Press fears over Malaysia blogs lawsuit

A defamation lawsuit against two Malaysian bloggers by a pro-government daily has alarmed media watchdogs who say it is a landmark assault on Internet free expression.

The move by the English-language New Straits Times Press (NSTP) is the first time bloggers have been taken to court for their comments on the Internet in Malaysia, where the media is already tightly controlled.

The Southeast Asia Press Alliance (SEAPA) said it viewed the suit against the two well-known bloggers – Jeff Ooi who writes the "Screenshots" blog and Ahirudin Attan of "Rocky's Bru" – with deep concern.

"It will impact on Malaysians' access to diverse and independent news, commentary, and information, and will also adversely affect the Internet as a medium for free expression in a country where much of the mainstream press is owned and influenced by political parties and government itself," it said.

Reporters Without Borders, an international media watchdog which lists Malaysia 92nd out of 168 nations on its worldwide press freedom index, urged New Straits Times CEO Syed Faisal Albar to intervene.

"You will surely accept that, even if they do not share your opinions, the disappearance of the blogs produced by these two outspoken bloggers, Ooi and Ahiruddin, would be a loss to the Malaysian media world," it said.

"We believe that this case is groundless," it said, adding that "it looks to us as though legal procedures are being used as a way of silencing two of your newspaper's critics."

Ooi has been blogging critically about the government since 2003, and won the Reporters Without Borders Blog Award for Asia shortly after.

Ahirudin was the executive editor of the Malay Mail, a newspaper under the NSTP, who started "Rocky's Bru" after leaving the news group in 2006.

SEAPA said that while the plaintiffs – the NSTP and three senior figures in the group – have the right to seek redress against any harm to their reputation, "their suit against the bloggers attacks the burgeoning movement of independent writing itself".
The New Straits Times confirmed in an article on Friday that the legal action was filed and that it was in relation to certain articles and posts that had been published.

Ooi said on Saturday that he was working with his lawyers but declined to comment on his case, which will be heard on January 30. Ahirudin, whose case goes to court on January 25, could not be reached for comment.

Malaysia's parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang warned that the suit would have a "chilling effect" on the freedom of bloggers.

"As these are the first two cases of Malaysian bloggers being sued for defamation, it will have far-reaching consequences for the healthy, mature and democratic growth for free speech and expression," he said.

Rights group Aliran said it was disturbed by the repercussions the suit might have on Malaysian blogging circles, which have become an important outlet for alternative views.

"Bloggers may feel pressured to exercise more self-censorship and caution, and this might deter them from exposing abuse of power and corruption at the highest levels," it said.

(Source: Channel News Asia)



SEAPA concerned by first libel suit against bloggers

The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) viewed with grave concern a landmark suit in Malaysia filed on 4 January 2007 by a major news group and its top executives against two bloggers for "defamation" and "malicious falsehoods".

"We sees this case as going beyond the interests of private entities. It will impact on Malaysians' access to diverse and independent news, commentary, and information, and will also adversely affect the Internet as a medium for free expression in a country where much of the mainstream press is owned and influenced by political parties and government itself," said SEAPA Executive Director Roby Alampay on 19 January.

While the plaintiffs, the New Straits Times Press (NSTP), its Deputy Chairperson Kalimullah Hassan, Group Editor-in-Chief Hishamuddin Aun and former group editor Brenden Pereira, have the right to seek redress against any harm done to their reputation, "their suit against the bloggers attacks the burgeoning movement of independent writing itself," said Alampay.

The two bloggers being sued, Jeff Ooi and Ahirudin Attan, have been actively exposing ethical issues pertaining to the traditional media that, because of government control, have little room for dissenting views.

Ooi has been blogging critically and controversially of the government and public figures on his "Screenshots" blog since 2003, winning the Reporters Without Borders Freedom Blog Award for Asia soon after.

Ahirudin was the executive editor of the "Malay Mail", a newspaper under the NSTP, who started his "Rocky's Bru" blog after leaving the news group following a financial and structural revamp in early 2006. He has been the president of the National Press Club since 2003.

An 11 January exparte injunction has also been issued, ordering Ooi to remove 13 allegedly defamatory postings about the plaintiffs on his blog by 17 January.

Ooi has also been barred from publishing the same or similar postings until the defamation suit against him is settled. An interparte hearing of the application for an injunction against Ooi will be heard on 30 January.

In the suit against Ahirudin, NSTP Chief Executive Officer Syed Faisal Syed Albar is an additional plaintiff. An injunction ordering for the removal of 48 allegedly defamatory postings from Ahirudin's blog will be heard on 25 January.

SEAPA is concerned that the lawsuits and injunctions will have a detrimental effect in encouraging open public debate and legitimate criticism in matters of public interest. Freedom of expression is a democratic feature that has long been suppressed in Malaysia though a whiff of it has spread in recent years, thanks in large part to the Internet. With the Internet being the focus of the latest lawsuits, however, the boundaries for free speech have reverted to as before.

SEAPA called on the NSTP, as a public entity that often speaks for the Malaysian government in compliance with the role of "development journalism" relegated to traditional media in the country, to hold up to more scrutiny from citizens. SEAPA also urged the aggrieved plaintiffs to respect and uphold free expression, and seek less restrictive means to assert their rights.

