for other races, religion and culture and a complete failure of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s “1Malaysia”
In dismissing Muhyiddin’s “instruction” to stop playing on the issue of handshakes, Dr Chua pleaded ignorance about the religious sensitivities by arguing that he does not practice Islam.
He was quoted saying “So what is so great about that? That is your religious value which I don’t know. How am I to know about the religious values when I’m not practicing that religion?”
He further argued that “…I have a right to say that its basic manners to shake hands with people. That’s my values. Understand? You must also value my value, which is good manners, which include shaking hands.”
The fact that he claimed he is completely ignorant about Islam just because he is not a Muslim proves that the MCA President and his party are chauvinists who have little regard and respect for other religions and cultures.
Dr Chua makes a complete mockery of the Prime Minister’s “1Malaysia” slogan by admitting that he is completely separated from the other communities in the country and is completely not interested in integrating with them through greater race and religious understanding. This is despite the fact that he has spent more than a decade as a senior Johor state executive councillor and a Cabinet Minister.
His statement that “you must also value my value, which is good manners” smacks of unbridled arrogance where he expects Cikgu Normala and other Muslims to accept and adopt his moral values, despite his own lack of understanding and interest in the values of other communities. It is difficult to a more bigoted statement than what Dr Chua told the press yesterday.
In dismissing Muhyiddin’s “instruction” to stop playing on the issue of handshakes, Dr Chua pleaded ignorance about the religious sensitivities by arguing that he does not practice Islam.
He was quoted saying “So what is so great about that? That is your religious value which I don’t know. How am I to know about the religious values when I’m not practicing that religion?”
He further argued that “…I have a right to say that its basic manners to shake hands with people. That’s my values. Understand? You must also value my value, which is good manners, which include shaking hands.”
The fact that he claimed he is completely ignorant about Islam just because he is not a Muslim proves that the MCA President and his party are chauvinists who have little regard and respect for other religions and cultures.
Dr Chua makes a complete mockery of the Prime Minister’s “1Malaysia” slogan by admitting that he is completely separated from the other communities in the country and is completely not interested in integrating with them through greater race and religious understanding. This is despite the fact that he has spent more than a decade as a senior Johor state executive councillor and a Cabinet Minister.
His statement that “you must also value my value, which is good manners” smacks of unbridled arrogance where he expects Cikgu Normala and other Muslims to accept and adopt his moral values, despite his own lack of understanding and interest in the values of other communities. It is difficult to a more bigoted statement than what Dr Chua told the press yesterday.
Chua Tee Yong Should Apologise to Normala
Deputy Agriculture Minister Datuk Chua Tee Yong shows he’s not a man of his words for the unbelievable flip-flop over his baseless accusation that Cikgu Normala Sudirman questioned a coffee shop owner for selling alcohol.
The China Press reported that Deputy Agriculture Minister and MP for Labis Datuk Chua Tee Yong accused Cikgu Normala of questioning a coffee shop owner for selling beer during her walkabout. The accusation was obviously a ploy to scare the non-Malay community that PAS will curtail the rights of non-Muslims if they were to win the by-election.
PAS Johor had given Chua 24 hours to apologise and retract his false allegations or face the threat of a defamation suit. In an immediate response to The Malaysian Insider over the issue, Chua stood by his remarks by refused to name the shop.
Chua was quoted as saying “Of course I cannot name the shop. The owner wants to remain anonymous.”
However, within a few hours after the above comments, Chua now denies ever having made the accusation. He explained that he was merely conveying the fact that a voter had asked him about a “hypothetical” situation should she win the by-election.
Even a twelve year old would have found his denial hard to believe. I strongly advise Chua to be man enough to admit to his mistake and apologise to Normala for having made the baseless accusation against her, instead of attempting to cover a lie with a bigger one, and as a result, digging a deeper hole for himself.
If he still insists on sticking to his new version of the story, then I call upon Chua to demand that both China Press and The Malaysian Insider to issue a correction to the story as well as an apology for the blatant and grievous error which has been committed. This is because if Chua didn’t make the allegation against Normala, then both the reporters must have independently made up the story.
Should he try to evade the issue by remaining elegantly silent, that he has completely his credibility and integrity, and is unfit to be the people’s parliamentary representative in Labis, much less a Deputy Minister.
The China Press reported that Deputy Agriculture Minister and MP for Labis Datuk Chua Tee Yong accused Cikgu Normala of questioning a coffee shop owner for selling beer during her walkabout. The accusation was obviously a ploy to scare the non-Malay community that PAS will curtail the rights of non-Muslims if they were to win the by-election.
PAS Johor had given Chua 24 hours to apologise and retract his false allegations or face the threat of a defamation suit. In an immediate response to The Malaysian Insider over the issue, Chua stood by his remarks by refused to name the shop.