- SEAPA

The ordeal of the inhuman treatment

Please read the following report on one of the Americans wrongly detained by our immigration officers.

Quoted from Malaysiakini:

Victim of racial profiling
Jan 4, 07 4:36pm

Despite being a well-decorated Gulf War veteran, retired US Navy Yahweh Passim Nam said he was scared after he was held by the immigration officers.

I arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 9, 2006 from Bali, Indonesia, traveling on vacation. I stopped in KL to see the wonderful Twin Towers.

On Nov 16, at 7.20pm I was walking in Chinatown in KL, going to a flower
shop to purchase a vase for some flowers I had previously bought for the
hostel manager at the Red Dragon Inn.

At that time, I was approached by two men each about 5 feet 11 inches tall in civilian clothes. One grabbed my arm on the left side with a firm grip and asked me to come with them, the other was asking for my passport. At this time I became scared thinking that I was about to be robbed. I told
them my passport is in my hotel locked up in a safe place.

I thought I could manhandle them and raise my voice so that someone else
could help me or break away or hopefully I would get the attention of a policeman in uniform. I asked the man to my left ‘who are you and why do you want me to come with you’, the man on my left said they were the police and
they needed to see my passport.

At that time I pointed to my hotel which was just a block away from the flower shop and said ‘my hotel is just there’, which was the opposite way they wanted me to go. I told them in plain English ‘I am a US citizen, escort me to my hotel and I will proof this’. I was ignored as I walked
about 20 feet with these men.

The firm grip on my arm became firmer and at this time both men were holding each arm and when I started to resist I noticed one of the men reaching for some handcuffs on his waist. I said in a loud outburst I am an American
citizen before I go anywhere I want see some identification or a badge or something to proof that I was being escorted/carried off against my will by an official of the government.

At this time, a crowd had formed around me and the men. I thought finally someone has heard my cry. My eyes were almost in tears. I asked again, ‘please let me see some identification’. The man that was reaching for his
handcuffs instead reached for his wallet and only showed me what looked like a fake ID card with no police insignia or a badge that looked official.

At this time I started talking loudly at people in the crowd to please help me. ‘I am an American citizen here on holiday and these men are trying to rob me, and my passport is my hotel within walking distance.’

One of the people in the crowd said to the men to take me to my hotel and
let me get my passport. At this time, it was like the men became more on a mission to get me to go with them instead of believing what I was saying and what the crowd was telling them. I thought, well, if I was being robbed they
would only get my credit card and my money because my passport was locked up in my hotel in a safe place.

I was taken to an unknown location under a bridge. This is where the story started to unfold a bit. There I saw a military truck of some sort with a big cage on the back of it containing about 10 to 15 African men, ages 18 and up and a congregation of Malaysian men with walkie talkies.

I was thinking either I was a victim of some sort of racial profiling or victim of some hate group that was killing all the Africans because I had yet to see something of proof that I was being arrested or taken in to custody by some official of the government.

I was scared! I had started to try and remember faces of the people involved but it was just so many men that looked like the same nationality/race. At that time, I was taken to what seemed to be the leader of the ‘klan’, also in civilian clothes. This man had a walkie talkie a bandanna tied around his
head, and a official-looking badge hanging around his neck.

I said to myself finally, someone who looks like they are in charge or a government employee, I said to him in a calm voice ‘I am an American citizen. There must have been a mistake or something, my passport is in my hotel at the Red Dragon Hostel’.

These two men apprehended me and brought me here, if you need to see proof of my citizenship please escort me to my hotel and this misunderstanding can be rectified. It didn’t seem as if he was paying any attention to what I was
saying, just my skin colour and my facial features. He was answering his cell phone in one hand and a walkie talkie in the other hand talking in another language, all while looking at me with a facial feature of hate.

He said to me ‘where is your passport’ as if he didn’t hear what I just said in plain English. I said again my passport was in my hotel and that I am an American citizen. ‘I arrived in KL from Bali, Indonesia on Nov 9.’ He said to me in a hateful voice ‘if you are an American citizen, why don’t you have
your passport on you?’ I told him ‘just in case I get robbed, I locked it in my hotel room. Please just escort me back there to prove this.’

Another man who seemed to be the second in charge said very loudly, ‘What is your passport number?’ (The two guys who escorted me there were still holding my arms with a tight grip.) I had to think for a minute … social security number … driver’s licence number … oh yeah, passport number…. hmmmmmmmmmmm I said while closing my eyes 1-2-1-0-4-5-…

By the time I got that out, I guess my time limit was up, he gave a signal to his goons to have me placed in the truck. After being locked up with all the other dark faces on the truck I knew the right to due process, including freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention had been violated.

I did my best to become relaxed. After being on that truck and being locked up like an animal, I started to assess the whole situation. It seemed obvious that this was some sort of unorganised mission/sting by the immigration officials of Malaysia to round up Africans.

Time stood still. I thought KL is definitely not a place in the world where I can feel free, sort of like I feel when I’m back home in the United States in Mississippi - the place where Oprah Winfrey was born. I hope she reads this.

Anyhow the truck began getting packed and more packed, some were kicking and screaming, and most were handcuffed. Most of the men were well-dressed and
seemed to be coming from work, school, or walking with their
girlfriends/wives before being entrapped.

I still did not give up. I thought I’m an American I’m not one of these guys, there has been a mistake. I kept trying to communicate through the screen cage, ‘I’m an American, you have made mistake’. That was when I heard a familiar voice coming from the dark in the back of the truck.

He said: ‘I’m American too. Let us out.’ I looked at him and asked where he was from, he said Maryland, Washington DC. ‘My name is Wayne.’ My eyes watered. I thought of the saying ‘true misery loves company’. We sat and
exchanged stories on how we were ambushed and brought to the truck. His (experience) was little more rougher than mine but the fact remain we were unheard African prisoners.

After a couple of more failed and ignored attempts to say we were Americans and to let us out. I decided to lay down in the truck and save my breath, because it looked like we were headed for the long ride to the ‘Upper Room’.

After it seemed as if the immigration officers had met their quota, we were taken to another place to round up more individuals. The officers who seemed to be rent-a-cops with no badges went off to get something to eat, congratulating themselves on a job well done. We sat in that truck for a
little over three hours being transferred from one place to another.

After we reached the third place which seemed like an alley in an undisclosed place, we were escorted off two by two handcuffed to each other. I was handcuffed to Wayne. We were asked to write our names and nationalities on a piece of paper. At that time Wayne produced a copy of his
passport which was taken and disregarded like whatever. That was when I thought this was it. Death was surely at the next stop.

We were transferred to another caged truck. I still felt like this was all too strange and we were not being held by any government officials. No rights had been explained to me and at least five hours had passed.

By this time it was 1.30am. We were given sodas and bread was thrown into the cage. It was like trying to feed a freshly captured monkey expecting him to eat while passing him food through the little holes in the cage. I thought if this was a government agency and whether it was complying with
the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.

Okay, after another long, cold and bumpy ride with about 25 other men, we arrived at a place that looked as if it was a third world concentration camp. We waited at the gate for about 30 minutes because it looked like no one had the key to get in, like no one knew we were coming. After entering
this compound, I noticed concertina razor and barbed wire along the tops of the fence. I said to Wayne maybe we were actually at a government agency. We were then escorted off the bus and locked into cages again, this time a huge
cage.

I could hear the guards talking in another language, but I could not understand them. All I could understand was the hatred in the tone-of-voice used. I tried to remain calm but being a well decorated veteran from the Persian Gulf War, Desert Storm/Desert Shield 1990/91, I thought back to my
military training and becoming a prisoner of war. Post-traumatic stress disorder had taken over again.

I started thinking of ways to escape and how to take out the guards. I thought to myself to remain calm and that this was all just a misunderstanding. I kept talking to Wayne about football/NFL and Dallas vs the New York Giants - anything to get our minds off the present situation.

We stayed in that cage until 9am Nov 17. With no toilets we were allowed to urinate outside the gate on the grass like animals, a demonstration of inhumane treatment. After looking around, I noticed that there were cages
full of humans of all different races. We were then taken out of the cage and processed. Finger printing and picture taking went on.

We were also told to put all our belongings in a plastic bag. Finally we were told we would be there at least two weeks for processing and we would not be able to talk to an immigration officer until Monday because it was
Friday. After we were told that, I kept trying to explain to the guard that I’m an American citizen and I would like to contact my embassy now. My cries were unheard again.

Then came the time to be escorted to the permanent holding area. Wayne was assigned to the B block and I was assigned to the A block. I told Wayne my email address and he told me his. We thought that this was it. My eyes watered again I asked the guard to see the immigration officer again, and
somehow it seem as if he could feel my pain. I talked to the immigration officer and he obtained the number and address to the Red Dragon Hostel.

I talked with Jennie (the hostel manager) to get my passport out of my room and send it by cab. The officer also called Irene at the United States embassy in KL and she asked for my name, birth date and place of birth. Almost in tears of joy, I told her everything she asked for.

Irene asked if I had been physically abused, I said no besides from scratches from the handcuffs, the thought of (mental abuse) didn’t come to my mind until I left the country and locked myself in my hotel room. I also said that there was another American already locked up. Then the officers
went to get Wayne.

After she faxed the documents proving that I was an American, I was still in handcuffs. They still wanted me to produce a passport. The head immigration officer asked again why didn’t I have my passport on me. I said because I
read on the Internet that I was supposed to leave passports in the hotel safe. The city centre of KL has had several incidents of snatch thefts recently.

At about 4pm, Wayne and I were apologised to on several occasions by most of the staff at the holding camp and then transferred to the immigration office downtown where the immigration officers found our situation somewhat
amusing. My eyes watered again but this time in disgust and anger. I told them this not a laughing matter. I was in business clothes I had wore the day before with no shower.

I told them to stop laughing because this was not a laughing matter. I was appalled at their behaviour. I wanted to get back to my hotel room and reserve the next flight out of the country. This type of humiliation and treatment will not be accepted by an American citizen. This incident will be
heard. The treatment, and the conditions in that camp were both sub-standard and intolerable.

After I arrived in Bangkok, Thailand on Nov 19, I checked myself in my hotel room and locked the door behind me. I noticed that I had developed a xenophobia towards Malaysians.