Chua was quoted as saying “Of course I cannot name the shop. The owner wants to remain anonymous.”
However, within a few hours after the above comments, Chua now denies ever having made the accusation. He explained that he was merely conveying the fact that a voter had asked him about a “hypothetical” situation should she win the by-election.
Even a twelve year old would have found his denial hard to believe. I strongly advise Chua to be man enough to admit to his mistake and apologise to Normala for having made the baseless accusation against her, instead of attempting to cover a lie with a bigger one, and as a result, digging a deeper hole for himself.
If he still insists on sticking to his new version of the story, then I call upon Chua to demand that both China Press and The Malaysian Insider to issue a correction to the story as well as an apology for the blatant and grievous error which has been committed. This is because if Chua didn’t make the allegation against Normala, then both the reporters must have independently made up the story.
Should he try to evade the issue by remaining elegantly silent, that he has completely his credibility and integrity, and is unfit to be the people’s parliamentary representative in Labis, much less a Deputy Minister.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Religious Freedom in Malaysia - Really?
Najib should personally ask the non-Muslim community if there is genuine “religious freedom” under BN’s rule before proudly declaring “BN’s fairness”
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the freedom of religion practised in the country proved that the government is fair to all during a Thaipusam celebration. He said “we can see today Hindu devotees celebrate the Thaipusam freely throughout the country” at the Subramaniya Swami Devasthanam Temple.
Najib must be reminded that the practice of religious freedom should not only be skin deep, where celebrations are held in the open but both written and unwritten restrictions are placed on the various religions in the country.
If Najib truly believe in the “freedom of religion”, he must immediately instruct the Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein to retract the Government’s appeal against the December 2009 High Court decision to permit the use of the term “Allah” by the non-Muslim community. No such rule exists even in the predominantly Muslim Middle East, and history has shown the use of the term for centuries among Christians and Sikhs. However, the Barisan Nasional Government has chosen to unreasonably restrict the religious practices of non-Muslims resulting in the suit filed by the Catholic Church against the former.
There is now a growing list of cases where non-Muslims had to battle government servants who act as the Islamic religious authorities in Malaysia and with lawyers from the Attorney-General’s Chambers who argue that they must go to the Syariah court in order to exercise their constitutional rights to raise their children in their own religion.
These have included the cases of Tan Cheow Hong, Indira Gandhi, Nedunchelian, Shamala, and Genga Devi where their family lives totally disrupted when their children were converted to Islam without their knowledge or consent by a disgruntled spouse.
Rev Dr Thomas Philips is president of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) wrote that “the decision of the judges of the Federal Court led by Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi to dismiss Shamala’s case on a mere technicality rather than determine the five constitutional questions she had raised is of much concern. If not the Federal Court who else should the non-converting spouse turn to in order to protect and uphold their basic rights enshrined in the Federal Constitution.”
If Najib truly believe in the “freedom of religion”, he must urgently form an inter-faith panel to openly discuss critical issues affecting religious harmony in the country. The BN government has repeatedly postponed the inter-faith meetings which reflect the degree of intolerance among certain religious leaders in Malaysia, including a petty dispute over the name of the sub-committee.
In fact, it is unfortunate that Catholic Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam has asked Datuk Seri Najib Razak during a Christmas function organised by the Malaysian Christian Association to support an inter-faith group by meeting them regularly. “In your busy and overloaded schedule honourable prime minister, may we humbly request you to make time for the multi-religious body MCCBCHST. If you can find the time to meet their leaders regularly for some good-willed feedback,” he said.
On the other hand, Pakatan Rakyat component parties have been active in convening such dialogues and we were the first it in February 2010 attended by more than 100 religious leaders from all faiths.
On the other hand, the extremists in Umno who had demonstrated violently with a severed cow head against the building of a Hindu temple in Shah Alam on the basis that “a majority of the residents are Muslims”. Hishamuddin even held a meeting with the protestors in a show of support for them.
It is hence completely hypocritical for Johor Menteri Besar, Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman to call PAS extremists, and to claim that a vote for BN is a vote for moderation when it is clear that UMNO today represents the voice of the religious and racial extremist. It is PAS who has demonstrated itself to be part of the Malaysian moderate voice by supporting the use of Allah by non-Muslims and support inter-faith dialogues to promote religious understanding and harmony.
Moderate Malaysians must not be misled by the sweet rhetoric from BN leaders and instead make itself heard to protect the freedom of religion as enshrined in our Federal Constitution.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the freedom of religion practised in the country proved that the government is fair to all during a Thaipusam celebration. He said “we can see today Hindu devotees celebrate the Thaipusam freely throughout the country” at the Subramaniya Swami Devasthanam Temple.
Najib must be reminded that the practice of religious freedom should not only be skin deep, where celebrations are held in the open but both written and unwritten restrictions are placed on the various religions in the country.
If Najib truly believe in the “freedom of religion”, he must immediately instruct the Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein to retract the Government’s appeal against the December 2009 High Court decision to permit the use of the term “Allah” by the non-Muslim community. No such rule exists even in the predominantly Muslim Middle East, and history has shown the use of the term for centuries among Christians and Sikhs. However, the Barisan Nasional Government has chosen to unreasonably restrict the religious practices of non-Muslims resulting in the suit filed by the Catholic Church against the former.
There is now a growing list of cases where non-Muslims had to battle government servants who act as the Islamic religious authorities in Malaysia and with lawyers from the Attorney-General’s Chambers who argue that they must go to the Syariah court in order to exercise their constitutional rights to raise their children in their own religion.
These have included the cases of Tan Cheow Hong, Indira Gandhi, Nedunchelian, Shamala, and Genga Devi where their family lives totally disrupted when their children were converted to Islam without their knowledge or consent by a disgruntled spouse.
Rev Dr Thomas Philips is president of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) wrote that “the decision of the judges of the Federal Court led by Chief Justice Tun Zaki Azmi to dismiss Shamala’s case on a mere technicality rather than determine the five constitutional questions she had raised is of much concern. If not the Federal Court who else should the non-converting spouse turn to in order to protect and uphold their basic rights enshrined in the Federal Constitution.”
If Najib truly believe in the “freedom of religion”, he must urgently form an inter-faith panel to openly discuss critical issues affecting religious harmony in the country. The BN government has repeatedly postponed the inter-faith meetings which reflect the degree of intolerance among certain religious leaders in Malaysia, including a petty dispute over the name of the sub-committee.
In fact, it is unfortunate that Catholic Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam has asked Datuk Seri Najib Razak during a Christmas function organised by the Malaysian Christian Association to support an inter-faith group by meeting them regularly. “In your busy and overloaded schedule honourable prime minister, may we humbly request you to make time for the multi-religious body MCCBCHST. If you can find the time to meet their leaders regularly for some good-willed feedback,” he said.
On the other hand, Pakatan Rakyat component parties have been active in convening such dialogues and we were the first it in February 2010 attended by more than 100 religious leaders from all faiths.
On the other hand, the extremists in Umno who had demonstrated violently with a severed cow head against the building of a Hindu temple in Shah Alam on the basis that “a majority of the residents are Muslims”. Hishamuddin even held a meeting with the protestors in a show of support for them.
It is hence completely hypocritical for Johor Menteri Besar, Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman to call PAS extremists, and to claim that a vote for BN is a vote for moderation when it is clear that UMNO today represents the voice of the religious and racial extremist. It is PAS who has demonstrated itself to be part of the Malaysian moderate voice by supporting the use of Allah by non-Muslims and support inter-faith dialogues to promote religious understanding and harmony.
Moderate Malaysians must not be misled by the sweet rhetoric from BN leaders and instead make itself heard to protect the freedom of religion as enshrined in our Federal Constitution.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Double Standards in Azan Row
Double standards in azan row, says Pua
By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
The DAP national publicity secretary questioned if BN would have been forgiving if the controversy had involved a Pakatan Rakyat (PR) politician.
Yesterday, MCA lawyer Ng Kian Nam apologised for complaining about the volume of the “azan” from a mosque in Kampung Kerinchi here, and described the matter as a “misunderstanding’.
“I think the apology should be accepted. I don’t think the matter should be exploited or made into a big deal.
“The issue that Pakatan Rakyat has is not so much about the apology but the double stand that Umno politicians have. When it is an MCA rep, let’s close the case quickly and make sure the issue should not prolong,” Pua told reporters during a press conference here.
Ng said he had mistaken the pre-dawn sermon for the “azan”, which led him to send a letter of complaint to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on December 20 last year.
In the letter, the MCA Youth leader had suggested the authorities set specific guidelines to control the volume of the loudspeakers at mosques, saying that the “azan” often disturbed his sleep in the mornings.
This led to a protest by two Malay NGOs last Friday.
The issue was resolved yesterday when Ng met Lembah Pantai Umno division chief Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin as well as representatives from the NGOs which had protested against the lawyer.
However, Pua pointed out that the “azan” row would have made headlines in Umno-owned newspapers, especially Utusan Malaysia, if it had involved PR.
He said PR would have been attacked for religious insensitiveness and called a racist.
Click here for full article.
By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
The DAP national publicity secretary questioned if BN would have been forgiving if the controversy had involved a Pakatan Rakyat (PR) politician.