My goal now is to make sure that this incident is seen on a worldwide scale and not ignored. My regards to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Another story, DR Hsu's "one little, two little, three little Napoleons"

Quote;

My sister who worked in Singapore for more than 20 years came back recently to visit us.

Despite working in Singapre for so many years , she is still a Malaysian citizen even though that status has cost her many promotion chances.

She did not know that all Malaysians are required to change to new IC (MyCard) until we told her. This is partly my fault as I should have informed her in 2005.

So on Wednesday, she went to the National Registration Dept in PJ to change her IC to mycard. A staff there told her that she cannot change the ic now unless she passed an interview. She was given an interview date to come back at the end of the month.

When I heard about this, I was furious. We called up a friend who works in the NRD in Putrajaya, and he was also shocked. Through the help of the kind person, my sister collected her new mycard on the next day without any further hustle. From what I understand, those who reside in foreign countries can change their IC when they return home, without any fines or interview even though the dateline for local Malaysian has passed. Singapore, though near to us, is still technically a foreign country.

Why did this staff try to create so much trouble for a fellow Malaysian? I cannot understand the mentality. We were taught to be helpful to others. Perhaps this fellow never receives such teaching at home or in school. No wonder in the recent Readers Digest courtecy rating (read my article: Excellence , have we lost the urge?) , we are the third rudest country.

There are many such little napoleons around in the civil service as acknowledged even by the Prime Minister. They abuse their power and some of them are outright racist. There may also be some who try to create hurdles for people in the hope that people will offer them bribes.

Perhaps the whole system needs to be overhauled. The civil service must be made more multiracial, more efficient, more transparent, more courteous. Civil servants should understand that people are their bosses , and they should try their best to help the people and not otherwise.

Another incidence involving civil servants were reported by the BBC on the 3rd this month regarding the wrongful arrest and detention of 2 American citizens who have valid visa to visit our country.

This has become a world headline. This happens when the country is trying to promote itself through VISIT MALAYSIA YEAR 2007. This is like shooting ourselves in our feet. This arrest could have been avoided by just checking the passports!

Sigh, Malaysia Bodoh !!


Malaysia VMY2007 Human rights

The Sleepy man

Regularly, every day he does his daily dizzling.
He always looks forward to the yawn of a new day.

Abdullah Badawi had bought much openness and transparency to his administration, while on the international stage the PM had established greater rapport with world leaders, especially the superpowers. “This new climate has spurred the economy, more so with new growth corridors and sectors created,” said Umno Information chief Senator Tan Sri Muhammad Muhamad Taib.

“Wherever in the world, leaders are bound to have some weaknesses. That’s a norm. But to say that there is widespread opposition to his leadership, I disagree,” he said, adding that Abdullah’s leadership style fitted in well with the prevailing situation in the country and the world.

“The Cabinet is solidly behind him if compared to the time Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah mounted a challenge against Dr Mahathir who was just in his fifth year as prime minister. Half the Cabinet supported Tengku Razaleigh.”

“I notice Abdullah is very firm in determining the direction of the country. If some people say he has lost direction, I disagree. Abdullah is very clear in where he wants to go,” he said.

Lecturer Dr Sivamurugan Pandian of the School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, said :

"His plans are excellent and practical. But he is being let down by poor implementation."

"The policymakers, the ones who execute it and the target group are three distinct bodies. What happens is that sometimes the policymakers fail to explain the fundamentals of the policies to the executing agencies.

"Those who are supposed to implement the plans would either take their own time in executing the plans, or because they do not have a clear idea what the policies intend to achieve, carry it out halfway. And this is where the policies fail."

Okay, give PM's "half past six" govrernment a chance to prove ' Malaysia Boleh'.



Tun Dr. Mahathir, the 'old man' was in power for 22 years, he wanted Malaysians to become productive, not to sleep. and, now, Mahathir discovers that Malaysia has a Prime Minister who sleeps.

He is late for appointments because he is still sleeping. Important visitors have to wait two hours because the Prime Minister has not woken up from sleep yet. The Prime Minister sleeps during important meetings and at public functions, in full view of 1,000 guests.

This is not Mahathir. This is something Mahathir cannot tolerate. And for the Prime Minister of Malaysia to do this is something Mahathir cannot accept. Of course, it is not wrong to sleep, especially when you are not in the best of health like Abdullah. But when the cat is away, the mouse is at play -- or rather the rat;

Okay, forget about the Crooked Bridge, the supply of sand to Singapore, the SAF flights over Malaysian airspace, the APs, Proton, MV Agusta, and all those other bones of contention. We have spoken about them at length and most by now know the issues involved.

As he enters his fourth year as prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi still does not get it! He is concerned with his son-in-law’s pot of rice, not that of the rakyat. Since he cannot brag about the nation’s economic achievements under his leadership, he is reduced to boasting of his son’s wealth. There is no glory if his son (and son-in-law) were rich but the nation poor.

Someone ought to tell him that he was elected to lead Malaysia, not to take care of the well-being of his grown-up family, its friends and cronies. His advisers and family members have convinced him that those critics are out to bring him down. If Abdullah persists with his present pattern, rest assured that this belief would be self-fulfilling.

Abdullah is impervious to the plight of the poor devastated by his recent reduction of oil subsidy. The demands by civil servants for a 40 percent pay hike reflect the general increasing cost and declining standard of living.

Gone are his promises of open tenders and competitive bidding. Mega-projects like the second Penang link and the new palace are being awarded without much discussion or formal tender processes. He has yet to deny disbursing RM600 million to Umno operatives at the recent general assembly, the most obscene and expensive display of money politics.

About ten months after the cancellation of the crooked bridge in Johor and there is still no full accounting of the total costs, including the hefty penalty payments. He spent hundreds of millions on the Monsoon Cup for a sporting event that hardly registered on the Malaysian consciousness.

Abdullah’s self-admitted poor time management is not an acceptable excuse. His frequent and obvious inattention and dozing off should not be tolerated. If the burden of the office is too much for Abdullah, his advisors, ministers, and senior Umno politicians owe it to the nation to tell the man to give it up and let others more capable take the helm.

This is not the time to be nice to any one individual; it is a time to be nice and considerate to all Malaysians and to worry about their pot of rice. To remain competitive, Malaysians, leaders and followers alike, must work hard and smart. Malaysia does not need nor should it tolerate sleepy heads.


Held up by bloopers - NST
Abdullah Brings A New Climate In Leadership And Administration - Bernama

Malaysia Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Tun Mahathir

Death of religious tolerance in Malaysia

Funded by Arab oil money and planned by our friends the Saudis, the Wahhabi creed is spreading throughout Southeast Asia, replacing the traditionally tolerant version of Islam practiced in the region with a violent, medieval supremacism: Death of religious tolerance in Malaysia.

LAWYER Malik Imtiaz Sawar seems a most unlikely person to attract death threats. A small, softly spoken, friendly man, the impression he gives is above all one of consideration.
What has earned him the death threats is his appearance in court on behalf of Lina Joy, a case that has become a battleground of Malaysian political and cultural identity, and of freedom of religion.

The case highlights what some analysts believe is the Arabisation of Malaysian Islam, a dynamic that can also be seen in Indonesia.

Lina Joy was once a Muslim but has converted to Christianity. She didn't do so to make any broad point or to lead any social movement. It was entirely a private decision. But in Malaysia the state takes official notice of your race and religion.

Lina Joy tried to get herself deregistered as a Muslim and reregistered as a Christian. As a Muslim she is not allowed to marry a Christian man and any children she has must be brought up as Muslims.

When the state authorities refused to accept her conversion she appealed to the courts on the basis of Article 11 of the Malaysian constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion.

The case, in which judgment could be given at any time, has polarised Malaysia. Many Muslims believe apostasy - changing your religion - is not only a sin but should be punishable by death.

Imtiaz told The Australian that traditionally Malaysia was pragmatic and liberal about such matters. Apostasy would always cause a social reaction but if a Malaysian converted they could make this official by changing their name and publicising the change.

In recent years, however, a body of case law has grown up that requires a Malaysian to go before a sharia - Muslim religious - court to get a kind of exit permit from the religion.

Sharia courts, Imtiaz argues, were only ever meant to consider a fairly narrow range of family matters exclusively for Muslims, not to impinge fundamentally on a citizen's relationship to the state.

But the Lina Joy case, and a raft of others involving similar issues, have touched off a wave of Islamist activism in Malaysia. There has been a rash of anti-apostasy campaigns. Islamic defenders' groups, mirroring those in Indonesia but without the violence, have been set up.

A crazy text message spread to the effect that there was to be a mass baptism of Islamic converts in northern Malaysia. It led to much hysteria but was baseless.

Then came the death threats to Imtiaz, a Muslim, with posters branding him an enemy of Islam and urging his murder.

It is important not to exaggerate Malaysia's problems. Malaysia remains a mostly peaceful, prosperous and law-abiding society in which the different races and religions mostly rub along OK. But there is a good deal of evidence that popular Malay Muslim attitudes are hardening, are being at least somewhat Arabised.

A well conducted survey of Malay attitudes recently found that a majority of Malays think of themselves first as Muslims, rather than as Malays or Malaysians, the one civic identity that embraces all of Malaysia's races and religions.

The same survey also shows that Malays tend to conceive of Malaysia as an Islamic state, and want it in the future to be more Islamic. Similarly, while supporting freedom of religion, there is little community support for the idea that a Muslim has the right to change their religion.

Says Noordin, a young Malaysian working in the non-government sector: "When I was growing up here there weren't as many people cloaked in religious piety. In Malaysia it (the process of Arabisation) denotes a sense of insecurity about our comprehension of Islam, and of our place in Islam. We have more Muslims in Southeast Asia than anywhere else but we still look to the Middle East to set the standard.

"Unfortunately, when we think of Islam here we think of it in its Middle Eastern guise."

Haji Zaid Kamaruddin does not agree with Noordin. Kamaruddin is the president of Jamaah Islah Malaysia, a non-government organisation that aims for the full implementation of Islamic sharia law by 2020.

I meet Kamaruddin in JIM's modest offices in a Kuala Lumpur shopping centre. One of his book cases contains English-language titles. Some of these are leadership manuals. But I am struck by the familiarity of so many other titles. There is Rogue State, which denounces US foreign policy, there is a book by George Soros, who denounces George W. Bush, and inevitably there is Noam Chomsky, the chief denouncer of them all.