Yesterday, MCA lawyer Ng Kian Nam apologised for complaining about the volume of the “azan” from a mosque in Kampung Kerinchi here, and described the matter as a “misunderstanding’.
“I think the apology should be accepted. I don’t think the matter should be exploited or made into a big deal.
“The issue that Pakatan Rakyat has is not so much about the apology but the double stand that Umno politicians have. When it is an MCA rep, let’s close the case quickly and make sure the issue should not prolong,” Pua told reporters during a press conference here.
Ng said he had mistaken the pre-dawn sermon for the “azan”, which led him to send a letter of complaint to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on December 20 last year.
In the letter, the MCA Youth leader had suggested the authorities set specific guidelines to control the volume of the loudspeakers at mosques, saying that the “azan” often disturbed his sleep in the mornings.
This led to a protest by two Malay NGOs last Friday.
The issue was resolved yesterday when Ng met Lembah Pantai Umno division chief Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin as well as representatives from the NGOs which had protested against the lawyer.
However, Pua pointed out that the “azan” row would have made headlines in Umno-owned newspapers, especially Utusan Malaysia, if it had involved PR.
He said PR would have been attacked for religious insensitiveness and called a racist.
Click here for full article.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Utusan Loses the Plot
Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia has completely lost the plot with its daily extensive attacks against DAP and is the single largest hindrance to national unity
Never before in history has the DAP, a party Utusan Malaysia has previously regarded as irrelevant, become the object of obsession to the Umno-owned newspaper. In the last 3 of 4 days, the DAP made the front page of Utusan Malaysia with headlines like “Muslihat DAP”, “Guan Eng dikecam” and “Umat Islam perlu tolak DAP” on the 18, 20 and 21 December respectively.
Not only did the DAP and its leaders consistently make the frontpage, Utusan dedicated dozens of columns to DAP with titles such as “DAP perkudakan Anwar”, “DAP alat politik negara asing”, “DAP salur matlumat kepada Kuan Yew?”, “DAP gentar dengan 1Malaysia”, “DAP tiru strategi PAP”, “DAP yang sebenarnya memperalatkan 3R”, “DAP amal politik ala aparteid”, “Kebiadapan Guan Eng”, “Guan Eng semakin bersikap perkauman”, “Guan Eng perlu cermin diri” and more.
The above hasn't taken into account the fact that for the past year, Utusan has often granted DAP leaders exclusive frontpage coverage to Karpal Singh, Teo Nie Ching and even myself, for daring to suggest that the housing discount for the wealthy bumiputeras be channelled towards helping the bumiputera poor.
In fact, if one were to conduct a search of “DAP” in Utusan on Google based on the year of publication, 2007 will return 291 results, 2008 - 876 results, 2009 - 12,400 results and 2010 will give a record 29,800 results to date.
It is most laughable when Utusan had to plead to its readers not to boycott the paper due to “political sentiments” (“Pembaca akhbar tidak boleh terikut-ikut tindakan memboikot Utusan Malaysia kerana sentimen politik...”) and blame Pakatan Rakyat for its affected business. Circulation for Utusan has plummeted drastically in recent years from 256,247 in 2004 to 213,445 in 2006 and 169,548 in 2009 or a 33.8% drop in 5 years. Profit before tax for the newspaper group has also plunged from RM21 million to RM7 million over the past 4 years.
It appears that Utusan is attempting to rationalise its loss of readership due to external factors instead of looking inwards at their incessant racial posturing, outright lies and inflammatory headlines such as “Bangkitlah Melayu” as being the main causes. In fact, based on the statistics above, there is a correlation between the rapidly increasing attacks against the DAP and the rapidly declining circulation of the newspaper.
National Union of Journalists (NUJ) president Hata Wahari, who himself is a Utusan journalist had demanded that Utusan Malaysia abolish editorial policies which go against “journalistic ethics” in order to tackle a severe drop in its readership circulation. He claimed that the Malay daily’s reporting was “biased” in nature, saying that positive coverage revolved around Barisan Nasional (BN) while negative reports were specifically reserved for Pakatan Rakyat (PR). He added that Utusan also does not give an opportunity for an accused to answer certain allegations by choosing not to publish it.
Even the Minister in the Prime Minister’s department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had accused Utusan of becoming “racist” in its reporting in September this year.
In fact, Utusan is a proven liar with leading opposition figures, MP for Pokok Sena, Mahfuz Omar and Tenaganita Director, Irene Fernandez, awarded RM120,000 and RM200,000 in damages respectively in defamation suits against the paper. Dozens of other defamation suits are still waiting to be disposed in the courts.