Kamaruddin, an amiable, balding man with a pious goatee, is no extremist. He stresses the obligation of courtesy and good treatment that all humans owe to each other regardless of religion. And he wants Malaysia to evolve to a sharia state, not have it forced on the society.

He does not use the term "Arabisation" of Malaysian Islam, but, revealingly, he talks approvingly of the standardisation of Islam, a beneficial consequence, he believes, of the information revolution.

"Traditional Malay Islam is becoming more like international Islam," he says.

I ask Kamaruddin whether it is not the case that it says in the Koran that apostasy is punishable by death.

"Let me check the precise reference," he says, rising to consult a religious book.

After a few moments he gives up the search for the particular reference and continues: "That is the general understanding among the ulamma (Muslim people) that it is punishable by capital punishment. But there is the question of how this should be handled. In Islam, punishment is the last resort - the first is to encourage the good. But this system (in Malaysia) is not an Islamic system so there is no authority that will enforce it. But even in an Islamic society as practised in the time of the Prophet, you don't seek out those who have converted and hunt them down.

"This is the difficulty where the state has not lived up to its responsibility to uphold Islam. I don't think it's relevant here."

Malaysia's Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi, himself an Islamic scholar, has pioneered the concept of Islam Hadari, by which he means a tolerant and inclusive Islam. Abdullah is certainly a foe of extremism and a beacon of tolerance in his own society.

But even Islam Hadari, Imtiaz argues, suggests a special role specifically for Islam in determining the constitutional relationship between the state and the citizen.

Zaid Ibrahim, a politician from the ruling United Malays National Organisation and a successful commercial lawyer, worries more about racial than religious attitudes. "Obviously we must have done something right in the past, but race relations are fragile," he says.

This is evident in schooling. Only 6 per cent of Chinese Malaysian students attend national schools, which are meant to be for all races. The Chinese prefer Chinese schools. This may be partly because of the increasing role of Islam in national schools.

Khairy Jamaluddin is the deputy president of the UMNO, a much more powerful position than it sounds. Oxford educated, suave and polished in every way, he is also married to the Prime Minister's daughter and destined for great things.

He accepts the proposition of a greater degree of Arabisation and Islamisation in Malaysia over the past few years but offers a wider context: "There's nothing particularly new about the Arabisation of Islam around the world. You see the rise of Islamic movements of a more conservative type after the oil shocks of the 1970s and Iranian revolution produced a surge of Islamic consciousness.

"Today is the culmination of two decades of the Islamic situation. Islam has a more conservative colour today, yes. Default position is a more conservative one. It also has something to do with the post-9/11 world. There is a feeling that Muslims are under siege."

Khairy adds that this deepening religiosity is not unique to the Muslim world. "Look at non-Muslim societies like the United States. The conservative population is larger than the liberal population. It's really a worldwide trend."

Malaysia's success, and its social strength, remain formidable and it is overall a tolerant and decent society. But the trend for cultural, religious and ultimately political norms to be imported from the Middle East is unmistakable, and must be profoundly troubling.


Finding a Common Ground Towards Inter-Religious

Dialogue On 17 December 2006 a Forum on Freedom and Democracy in Malaysia: an Intra Muslim Dialogue was held in Kuala Lumpur with the co-operation of the People’s Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) and Friedrich Naumann Stiftung. I invited representatives from several Muslim civil society groups including Jemaah Islah Malaysia, the Malaysian Muslim Youth Movement, Muslim Professional Forum, Ulama’ Association of Malaysia, the Secretariat for the Asian Ulama’, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party and Keadilan. In addition a few scholars, writers and intellectuals took part as well. A few representatives from the so-called ‘liberal’ group who were invited refused to take part in the forum.

I emphasised the need to continue open discussions and to respect the differences in opinion among the participants. Such openness is more pertinent now due to the increasing racial and religious tensions in Malaysia. As a result, such apprehension has only heightened a sense of suspicion and insecurity: Muslims feel that their rights and position are being challenged; whilst non-Muslims feel that their freedom is being threatened. Therefore it is crucial to achieve a consensus among Muslims while encouraging inter-religious dialogue.

The participants generally expressed their commitment to defend the position of Islam as a religion of the Federation while protecting the freedom of religion as enshrined in the Federal Constitution and practiced all this while. They doubt and distrust the emergence of a fringe group that vocally challenges the rights of Muslims to practice Islam. This is surprising considering in the interpretation of Article 121(1)(a) in the Constitution where the scope of the Shariah Court’s powers is enshrined, it was never meant to infringe on the rights and religious freedoms of the non-Muslim.

Therefore, the participants agreed to:

1. Uphold the effort to find a common ground and diffuse the tension in religious issues.

2. Express their concern on the weakness of the government to discuss and find solutions to this problem.

3. Continue the co-operation that accepts freedom and democratic principles while respecting the rights of the non-Muslims to live according to their religion, therefore recognising the multi-religious nature of Bangsa Malaysia.

Clearly the tensions that arise in Malaysia today can only be solved through a strong but sincere leadership accompanied by open dialogue, not by stopping any form of discussion enjoined by the government leadership.
(Media Statement-Anwar Ibrahim)

Malaysian Activists to Study Polygamy

Opponents of polygamy in Muslim-majority Malaysia said Thursday they will conduct a rare survey in an attempt to prove the practice throws families into emotional and economic turmoil.

Researchers hope to interview 6,000 members of polygamous households over the next 10 months in what could be the most comprehensive survey ever conducted on polygamy in a Muslim society, said Zainah Anwar, director of Sisters In Islam, a Malaysian women's rights group.

"We need evidence-based material to strengthen our advocacy for awareness and reforms, rather than merely use stories or assumptions about polygamy," Zainah said at a news conference. Islam allows a man to have up to four wives. The practice of polygamy has sparked debate in Malaysia, where nearly 60 percent of the nation's 26 million people are Muslim, because activists say some polygamous husbands neglect their responsibilities to wives and children.

According to government statistics, there were about 13,500 polygamous marriages in Malaysia between 1995 and 2004, or about 1.4 percent of all Muslim marriages, said Norani Othman, a sociologist at the National University of Malaysia.

However, anti-polygamy activists believe the true number is higher because many men fail to report their second or third marriages in order to keep them a secret from their primary families.

Polygamy is illegal for Malaysia's non-Muslim minorities, who are mainly Buddhists, Christians and Hindus.

The new study is significant because recent surveys on polygamy in other Muslim countries have only included a small number of respondents and focused on legal issues, not the financial and social impact of the practice, Norani said.

Researchers plan to ask polygamous families a wide range of questions, including how their expenditure for clothes and other necessities is affected when the man marries another wife, and whether existing wives and children are forced to make financial sacrifices.

The survey will cover other everyday dilemmas, including how husbands divide their time among multiple wives, celebrate holidays and choose which wife to take to social functions. It will also consider whether current laws sufficiently safeguard wives from mistreatment.

Sisters in Islam is aiming to publish its findings in early 2008.

---

Floods round-up

Emergency services have been told to stay prepared for a possible second wave of flooding following weather predictions of heavy rain lasting till the end of the month.

The Meteorological Department has warned of bad weather for Johor and southeastern Pahang until Sunday.

Continuous heavy rain has also been forecast for Malacca and Negri Sembilan for the next four days, which may cause more floods.

Intermittent heavy rains lasting several hours may hit southern Johor state until Sunday because of a "monsoon surge" as strong winds of 60km/h sweep in from Siberia and China, said the meteorological department

The death toll from the devastating floods in Johor has risen to 11 when the body of Mohd Faiz Poniman, 14, who Wednesday fell into an irrigation canal at Kampung Parit Kasan, Bukit Gambir, here was found by the rescue team at about 4pm Thursday.

*******************************************************************************************

Yacht scandal : Abdullah VS Tun Dr M

Sufi Yusof has slammed a pro-Abdullah Badawi website for trying to tarnish his boss' reputation by dragging the former PM into the RM30 million yacht scandal involving the present PM, a boat maker called Kobra, and the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet. Read his letter to RPK's Malaysia-Today website

Rantings and Roaring from Rocky's Bru, Jeff Ooi, Malaysia-Today and A M Ubaidah S

*************************************************************************************

M Bakri Musa : Take Two
Then "Undur lah, Pak Lah", Now "Pak Lah's leadership: detached, incompetent, and increasingly irrelevant"


Malaysia flood Abdullah Tun Mahathir Islam

Anti-Japanese war memorial sparks row in Malaysia

The ruckus over a monument for slain Second World War heroes in Nilai, Negri Sembilan was a racially-charged and calculated diversion by the ruling party from problems it is currently facing, said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

He said the Umno-led government was bogged by a sluggish national economy and party infighting and had made allegations that the monument was glorifying the communist to stir up racial sentiments.

Lim said this after visiting the monument at the Nilai Memorial Park today and told reporters that not a single mention of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) or communism was found among the inscriptions on the monument.

“He (Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin) should come personally to see the site before making wild allegations,” said Lim, who was also accompanied by Lobak assemblyperson Loke Siew Fook.


A Malaysian opposition party accused a minister on Thursday of trying to provoke a race row after he said a new memorial to Malayans who fought the Japanese invasion in World War Two paid tribute to communists.

After the war Malaysia waged a bitter campaign throughout the 1950s to eradicate mainly ethnic Chinese guerrillas seeking to build a communist state. They were only finally defeated in 1960.

On Thursday, members of the ethnic Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP) said Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin, an ethnic Malay, was trying to turn the issue into a racial dispute, after he called the structure "a memorial for the communists".

Multi-racial Malaysia has a history of ethnic tension, and ties between its different communities have remained fragile since 1969, when hundreds were killed in bloody racial riots.

"Anyone or everyone who fought against the Japanese should be recognised," DAP leader Lim Guan Eng told reporters at a thinly attended protest demonstration at the memorial in a Chinese cemetery in Nilai, just outside the Malaysian capital.

It was wrong to say the memorial was built to commemorate the communists, he added. "There should not be any racial undertones, but unfortunately, there appear to be," Lim said. "Those who fought the Japanese did not come from one race."