The relentless attacks on the DAP only serves to prove that DAP and Pakatan Rakyat are making major inroads in proving to the people that we are not only competent in governance, we have proven that despite having a DAP chief minister in Penang, Malays and Muslims enjoy greater rights and benefits than under a BN administration. This is due to a more caring government, which is able to fund its welfare policies through more effective and efficient administration, as well as reducing wastage and corruption through open tenders for all government projects.
I had on 1 November 2010 challenged Utusan Malaysia to an open debate on its many allegations against the “racist” DAP. Unfortunately, the editors chose not to defend their allegations with facts and figures in the open but continued to throw baseless, wild and wicked accusations against the DAP. This proves that Utusan's cowardly agenda is to flood its readers with lies and half-truths against the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat for it has no ability or courage to withstand impartial public scrutiny.
The Prime Minister, despite his call for “moderation” in reporting, has failed to reign in his party's newspaper and his 1Malaysia policy will only fail as a result of Utusan's extremist and racist reporting.
Never before in history has the DAP, a party Utusan Malaysia has previously regarded as irrelevant, become the object of obsession to the Umno-owned newspaper. In the last 3 of 4 days, the DAP made the front page of Utusan Malaysia with headlines like “Muslihat DAP”, “Guan Eng dikecam” and “Umat Islam perlu tolak DAP” on the 18, 20 and 21 December respectively.
Not only did the DAP and its leaders consistently make the frontpage, Utusan dedicated dozens of columns to DAP with titles such as “DAP perkudakan Anwar”, “DAP alat politik negara asing”, “DAP salur matlumat kepada Kuan Yew?”, “DAP gentar dengan 1Malaysia”, “DAP tiru strategi PAP”, “DAP yang sebenarnya memperalatkan 3R”, “DAP amal politik ala aparteid”, “Kebiadapan Guan Eng”, “Guan Eng semakin bersikap perkauman”, “Guan Eng perlu cermin diri” and more.
The above hasn't taken into account the fact that for the past year, Utusan has often granted DAP leaders exclusive frontpage coverage to Karpal Singh, Teo Nie Ching and even myself, for daring to suggest that the housing discount for the wealthy bumiputeras be channelled towards helping the bumiputera poor.
In fact, if one were to conduct a search of “DAP” in Utusan on Google based on the year of publication, 2007 will return 291 results, 2008 - 876 results, 2009 - 12,400 results and 2010 will give a record 29,800 results to date.
It is most laughable when Utusan had to plead to its readers not to boycott the paper due to “political sentiments” (“Pembaca akhbar tidak boleh terikut-ikut tindakan memboikot Utusan Malaysia kerana sentimen politik...”) and blame Pakatan Rakyat for its affected business. Circulation for Utusan has plummeted drastically in recent years from 256,247 in 2004 to 213,445 in 2006 and 169,548 in 2009 or a 33.8% drop in 5 years. Profit before tax for the newspaper group has also plunged from RM21 million to RM7 million over the past 4 years.
It appears that Utusan is attempting to rationalise its loss of readership due to external factors instead of looking inwards at their incessant racial posturing, outright lies and inflammatory headlines such as “Bangkitlah Melayu” as being the main causes. In fact, based on the statistics above, there is a correlation between the rapidly increasing attacks against the DAP and the rapidly declining circulation of the newspaper.
National Union of Journalists (NUJ) president Hata Wahari, who himself is a Utusan journalist had demanded that Utusan Malaysia abolish editorial policies which go against “journalistic ethics” in order to tackle a severe drop in its readership circulation. He claimed that the Malay daily’s reporting was “biased” in nature, saying that positive coverage revolved around Barisan Nasional (BN) while negative reports were specifically reserved for Pakatan Rakyat (PR). He added that Utusan also does not give an opportunity for an accused to answer certain allegations by choosing not to publish it.
Even the Minister in the Prime Minister’s department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had accused Utusan of becoming “racist” in its reporting in September this year.
In fact, Utusan is a proven liar with leading opposition figures, MP for Pokok Sena, Mahfuz Omar and Tenaganita Director, Irene Fernandez, awarded RM120,000 and RM200,000 in damages respectively in defamation suits against the paper. Dozens of other defamation suits are still waiting to be disposed in the courts.
The relentless attacks on the DAP only serves to prove that DAP and Pakatan Rakyat are making major inroads in proving to the people that we are not only competent in governance, we have proven that despite having a DAP chief minister in Penang, Malays and Muslims enjoy greater rights and benefits than under a BN administration. This is due to a more caring government, which is able to fund its welfare policies through more effective and efficient administration, as well as reducing wastage and corruption through open tenders for all government projects.
I had on 1 November 2010 challenged Utusan Malaysia to an open debate on its many allegations against the “racist” DAP. Unfortunately, the editors chose not to defend their allegations with facts and figures in the open but continued to throw baseless, wild and wicked accusations against the DAP. This proves that Utusan's cowardly agenda is to flood its readers with lies and half-truths against the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat for it has no ability or courage to withstand impartial public scrutiny.
The Prime Minister, despite his call for “moderation” in reporting, has failed to reign in his party's newspaper and his 1Malaysia policy will only fail as a result of Utusan's extremist and racist reporting.
Monday, November 01, 2010
A Challenge for Utusan to Debate
DAP mencabar “Awang Selamat” untuk mengadakan pembahasan terbuka mengenai isu “DAP dan Melayu”
Sekali lagi pihak penyunting dan pemilik Utusan Malaysia menggunakan kolum “Awang Selamat” untuk melontar pelbagai fitnah, pembohongan dan tuduhan liar terhadap parti DAP. Ruang beliau dalam Mingguan Malaysia yang diterbitkan semalam mendesak bahawa
Sesungguhnya DAP adalah parti paling rasis di dunia. Pada Awang, ancaman DAP adalah jauh lebih berbahaya daripada apa-apa ancaman sekalipun yang pernah dihadapi dalam sejarah tanah air. Cuma bentuk penjajahan mereka lebih halus, berselindung atas slogan demokrasi dan tanpa menggunakan senjata. Tetapi implikasinya amat besar. Perlembagaan termasuk kedudukan Islam dan institusi beraja menjadi taruhan, yang akhirnya membawa Malaysia menuju negara republik. Apakah itu yang kita mahu?
Penyerangan Utusan yang dimiliki oleh Umno terhadap DAP kian lama kian ekstrim dan keterlaluan. Penyerangan mereka termasuklah penyerangan terhadap kerajaan Pulau Pinang atas dasar kebajikan, pengambil-alihan tanah untuk membina hub pendidikan, isu penjaja-penjaja dan lain-lain perkara di mana kami dituduh menghalau orang Melayu dari Pulau Pinang. Utusan Malaysia juga telah menyerang bertubi-tubi terhadap pemimpin DAP yang lain termasuklah Ahli Parlimen Serdang, Teo Nie Ching yang difitnah memberikan takzirah dalam surau, dan juga saya sendiri yang dikatakan berniat untuk menghapuskan hak diskaun beli rumah bumiputera.
Demi mengemukakan kebenaran dan keadilan, saya ingin mencabar “Awang Selamat”, yang boleh diwakili oleh sesiapa daripada Utusan Malaysia untuk mengambil bahagian dalam satu perbahasan terbuka mengenai desakan-desakan Utusan dan Umno mengenai “DAP dan Melayu”.
Penyunting dan pemilik Utusan Malaysia tidak sepatutnya menyembunyikan diri mereka yang sebenar di belakang nama pena dan meluahkan pelbagai tuduhan tanpa berasas seperti penembak curi. Kami ingin memberikan peluang terbuka kepada pihak Utusan Malaysia untuk membela pendirian mereka seperti hulubalang kaum yang tulen, dan bukannya bertindak sebagai pengecut apabila menghadapi cabaran.
Kami dari DAP ingin membuktikan bukan sahaja bahawa kami tidak bertindak rasis, kami telah bersama dengan rakan seperjuangan kami di Pakatan Rakyat, menambah baikkan nasib orang Melayu bukan sahaja di Pulau Pinang tetapi juga di negeri lain di mana DAP merupakan sebahagian daripada kerajaan negeri.
Kami ingin membongkarkan bukti-bukti yang kukuh yang menunjukkan sesungguhnya Utusan Malaysia merupakan suratkhabar yang paling rasis di seluruh dunia ancaman Utusan adalah jauh lebih berbahaya daripada apa-apa ancaman sekalipun yang pernah dihadapi dalam sejarah tanah air.
Kami berani kerana benar dan kami berharap supaya pihak Utusan mempunyai keberanian yang mencukupi untuk menghadapi pihak DAP yang dikatakan sebagai musuh utama mereka. Penolakan peluang untuk pembahasan terbuka ini hanya akan menunjukkan bahawa pihak Utusan tidak berintegriti, dan tidak mampu mempertahankan pendirian mereka yang bersifat fitnah dan rasis.
Pembahasan ini boleh dianjurkan oleh mana-mana pihak bebas termasuk Kesatuan Wartawan Nasional (NUJ) ataupun TV3 dan format pembahasan boleh dipersetujui sebelum acara tersebut. Kami sedia menunggu berita baik daripada pihak Utusan Malaysia.
Sekali lagi pihak penyunting dan pemilik Utusan Malaysia menggunakan kolum “Awang Selamat” untuk melontar pelbagai fitnah, pembohongan dan tuduhan liar terhadap parti DAP. Ruang beliau dalam Mingguan Malaysia yang diterbitkan semalam mendesak bahawa
Sesungguhnya DAP adalah parti paling rasis di dunia. Pada Awang, ancaman DAP adalah jauh lebih berbahaya daripada apa-apa ancaman sekalipun yang pernah dihadapi dalam sejarah tanah air. Cuma bentuk penjajahan mereka lebih halus, berselindung atas slogan demokrasi dan tanpa menggunakan senjata. Tetapi implikasinya amat besar. Perlembagaan termasuk kedudukan Islam dan institusi beraja menjadi taruhan, yang akhirnya membawa Malaysia menuju negara republik. Apakah itu yang kita mahu?
Penyerangan Utusan yang dimiliki oleh Umno terhadap DAP kian lama kian ekstrim dan keterlaluan. Penyerangan mereka termasuklah penyerangan terhadap kerajaan Pulau Pinang atas dasar kebajikan, pengambil-alihan tanah untuk membina hub pendidikan, isu penjaja-penjaja dan lain-lain perkara di mana kami dituduh menghalau orang Melayu dari Pulau Pinang. Utusan Malaysia juga telah menyerang bertubi-tubi terhadap pemimpin DAP yang lain termasuklah Ahli Parlimen Serdang, Teo Nie Ching yang difitnah memberikan takzirah dalam surau, dan juga saya sendiri yang dikatakan berniat untuk menghapuskan hak diskaun beli rumah bumiputera.
Demi mengemukakan kebenaran dan keadilan, saya ingin mencabar “Awang Selamat”, yang boleh diwakili oleh sesiapa daripada Utusan Malaysia untuk mengambil bahagian dalam satu perbahasan terbuka mengenai desakan-desakan Utusan dan Umno mengenai “DAP dan Melayu”.
Penyunting dan pemilik Utusan Malaysia tidak sepatutnya menyembunyikan diri mereka yang sebenar di belakang nama pena dan meluahkan pelbagai tuduhan tanpa berasas seperti penembak curi. Kami ingin memberikan peluang terbuka kepada pihak Utusan Malaysia untuk membela pendirian mereka seperti hulubalang kaum yang tulen, dan bukannya bertindak sebagai pengecut apabila menghadapi cabaran.
Kami dari DAP ingin membuktikan bukan sahaja bahawa kami tidak bertindak rasis, kami telah bersama dengan rakan seperjuangan kami di Pakatan Rakyat, menambah baikkan nasib orang Melayu bukan sahaja di Pulau Pinang tetapi juga di negeri lain di mana DAP merupakan sebahagian daripada kerajaan negeri.
Kami ingin membongkarkan bukti-bukti yang kukuh yang menunjukkan sesungguhnya Utusan Malaysia merupakan suratkhabar yang paling rasis di seluruh dunia ancaman Utusan adalah jauh lebih berbahaya daripada apa-apa ancaman sekalipun yang pernah dihadapi dalam sejarah tanah air.
Kami berani kerana benar dan kami berharap supaya pihak Utusan mempunyai keberanian yang mencukupi untuk menghadapi pihak DAP yang dikatakan sebagai musuh utama mereka. Penolakan peluang untuk pembahasan terbuka ini hanya akan menunjukkan bahawa pihak Utusan tidak berintegriti, dan tidak mampu mempertahankan pendirian mereka yang bersifat fitnah dan rasis.
Pembahasan ini boleh dianjurkan oleh mana-mana pihak bebas termasuk Kesatuan Wartawan Nasional (NUJ) ataupun TV3 dan format pembahasan boleh dipersetujui sebelum acara tersebut. Kami sedia menunggu berita baik daripada pihak Utusan Malaysia.
Monday, October 04, 2010
UMNO Elected Reps Pay Check Also From "Dubious Sources"
All Umno Elected Representatives nationwide should immediately return all their salaries to the Government as they come from non-halal sources
The recent controversy created by Umno politicians over the welfare funds given to old folks and the poor in Pulau Pinang, that it was derived from non-halal sources such as gambling, shows that they are willing to be the biggest hypocrites in order to maintain their grip on power.
Firstly, the state government has clearly denied that such funds were used for distribution to Muslims, which means that these Umno politicians are lying through their teeth to gain political mileage.
Secondly and more importantly, their attempt to distinguish halal and non-halal revenue for Penang smacks of ultimate hypocrisy as the Federal Government headed by Umno, the Finance Minister who is also Umno President, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak are the parties responsible for legalised gambling in this country. Furthermore, had it not been for the opposition by Pakatan Rakyat, Najib would not have withdrawn the sports betting license awarded to Tan Sri Vincent Tan.
What's more, the Finance Ministry has responded in Parliament to MP for Rasah, Anthony Loke on 9 Jun 2010 that the Government does not in any way differentiate the tax it receives from different revenue sources, be they from halal or non-halal activities.
"Untuk makluman Yang Berhormat, buat masa ini, hasil daripada aktiviti perjudian adalah dikategorikan sebagai hasil cukai kepada Kerajaan... Bagi semua hasil daripada bayaran cukai ia akan dimasukkan ke dalam Akaun Hasil Disatukan sama seperti semua hasil Kerajaan yang lain dan digunakan untuk tujuan belanja mengurus dan pembangunan negara."
This means that all tax revenue collected are deposited into a single Consolidated Fund.
Hence, by virtue of the same argument Umno is using in Penang, all Umno elected representatives should immediately return all their parliamentary and state assembly allowances to the Government as the revenue source is even more dubious than in Penang!
Penang state opposition leader, Datuk Azahar obviously could tell the difference when he claimed that "Umno assemblymen need not return their allowances as the state government’s income was from tax revenue." He's obviously ignorant of the fact, intentionally or otherwise, that taxes are paid to the federal government which are then redistributed back to the respective states as grants and loans.
The irresponsible actions of these Umno leaders who have raised these religious issues to create fear in the hearts of Muslims purely for political expediency has only resulted in another own goal for themselves making them look completely stupid and foolish. It is Umno who approves all gambling licenses in the country, and it is the Umno Federal Government who uses tax revenue, regardless of source, to pay for all government expenses, including allowances of elected representatives and salaries of Ministers and civil servants.
These Umno leaders should not only return their allowances back to the Government, they should also demand that for future infrastructure projects such as highways built by the Federal Government, there should be lanes designated for Muslims and non-Muslims based on the proportionate breakdown of source of revenue used to build the roads.
All right thinking Malaysians should of course reject these ridiculous thoughts by Umno leaders to ensure that Malaysia don't become even more divided than it already is today.
The recent controversy created by Umno politicians over the welfare funds given to old folks and the poor in Pulau Pinang, that it was derived from non-halal sources such as gambling, shows that they are willing to be the biggest hypocrites in order to maintain their grip on power.
Firstly, the state government has clearly denied that such funds were used for distribution to Muslims, which means that these Umno politicians are lying through their teeth to gain political mileage.
Secondly and more importantly, their attempt to distinguish halal and non-halal revenue for Penang smacks of ultimate hypocrisy as the Federal Government headed by Umno, the Finance Minister who is also Umno President, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak are the parties responsible for legalised gambling in this country. Furthermore, had it not been for the opposition by Pakatan Rakyat, Najib would not have withdrawn the sports betting license awarded to Tan Sri Vincent Tan.
What's more, the Finance Ministry has responded in Parliament to MP for Rasah, Anthony Loke on 9 Jun 2010 that the Government does not in any way differentiate the tax it receives from different revenue sources, be they from halal or non-halal activities.
"Untuk makluman Yang Berhormat, buat masa ini, hasil daripada aktiviti perjudian adalah dikategorikan sebagai hasil cukai kepada Kerajaan... Bagi semua hasil daripada bayaran cukai ia akan dimasukkan ke dalam Akaun Hasil Disatukan sama seperti semua hasil Kerajaan yang lain dan digunakan untuk tujuan belanja mengurus dan pembangunan negara."
This means that all tax revenue collected are deposited into a single Consolidated Fund.
Hence, by virtue of the same argument Umno is using in Penang, all Umno elected representatives should immediately return all their parliamentary and state assembly allowances to the Government as the revenue source is even more dubious than in Penang!
Penang state opposition leader, Datuk Azahar obviously could tell the difference when he claimed that "Umno assemblymen need not return their allowances as the state government’s income was from tax revenue." He's obviously ignorant of the fact, intentionally or otherwise, that taxes are paid to the federal government which are then redistributed back to the respective states as grants and loans.
The irresponsible actions of these Umno leaders who have raised these religious issues to create fear in the hearts of Muslims purely for political expediency has only resulted in another own goal for themselves making them look completely stupid and foolish. It is Umno who approves all gambling licenses in the country, and it is the Umno Federal Government who uses tax revenue, regardless of source, to pay for all government expenses, including allowances of elected representatives and salaries of Ministers and civil servants.
These Umno leaders should not only return their allowances back to the Government, they should also demand that for future infrastructure projects such as highways built by the Federal Government, there should be lanes designated for Muslims and non-Muslims based on the proportionate breakdown of source of revenue used to build the roads.
All right thinking Malaysians should of course reject these ridiculous thoughts by Umno leaders to ensure that Malaysia don't become even more divided than it already is today.
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