The memorial, built at a cost of 70,000 ringgit ($20,000) with funds donated by a group of Chinese businessmen, stands 30 feet high. Inscriptions in Japanese, Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil read: "Monument in memory of Malayan heroes in the resistance against Japanese invasion, 1941-45".

Zainuddin's weekend comment angered many ethnic Chinese, but prompted authorities in the central state of Negeri Sembilan, where the memorial stands, to call for its demolition.

Zainuddin said the monument, and others of a similar kind in different parts of Malaysia, were a slight to Malaysians who died fighting the Japanese occupation, which ran from 1941 to 1945.

"After we gained our independence and fought off the communists, it is regrettable that some parties have memorials for the communists," he said.

Although the communist insurgency ended in 1960, the outlawed Communist Party of Malaya only surrendered in 1989.

The government should not try to rewrite history, Lim said.

"We are against this attempt to rewrite history as well as to turn black into white and turn white into black. We should not distort and pervert the truth," he told reporters.

"They are now talking of tearing down a memorial to remember those who sacrificed their life during World War Two against the Japanese invaders," he said.

Ethnic Malays make up just over half of Malaysia's population of roughly 26 million, with ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indians accounting for about 25 percent and about 8 percent respectivel

Mid December, a minister criticised the effort by a Chinese NGO’s to commemorate the efforts of those anti Japanese heroes of World WORLD II who died in the hands of the Japanese soldiers during the war as an effort to commemorate the communists.

The said NGO’s has issued a statement asking the Minister of Information for an apology for equating anti Japanese martyrs as communists.

There are in fact many of these memorials existing in Malaysia and Singapore. All these memorials serve to remember those died fighting the Japanese Invasion. These memorials also remind us of the consequence and the ugliness of war, and by doing so, they serve to remind us of the importance of preserving peace.

It has nothing to do with race or ideology. While there were some anti-Japanese martyrs who were communists, there were even more who fought the Japanese not because they were communists, but because of the Japanese invasions of China and other parts of East Asia. Even the British which ruled Malaya just before the war funded the well known 136 brigade to organise anti Japanese warfare.

I am sure there were Malays as well as Indians heroes among those who died in the hands of the Japanese, although their numbers may not be as great as the Chinese. But to lump all anti Japanese heroes as communists was not right.


Wikipedia - Malayan Communist Party(MCP) / Communist Party Of Malayan(CPM)

Before the Japanese attacked Malaya, a potential resistance organisation already existed in the form of the Malayan Communist Party. This party's members were mainly from the Chinese community and implacably anti-Japanese. They formed the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army, and their first members were trained by British officers such as Freddie Spencer Chapman. Although they mounted a few operations against the Japanese lines of communication during the invasion of Malaya, they were cut off from the Allied commanders with the fall of Singapore.

Using organisers and agents such as Singaporean World War II hero Lim Bo Seng, Force 136 was able to re-establish contact with the MPAJA, which had continued to exist in camps deep inside the forests. In isolation, the Malayan Communist Party had purged many of its members suspected of treachery or espionage, which contributed to its post-war hard-line attitude leading in turn to the Malayan Emergency. With equipment and supplies from Force 136, the MPAJA was built up to become a substantial guerilla army. However, Japan surrendered before it had a chance to stage a major uprising.

Other than the MCP and KMT which were predominantly Chinese based resistance to Japanese, the force also collaborated with many Malay villages, often under the patronage of Malay royalties and officials. Even though the Malays and Indians were not badly treated by Japanese forces in the beginning of the occupation, later they too felt the hardship of life under the occupation and this was magnified by the brutal treatment of anyone who was suspected of being anti-Japanese. Thus the SOE found a suitable backing among the Malays and sends their officers from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) to train local resistance forces which was famously known as Harimau Malaya Force 136 (Tigers of Malaya of Force 136).

The main base for this group was near Grik, a district in the Malayan state of Perak.


Our Information Minister meanwhile still stuck to his claim that all Anti Japanese martyrs were communists. This statement is very unfair to those who fathers or grandfathers died fighting the Japanese. A lot of these people were teachers, students and many of them were KMT members rather than Communists.

It cannot be denied many of the anti Japanese martyrs were communists but the fact also remains that many of them were KMT members and some of them were not even affiliated to any parties.

Many of them fought because of their loyalty to mainland China which was under siege from Japanese army, but even in Mainland China then, most who fought the Japanese were not communists. The Malayan Chinese then owed their allegiance and loyalty to China because at that time, Malaya had not achieved independence and was under colonial rule and most of the Chinese in SEA were still citizens of China.

According to Bernama report today (21 Dec), the MB who apparently has only asked the people who built this monument to get a permit from the local council, and the MCA has accepted his explanation over the issue of memorials for communists found at several Chinese cemeteries, and he considered the matter resolved amicably.

"As for me, only those who feel they are communists would be offended by what I had said," he said.

According to him, memorials should only be erected for those who had fought for the country's independence or against the communists, irrespective of which group or movement they belonged to.

"We should not pay tribute to one movement or group that involved only a particular race but individuals or larger organisations that had played instrumental roles for the benefit of all the races in the country," he said.

There is no need for UMNO to explain to MCA. MCA will accept anything from UMNO.

UMNO Is an " I " specialist, and MCA is an " I " soar to UMNO !


Malaysia Nilai Anti-Japanese war memorial Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin