Masyarakat dan Kultur

Kuala Lumpur Loves a Never Ending Story: Bibles stamped 'Christian Publication' in Malaysia

2011-04-11T11:55:00.004+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 4/10/2011

Bibles stamped 'Christian Publication' in Malaysia

Thousands of Malay-language bibles impounded over their use of the word "Allah" are to be stamped "Christian Publication" in a bid to end a row with Muslims, the government said Sunday.

More than 35,000 bibles have been confiscated in the past two years after objections from Islamic leaders that Allah should not be used by non-Muslims.

The holy books were later offered for release but most of them had already been stamped with serial numbers, government seals and the words "For Christians Only", an act that Christians said amounted to "desecration".

Idris Jala, a minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said that under a new deal with Christians, bibles headed for Sabah and Sarawak state on Borneo island, which are majority Christian, would be returned without any form of official marking and those already marked would have the stamping revoked.

However, the 5,100 holy books imported by The Bible Society of Malaysia for use on the mainland, will now be re-stamped with the phrase "Christian Publication" and the symbol of the Cross, overwriting the earlier markings.

The society accepted the deal, saying "it deeply appreciated" the government plan.

The holy books were seized by customs officials after the government said the use of "Allah" as a translation for "God" in the Malay-language could encourage conversion, which is illegal for the country's Muslims.

The "Allah" row is one of a string of religious disputes that have erupted in recent years, straining relations between majority Malays and minorities who fear the country is being "Islamised".

Malaysia's Christians, who make up nine percent of the population and many from indigenous groups in Borneo who speak the national language Malay, say they have used the word without incident for centuries.

Source: MSN News

Men have affairs as wives 'neglect' duty: Malaysian MP's Assumption, Projection or Personal Confession?

2011-04-10T01:33:00.011+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 4/7/2011

Men have affairs as wives 'neglect' duty: Malaysian MP

Malaysian men have extramarital sex because of "wives who neglect their responsibilities" to their husbands, a Malaysian lawmaker told parliament on Thursday, outraging women's groups.

Men have affairs as wives 'neglect' duty: Malaysian MP
"Husbands driving home after work see things that are sexually arousing and go to their wives to ease their urges," said independent lawmaker Ibrahim Ali, according to online portal Malaysiakini.

"But when they come home to their wives, they will say, 'wait, I'm cooking,' or 'wait, I'm getting ready to visit relatives'," Ibrahim said.

"In Islam, wives are supposed to stop everything to fulfill their husband's demands."

Ali heads Perkasa, a right-wing Malay nationalist group seeking to protect ethnic Malay dominance in politics.

His strident comments came as he asked about plans by the government's religious development department to educate wives on their responsibilities.

Wives failing in their duties pushed men to go to "private places to satisfy their urges", he said.

An aide to the lawmaker confirmed the remarks but declined further comment.

His comments prompted fury among women's groups in a nation with a growing sex industry and a problem with human trafficking.

Women's Aid Organisation chief Ivy Josiah said Ibrahim's comments were unacceptable for a parliamentarian.

"I am appalled as he equates women to being a sex toy and what is worse is that he uses religion to try and justify his position," she told AFP.

"The comments not only show that Ibrahim Ali is a Malay supremacist but a male supremacist as well."

Rights group Tenaganita, who monitor issues of human trafficking and abuse, said such sentiments were one of the causes of human trafficking in the country.

"Because people like Ibrahim Ali believe it is their right to get sex anytime from their wives, or otherwise seek it from elsewhere, that's why you have a growing sex industry and we see such human trafficking cases," senior coordinator Aegile fernandez told AFP.

Last March, the government launched a national plan against human trafficking as the country moves to quash its image as a transit point for traffickers.

With one of Asia's largest populations of foreign labour, Malaysia relies on illegal and legal migrants to work as domestic servants, in plantations, factories and to service the local sex industry.

Malaysian lawmakers also clashed with women's groups last month after a government parliamentarian claimed women were "slow" at the wheel and "oblivious" on the roads.

Source: MSN News

Antropologi dan Budaya: Kamus Bahasa Dayak

2011-04-09T20:27:00.003+08:00

Jum'at, 08 April 2011 , 11:27:00

Kamus Bahasa Dayak

BUPATI Kabupaten Landak Adrianus Asia Sidot, Rabu (6/4) bertempat di gedung pastoran Kecamatan Menjalin menghadiri launching Kamus bahasa Dayak Kanayatn. Buku itu sendiri ditulis oleh tokoh masyarakat adat Dayak Kanayatn, Silverius Mulyadi yang juga mantan Wakil Ketua DPRD Landak. Selain itu, kegiatan ini dipadukan dengan pembinaan fungsionaris adat Dayak Landak.Dalam arahannya, Bupati mengatakan launching kamus bahasa Dayak Kanayatn ini merupakan suatu sejarah yang sangat berharga bagi warga Dayak. “Sejarah ini bukan berupa candi, tapi berupa buku yang akan digunakan sampai ke anak cucu kita. Apalagi kamus bahasa Dayak Kanayatn ini mempunyai nilai yang teramat tinggi. Harus diingat juga bahwa tidak semua orang bisa nulis buku, apalagi ini kamus Bahasa Dayak Kanayatn,” ujar Bupati dengan logat bahasa Dayak Kanayatn.

Menurutnya, memang diperlukan suatu keberanian bagi seseorang yang akan menulis buku. Apalagi orang yang dianggap pintar, belum tentu yang bersangkutan mampu untuk menulis buku. “Banyak orang yang bergelar sarjana, tapi kalau dia disuruh membuat buku, entah apa yang ia tulis didalam buku tersebut. Jadi hal ini harus memerlukan suatu kecerdasan tersendiri untuk menulis buku,” katanya. Ia menambahkan, penyusunan kamus bahasa Dayak Kanayatn ini tentu bukan hanya kecerdasan saja yang dipakai, tapi juga ketekunan, ketelatenan dan kesabaran harus dipakai. “Jadi kita harus sabar menghimpun kata demi kata untuk membuat kamus bahasa Dayak Kanayatn ini. Apalagi satu kata yang ada di kamus tersebut, dibongkar sampai ke dalam-dalamnya,” ucapnya.

Bupati mengakui bahwa kata-kata dalam bahasa Dayak ini bukan merupakan suatu hal yang gampang. Apalagi di zaman sekarang ini suku Dayak sudah banyak bergaul dengan suku lain dan bangsa lain. “Sehingga kadang-kadang kita juga lebih fasih, lebih nyaman dan lebih pas ngomong pakai bahasa yang bercampur-campur, entah itu bahasa Melayu atau bahasa lainnya,” ungkap Bupati.Ia menilai apa yang sudah dibuat oleh Silverius Mulyadi memang cukup baik. Pembuatan buku kamus bahasa Dayak Kanayatn inipun merupakan suatu inisiatif yang luar biasa. “Nah, tugas kita selanjutnya yakni mewariskan kamus bahasa Dayak ini kepada anak cucu kita. Silahkan saja lembaga-lembaga Dayak yang ada di Kalbar untuk mengembangkan kamus bahasa Dayak ini,” katanya.

Ia menambahkan, untuk pengembangan kamus bahasa Dayak selanjutnya, tentu diperlukan suatu sumber daya yang bukan hanya manusianya, tapi juga termasuk dana, peralatan, penelitian dan pengembangan (litbang) dan sebagainya.Hadir dalam launching kamus bahasa Dayak Kanayatn tersebut, Ketua DPRD Landak Heri Saman, sejumlah Kepala SKPD dilingkungan Pemkab Landak, jajaran Muspika Menjalin, pengurus Dewan Adat Dayak (DAD) Landak, Camat Menjalin, para Timanggong, Pasirah, Pangaraga, para pejabat adat dan para undangan. (sgg/*)

Sumber: Pontianak Post Online

Hu Ha Hu Ha in fact bukan Malaysia tapi Singapore Boleh: Singapore to conserve historic railway stations

2011-04-09T11:11:00.008+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 4/8/2011

Singapore to conserve historic railway stations

Two railway stations to be returned by Malaysia to Singapore will be conserved as historic sites, officials announced Friday following a citizens' campaign to save the buildings from destruction.

There were fears that the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, located on prime real estate on the fringes of the central business district, would be turned into yet another shopping mall or condominium in construction-mad Singapore.

A government statement said the art deco-style terminal would be a national monument, while the smaller Bukit Timah station close to the Malaysian border would also be conserved, in recognition of their "deep historical significance".

Both were built during British colonial rule over the two countries as part of a railway line that serviced Singapore, Malaya and Thailand.

The Malaysian federation retained ownership of railway land and structures within Singapore after the two countries separated in 1965, and the stations became part of a long-running spat that periodically strained relations.

In May 2010, both countries agreed Malaysia would cede ownership of the land in exchange for real estate in two of Singapore's most expensive districts.

The agreement sparked concerns that the Singapore government would convert the shabby buildings to commercial use, triggering an online petition to save the buildings for posterity.

Carolyn Seet, an information technology specialist who started the petition, welcomed the government's announcement on the Tanjong Pagar station.

"Needless to say, I'm very happy. Hopefully, they will keep it open to the public. My wish is basically it will be a transportation museum like the one in London," she told AFP.

She also suggested the station can be "a place for people to reminisce, and see how far Singapore has come, from the humble rickshaw to the modern driverless" train system.

Source: MSN News 4/8/2011

Pak Pandir Moden and His Mega Ego Tower: Talked like Me, Sounded like Me, Spoken Like Me, but was it really Me?

2010-10-20T16:16:00.006+08:00

Harakahdaily

KUALA LUMPUR, 20 Okt: Kenyataan Datuk Seri Najib Razak yang menyatakan beliau tidak mengarahkan membina Menara Warisan sebaliknya ia dicadang oleh Pemodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) adalah alasan Pak Pandir.

“Ini adalah alasan ‘Pak Pandir’ dan melucukan daripada seorang Perdana Menteri,” kata Ketua Penerangan PAS Pusat, Ustaz Idris Ahmad.

Baginya, kenyataan itu seolah-oleh hendak melepaskan bebanan kepada PNB, bukannya kepada Najib sendiri.

Ini, menurutnya kerana ia mendapat kritikan yang hebat daripada berbagai pihak.

Tambahnya, wang sebanyak RM5 bilion untuk membina menara setinggi 100 tingkat itu mampu membina 1,667 buah sekolah yang bernilai RM3 juta sebuah dan mampu memberi biasiswa pelajar perubatan seramai 5 ribu pelajar dengan kos RM1 juta di United Kingdom.

Katanya, PAS berpendapat, kalau pun benar itu cadangan daripada PNB kenapa Najib sebagai orang yang berkuasa dan tahu bagaimana kedudukan kewangan negara sekarang, yang lebih perlu kepada projek yang lebih bermanfaat kepada rakyat dan negara.

“Sejak bila pula pula beliau begitu lemah sampai terpaksa mengikut cadangan PNB,” ujarnya sinis.

Soalnya lagi, bukankah Najib selama ini begitu gagah sekali membuat keputusan yang merugikan negara tanpa meminta pandangan orang lain termasuklah ahli Parlimen, ketika melepaskan khazanah berharga 217 hektar tanah KTMB kepada Singapura dan telaga minyak blok L dan M kepada Brunei yang bernilai RM320 bilion.

“Nampaknya pemimpin Umno cuba hendak menyalahkan orang lain ketika tidak mampu menghadapi satu situasi,” katanya lagi.

Ini, tambahnya samalah dengan Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin ketika ditanya apa tindakan terhadap dua orang pengetua yang dituduh rasis menyatakan beliau tidak ada kuasa sebagai seorang menteri kerana bukan bidang kuasa menteri.

“Sedangkan jawapan ini, orang buta dekat Pagoh pun ketawa,” ujarnya.

Najib and his 100-storey Mega Ego Tower: 1.6 billion dollars to build this but only RM500 for Malaysian Civil Servants 2010 annual bonus? Nonsense!

2010-10-19T22:36:00.012+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 10/19/2010

Malaysia's mega-tower plan faces online backlash

Malaysian premier Najib Razak Tuesday defended his plans for a 100-storey megatower in Kuala Lumpur after a backlash on a fast-expanding Facebook petition and criticism from the opposition.

Razak unveiled plans for the tower, to be built by 2020 at a cost of 1.6 billion dollars, during last week's budget speech, which included a number of grand infrastructure projects.

The building, named "Warisan Merdeka" or "Heritage of Independence", would be the tallest in Malaysia, dwarfing the iconic Petronas Twin Towers, which were the world's tallest buildings at 88 storeys when completed in 1998.

Najib has said such projects exemplify the spirit of "Malaysia Boleh" or "Malaysia Can", a national campaign conceived by former premier Mahathir Mohamad, an advocate of mega projects.

Mahathir, whose own schemes included the Proton national car and the multi-billion-dollar administrative capital Putrajaya -- both of which have failed to thrive -- has warmly endorsed the new skyscraper.

But a Facebook page created last Saturday, to which about 11,000 people had signed up by Tuesday afternoon, has seen an outpouring of criticism from Malaysians who say the money would be better spent elsewhere.

"Malaysia needs better education, better health care, better public transportation, safer neighbourhoods, cleaner water, but not a taller building. We don't need another white elephant!" said the page, which was receiving hundreds more members each hour.

Many of those posting comments accused the ruling coalition of spending taxpayers' money to boost its own standing, which has slipped badly in recent years in the face of a resurgent opposition.

"I will support this project if you give me the contract!" said a Facebook user named Chee Chuan Tat, referring to endemic cronyism linked to the Barisan Nasional coalition.

"It's taxpayers' money, and taxpayers say NO," said Adrian Matthew Yee.

Najib stoutly defended the project, and said the Petronas Towers -- now a much-loved national symbol -- had originally attracted similar criticism.

"We want a building that will be a symbol of the country that is not only modern but progressive and it will have a multiplier effect on the economy," he told a press conference.

"We want the area to become a business hub," he said. "So this project is not a waste but is one which will benefit the people."

Opposition lawmaker Fong Kui Lun, in whose constituency the building would be located near the city's Chinatown, said it would be an eyesore and totally unsuited to the crowded downtown district.

"What the building will do is to destroy the character of the area while creating a traffic nightmare for all," he told AFP.

"There are more than enough office spaces in downtown KL and this will cause a glut of office space, becoming a white elephant like many of the other government projects."

Tony Pua, also from the Democratic Action Party which is part of the opposition alliance, said the online criticism was a sign that people were concerned.

"The country does not need another mega project as the era of mega projects is gone and most Malaysians are not impressed by them any more," he said.

Malaysia, Budaya Populer dan Media Massa: Sysssshhhhh Jangan Ketawa, Tertawa dan Mentertawa...we are Malaysians

2010-09-25T11:22:00.008+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 9/24/2010

Malaysian cartoonist arrested over comic book

A Malaysian political cartoonist said Friday he had been arrested under the Sedition Act and his offices raided by police over his new book, just hours before its planned launch.

Zulkifli Anwar Ulhaque -- better known as Zunar -- uses cartoons to highlight contentious issues such as the sodomy trial of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and police shootings.

Zunar said police seized 70 copies of his latest book, called "Cartoon-O-Phobia", at his home and held him ahead of its scheduled launch Friday evening.

"Police came and raided my office in the afternoon... now they said I am arrested under the Sedition Act," he told AFP by telephone while in custody at a police station.

"They say my new book is seditious. Certainly this is intimidation of cartoonists," he said, adding that police had not told him which cartoon in the book was considered seditious.

Police officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

In July, Zunar launched a legal battle against the government in a bid to lift a ban on two earlier comic books which authorities said threatened public order.

"The raid at his office and his arrest only go to prove that the authorities are cartoon-phobic," said Steven Gan, chief editor of online news portal Malaysiakini, the publisher of "Cartoon-O-Phobia" and some of Zunar's earlier books.

"This is an attack on freedom of expression, it again shows that the authorities have no sense of humour," he told AFP.

Gan said the 80-page book had a caricature of Prime Minister Najib Razak's wife on the front cover and contained cartoons that touched on numerous controversial issues.

Najib, who took office in the mainly Muslim country in April last year, had promised to promote openness and transparency but has since faced accusations that his administration is trying to silence critics.

Major newspapers and broadcasters are closely linked with the ruling coalition, so the Internet has become a lively forum for dissent and debate.

Unlike the mainstream press, the web and online media in Malaysia have remained relatively free, despite occasional raids, bans and government criticism.

MSN News

Would this Big Dam make us all live happily ever after?

2010-09-12T14:37:00.010+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 9/12/2010

Malaysia dam faces 'white elephant' claims

The multi-billion-dollar Bakun dam in Borneo, already condemned as a catastrophe for the environment and tribal people, is now battling suggestions it could become a giant white elephant.

The dam, which will eventually submerge an area the size of Singapore, is finally nearing completion after suffering a series of setbacks and delays since its approval in 1993.

But at the last hurdle the project has stumbled again, with delays in winning the state government's permission to begin the flooding process and no deal yet on purchasing its hefty 2,400 megawatt output.

With ambitious plans for an undersea cable to feed the Bakun's electricity to the Malaysian peninsula now abandoned, the Sarawak state government is the only feasible buyer -- leaving it with a very strong hand.

Negotiations with the dam developer Sarawak Hidro, a subsidiary of the national finance ministry, have reportedly been tough.

"It's a case where the owner of the project is naming an asking price that is very different to what the buyer would want," said Wong Chew Hann, an analyst at Malaysia's top bank Maybank.

"I understand there's quite a huge mismatch," she said. "I'm not sure what they've incorporated into the pricing, but the cost of the project has gone up so much since it was started."

As well as the cost of construction, there is the expense of compensating tribal people for their forced relocation from ancestral lands, and suppliers affected by the long delays.

"So the question is, are you going to incorporate all the compensation costs in the tariff price?" said Wong.

With the indigenous people from the Bakun catchment area long since resettled and its valuable timber resources long since felled, the dam has been ready to be flooded since April.

The state government had delayed permission, saying it was still evaluating river levels and the impact on boat transport.

A Sarawak minister reportedly said last week that the necessary permit has been granted, denying both that it had been used as a bargaining chip to lower the tariff and that Sarawak was facing an energy glut.

Sarawak Hidro managing director Zulkiflie Osman played down suggestions that he has been held to ransom by the state government.

"Both parties are working together and want it to be settled amicably, with a tariff acceptable to both parties," he told AFP, adding that he expected to strike a tariff deal before December.

The next of Sarawak's mega-dams, the Murum, which is being developed by the state government, is due to come online in 2013 but Osman said he was convinced the state authorities will not bypass the Bakun in favour of its own project.

Alongside the power purchase negotiations, the federal government is also said to be discussing selling the entire Bakun facility -- built at a reported cost of 7.3 billion ringgit (2.4 billion dollars) -- to the state government, but pricing and finance problems have emerged.

The Star daily reported in July that the federal government was seeking 8.0 billion ringgit while the state government offer was just 6.0 billion ringgit.

The Bakun's output far exceeds existing energy needs in Sarawak, a relatively undeveloped Malaysian state, and is mostly destined for industrial users such as aluminium smelters, but these are still on the drawing board.

"The main problem is that currently there is no demand for such a big capacity yet, and in order for Sarawak Energy to purchase the dam they would need adequate funding," said an analyst with a major research house.

"The banks would ask for some kind of feasibility study, and as there is no real demand yet this project risks becoming a white elephant," said the analyst, who declined to be named.

Newspaper reports have questioned how the federal government can ever hope to recover the huge amount of money it has sunk into the project.

"Marred by too many disagreements, the 7.3 billion ringgit project could very well turn out to be a non-starter," the Star said last month, adding that with both the Bakun and Murum dams online there would be a "very real possibility" of a power glut.

Transparency International has labelled Bakun a "monument of corruption" in Sarawak, which has been ruled for three decades by the formidable chief minister Taib Mahmud.

There has also been fierce criticism over the botched relocation of 15,000 indigenous people, who have made an unhappy transition to life in drab resettlement areas.

Baru Bian, chairman of the opposition party Keadilan in Sarawak, said the Bakun project was designed purely to profit cronies, and not planned in the public interest.

"The dam is a waste of public funds, it's not necessary, and what is paramount is that it is disturbing and disrupting the lives of the natives and the environment -- the trees and the forests."

MSN News

Gara2 Seekor Kerbau Malaysia: Seekor Kerbau Membawa Lumpur, Semuanya Terpalit

2010-09-08T16:06:00.007+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 9/7/2010

Malaysian man charged with trafficking 63 Indonesian women

A Malaysian man has been charged with trafficking and exploiting 63 Indonesian women who were brought into Malaysia to work as domestic helpers, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Lee In Chiew, 49, a businessman and former teacher, was charged Monday in the northern state of Perlis for trafficking and "exploiting them by using threats and force", said his lawyer K. Kumarathiraviam.

"There were 63 purported victims. All of them are Indonesians aged between 21 to 33 years," he said.

Kumarathiraviam said three of the maids ran away from the accused and lodged a report with authorities, which led to his arrest on July 24. If found guilty he could be jailed for up to 20 years.

"We are confident we can succeed in the case. The charges against Lee are weak," he told AFP. "Lee runs a well-known maid agency. All of them were brought into the country legally."

No plea was recorded and Lee was freed on bail.

Malaysia has no laws governing conditions for domestic workers but the government has promised to draft legislation to protect them from sexual harassment, non-payment of wages and poor conditions.

Malaysia is home to some 1.2 million documented Indonesian workers, as well as about 800,000 Indonesians working illegally.

Cases of abuse of maids at the hands of Malaysian bosses are a frequent source of outrage in Indonesia, contributing to often prickly relations between the two countries.

MSN News

Mesej Kelabu dan Simbol2 dan Sign Yang Salah dalam Iklan TV3: Bukan Semua Perkara Boleh diSensasi ...

2010-09-07T14:10:00.007+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 9/6/2010

Malaysian TV pulls Ramadan ad over Christmas links

A Malaysian TV station said Monday it had withdrawn an advertisement marking the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr which was criticised as "un-Islamic' for having a Christmas-like theme.

The private TV3 channel started last week airing the one-minute commercial marking the end of the Ramadan fasting month, showing a man wearing an Islamic skullcap taking children on a magical trishaw for a ride through the sky.

Some viewers in Muslim-majority Malaysia said the character was reminiscent of Santa Claus, and several groups demanded it be retracted. There was also criticism that the ad featured a lotus flower, which is linked to Buddhism.

"TV3 apologises on the airing of the advertisement... which has offended many people," the station said in a statement, adding that it had been taken off air.

"We will be more cautious to avoid similar incidents to happen again in the future," it added.

Religion and language are sensitive issues in multiracial Malaysia, which was hit by deadly race riots in 1969.

Some 60 percent of the 28 million population are Muslim Malays, living alongside large ethnic Chinese and Indian communities who have expressed fear that the country is being "Islamised" and their rights are being eroded.

MSN News

Kisah Indonesia Mau Ganyang Malaysia Bulan Ramadhan 1431 Hijri Part II: Nampaknya hubungan kita sudah enggak bisa diatur ya?

2010-08-27T23:23:00.012+08:00

Indonesian Lawmakers Still Waiting For Malaysian ‘Mea Culpa’

Armando Siahaan & Camelia Pasandaran | August 26, 2010

Jakarta. While a Malaysian minister said patience was running thin for Indonesia following an offensive protest at its embassy in Jakarta, lawmakers here on Wednesday demanded the government seek an official apology from Malaysia for the border incident that had sparked the protest.

The demand was made by members of House Commission I dealing with foreign affairs, in a hearing with Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa to discuss the arrests by Malaysia of three Indonesian maritime officers earlier this month.

“The meeting resulted in an effort to strengthen the diplomatic note [from the foreign ministry] with the aim of having the Malaysian government officially expressing its apology,” said Mahfudz Siddiq, the chairman of the commission.

“Let’s see if they will respond to the note or not.”

Marty had told the lawmakers that the Foreign Ministry was currently gathering evidence that would be included into a new diplomatic note of protest to Malaysia over the arrest of the three officers which Jakarta said took place in Indonesian waters.

He said that since Aug. 18 the government had sent the first diplomatic note of protest to the Malaysian government over the incident in Tanjung Berikat but the development since required further notes of protest.

“Since August 18 there have been developments. We will send a protest note to seek an appropriate response, an expression of regret or apology,” Marty said.

Marty said that even without evidence of physical abuse or mistreatment by the Malaysian authorities, the Indonesian officers had clearly been treated badly.

“Even without evidence of physical abuse or any mistreatment, the fact that they were handcuffed and had to wear prison clothing, that warrants a protest,” the foreign minister said.

The three maritime officers have said they had not been physically abused but had been mistreated, including by having to take off their official uniforms and being handcuffed.

Arguing that the government “needs more space in dealing with the issue,” Marty managed to convince the commission to cancel its intention to push for a demand by the legislature for official apology from Malaysia.

He also said that withdrawing the Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia, as some individual lawmakers had suggested, may be detrimental to bilateral ties in a larger context.

“We need to put into consideration the greater national interest. If we withdraw the ambassador, it would reduce the weight of our diplomatic ties,” he said.

The absence of an ambassador in Kuala Lumpur could disturb other issues that needed to be dealt with between the two governments, including migrant workers, trafficking, illegal logging and border disputes, the foreign minister explained.

Mahfudz said that the commission would wait for Malaysia’s response before taking any further action.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman was quoted by news portal Star Online as saying that Malaysia had run out of patience and sent a protest letter to Indonesia over the arrest of seven Malaysian fishermen in disputed waters and the protest at its embassy in Jakarta on Tuesday that involved the throwing and smearing of human feces.

Mahfudz said it is hard to prevent such reactions, arguing that it was the result of an accumulation of anger and that unless Malaysia changed its attitude, protests may only escalate.

“It’s not just because of the recent incidents. It’s about foreign workers, cultural claims, illegal logging and other long-running issues,” he said.

Meanwhile, the government vowed to assure the security of the Malaysian mission here and its diplomats.

“As the host, we have to guarantee protection to foreign diplomats and their representative objects here,” Teuku Faizasyah, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, said at the President’s Office on Wednesday.

“We will coordinate with the police and other security officers to ensure the safety of Malaysian diplomats in Jakarta and other regions in Indonesia, as well as the security of their buildings.”

Jakarta Globe

Waah kita di Malaysia disebut "immature" but does Indonesia really know their Maids Real Story? Baling tahi di Embassy Malaysia itu "mature" Pak?

2010-08-27T11:00:00.018+08:00

Only Maturity Will Solve Malaysia Issues

August 26, 2010

When a nation’s sense of pride and self-respect gets trampled, emotions can run high. That has been evident this week as the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta has attracted protests by various groups.

While we can empathize with the emotions of those who feel the nation’s pride has been hurt by the treatment of Indonesians in Malaysia, we do not condone the actions of groups who have thrown feces at the embassy.

This only casts Indonesia in a bad light and hurts the nation’s reputation.

There is no denying, however, that both sides need to sit down together and resolve the issues that have given rise to heightened tensions.

Talks are planned for Sept. 6, and they can’t come soon enough; the sooner diplomats from both sides talk, the better.

The fact that both governments have realized the mutual problems — disputed border areas and the ill-treatment of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia — is a good first step.

Both governments must now find a mature way of resolving these issues using diplomatic channels.

Both nations share a heritage which gives prominence to deliberations as a means of defusing conflicts and solving problems.

In this regard, we applaud Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa’s rejection of calls by some parliamentarians to recall the ambassador from Kuala Lumpur. Such a step would no doubt be tantamount to throwing fuel onto a fire.

For the Sept. 6 talks to be fruitful and meaningful, Indonesia needs to show more engagement with the issues at hand, and must present clear lines of argument.

We must make our stance crystal clear and have solid legal backing, especially on the border disputes. Resolving this dispute will require both political will and understanding.

For its part, Malaysia must show more respect to Indonesia, especially in the treatment of migrant workers. We cannot help but feel that in Malaysian eyes, all Indonesians are viewed as maids and plantation workers.

Some lawmakers are saying that the current passionate protests against Malaysia stem not only from the recent arrests of three Indonesian maritime officers.

Rather, they say the incident might have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, unleashing accumulated resentment against Malaysia resulting from various incidents in the past.

Kuala Lumpur must show a greater commitment to prosecuting employers who mistreat Indonesian workers — especially domestic maids — and must recognize the economic contribution these workers make to their economy.

The media on both sides must also avoid getting caught up in the emotions. The news that Malaysia had slapped a travel warning on Indonesia, for example, proved false when both countries denied it.

It is important that both countries take a step back and review the situation calmly and resolve the problems amicably.

Jakarta Globe

Hubungan Malaysia-Indonesia: Angkara Siapa Indonesia Sentiasa Memilih Bulan Ramadhan Yang Mulia Untuk Bergaduh Dengan Saudara Sebangsa dan Seagama?

2010-08-27T10:17:00.010+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 8/25/2010

Indonesia condemns Malaysia over border spat

Indonesia said Wednesday it is investigating reports that Malaysia abused three Indonesian officials after illegally detaining them in Indonesian waters, but called for calm on both sides.

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told lawmakers that any abuse of an Indonesian official in Malaysian custody would be "unacceptable" under any circumstances.

In response to tough questioning from lawmakers demanding to know what action had been taken, the minister said Jakarta had sent a protest letter to Kuala Lumpur on August 18 in which Indonesia "strongly condemned the arrests".

"We are gathering information and interviewing the officials about what happened in the detention centre and on the boat," he said, amid conflicting reports about how one of the officials suffered head injuries in custody.

The officials -- arrested in disputed waters last week and held for several days before being released Tuesday -- complained of being handcuffed and given only one meal a day.

Natalegawa said Indonesia was increasing maritime patrols in waters claimed by both countries off the Riau islands after the latest in a string of incidents and alleged incursions.

"Indonesia never considers those zones as grey areas... On the contrary, we're increasing patrol operations to show our jurisdiction and sovereignty over them," Natalegawa said.

Police said they had boosted security at the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta after protesters managed to hurl a package containing human faeces at the building on Monday.

Three demonstrators were arrested and scores of police backed by water canons prevented them from throwing more, but Malaysia on Wednesday accused Indonesia of failing to do enough to protect the site.

"We're continuing to monitor the situation," police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said.

Despite the periodic escalation of tensions between the prickly neighbours, Natalegawa said relations remained strong and called for dialogue to resolve disputes, especially the maritime border.

He rejected a lawmaker's suggestion that Indonesia withdraw its ambassador from Kuala Lumpur, saying this would be counter-productive.

Officials from both sides would meet "in the coming weeks" to discuss the maritime border.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Monday there could be "no compromise" over Indonesian territory.

MSN News

Welcome to the Malay World of Witchdoctors, Spiritual Healers, Believing and Non-Believing Jinns

2010-08-23T14:59:00.007+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 8/22/2010

The new face of Malaysia's Islamic witchdoctors

By day he is a BlackBerry-wielding computer analyst, but by night he destroys evil spirits using the Koran. Meet Mazlan Hakim, one of the new generation of Malaysia's "bomohs" or witchdoctors.

As in many parts of Asia, a belief in the supernatural is widespread in Malaysia, but the practice has a different twist in the Muslim-majority country where meddling with the occult is banned under Islam.

Mazlan Hakim is one of a new breed of bomohs who are well-educated, plugged-in to the modern world, and base their ghostbusting and healing on Islamic precepts instead of animist or otherworldly techniques.

The 56-year-old has been a bomoh for 30 years and unlike his non-Islamic counterparts who say they use demons known as "jinn" to do their bidding, he unleashes verses of the Koran to heal the sick and drive out evil spirits.

Dressed in a grey open-necked shirt and brown slacks, Mazlan sips a cafe latte and checks emails on his phone. He looks like a typical business executive but his conversation is anything but routine.

"There are two types of jinn, the Muslim and the non-Muslim jinn," he says.

"The worst is the Muslim jinn as the other jinns come out of the body when I read passages from the Koran, but the Muslim jinn are immune to the Koran so I have to use my telekinetic abilities to pull the demon out."

Mazlan says he has seen spirits since he was 15, but it was only after studying under religious scholars that he sharpened his mental powers and mastered telekinesis, which he claims to demonstrate by moving ping pong balls.

As he closes his eyes and his face scrunches in concentration, one white ping pong ball on the table somehow starts to tremble before moving slowly towards the other.

"This is not a parlour trick, I use my mind to chase out the spirits that have possessed people, this and the Koran give me success," he says.

"I have an almost 100 percent success rate and most of my clients are rid of the spirits or curses that plague them."

Such claims would seem to be at odds with Islam, and the religious authorities in Malaysia who are notorious for their hardline enforcement of moral and spiritual rules.

But Islamic bomohs are tolerated and even approved of, as a better alternative to old-style black magic practitioners who still do a brisk trade with their concoctions and incantations.

Local magazines are filled with advertisements for "love potions" and elixirs to "stop wandering spouses" and "get even with the neighbours."

Occult researcher Azizah Ariffin says Malays have long practiced the dark arts, originally derived from animist practices which were reinforced by Hindu beliefs before the arrival of Islam in the region.

"Black magic has been a part of Malay life for many centuries as the village bomoh still held on to animist beliefs and rites of earlier religions to cure people," she says.

"Upon the arrival of Islam, the Imam took care of the people's spiritual welfare."

"It was not until the 1980s that the Islamisation of the bomohs began, and only recently have many witchdoctors begun using Koranic verses to cure people instead of rituals."

Azizah says old-style techniques like burning aromatic resin to summon the jinn and commune with spirits, and brewing up magical medicines, are now less in favour.

"The Islamic bomohs are the ones who use the Koranic verses and they do no harm but help to cure ailments and remove black magic spells. It is the bomohs who don't use the Koran that are of concern because only some do good while others are the real black magic practitioners using animist rituals," she adds.

Leading Islamic cleric Mohammad Tamyes Abdul Wahid says although black magic is against Islam, it is widely used in Malaysia by those intent on controlling spouses or cheating others out of their possessions.

"We must differentiate between bomohs who use the words of the Koran and try to help heal people using these holy verses and phrases, compared to those who try to seek the help of jinns and ghosts to gain favour," he says.

"There has been a shift as many realise through education that these bomohs using spirits are evil compared to those using the Koran to help heal and do good things."

One example is Haron Din, a senior figure in the conservative Islamic party PAS, who is one of Malaysia's best-known bomohs and yet still part of the country's religious establishment.

Three decades ago he opened a clinic outside Kuala Lumpur where he and a group of faith healers exorcise demons and spirits using Koranic verses, and hundreds still flock there every day.

Mohammad Tamyes wants the government to introduce laws against black magic practitioners who use their skills for "evil purposes".

"Islam is against these practitioners who try to invoke the help of such beings in carrying out spells and attacks on people, this cannot be condoned," he tells AFP.

"Laws are needed to stop the practice of such black magic, but of course it is not easy to legislate against what you can't see."

MSN News

Malaysians use social media to bypass censorship

2010-08-18T14:37:00.001+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 8/18/2010

Malaysia bumps along the bottom of international rankings for press freedom, but the explosion of social media like Twitter and Facebook is revolutionising how journalists work.

Dissenting views, which for decades were screened out of the government-linked mainstream media, are now everywhere, including the blogosphere and mobile SMS messages, making repression extremely difficult.

One veteran reporter with one of the country's leading newspapers said that for most of his career it was virtually impossible to write about the opposition or any issues deemed off-limits by authorities.

"But today, government MPs are forced to engage and debate their counterparts across the aisle in social media like Twitter and Facebook, allowing us to report on the opposition and avoid much censorship," he says.

"Where previously we had to accept at face value a minister's version of events or policies, today their disgruntled aides and opponents are already tweeting or leaking details on Facebook, giving us uncensored access."

"Although the restrictions and controls are still in place, it's become much harder to censor what the opposition or rights groups say in the media," says the journalist who, due to the sensitivity of the issue, declined to be named.

Malaysia was ranked 131st out of 175 countries in the 2009 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) press freedom index, because of its tight controls on print and broadcast media.

The watchdog says Malaysia prevents journalists from properly covering sensitive subjects such as corruption or human rights abuses, using a publishing permit system which allows it to shut down media outlets at will.

After decades of such policies, self-censorship became rife and political leaders hardly even needed to make the much-feared phone call to the news room.

But the seeds of change were sown in 1996 when the government pledged not to censor online content as part of a campaign to promote its information technology sector.

Despite occasional raids, bans and government criticism, the web and online media remain relatively free.

Today, Facebook fan pages highlighting political rallies and civil society forums, as well as Twitter exchanges with lawmakers, have reshaped the reporting landscape.

"All our reporters have BlackBerrys and use that to follow these tweets. The social media has changed the way journalists work in fundamental ways," says Premesh Chandran, the founder of pioneer online news portal Malaysiakini.

Chandran says the new immediacy hampers government attempts to "spin" or control a story as journalists get real-time reaction from the opposition and experts and use it to seek an immediate response from officials.

With the advent of Twitter, politicians from both sides of the aisle freely disseminate their views, so much so that legislators have been known to take debates out of the chamber and continue them in the Twitterverse.

Social media also have a knack of eliciting more candid commentary than politicians would usually choose to put in a regular press release.

That phenomenon was on display this week when Khairy Jamaluddin, influential leader of the ruling party's youth wing, gave a quick response to a government decision not to drop a ban on students joining political parties.

"Cabinet decision not allowing university students to be involved in political parties is gutless and indicates outdated thinking," he said in a much-discussed tweet.

Opposition politician Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, 28, tweets daily on his constituency work, lists all his public events on Facebook and even carries out interviews and dialogues online.

"Social media definitely gives the opposition and alternative voices a space to express our views without censorship," he says.

"The limitation is that we are restricted to 140 characters on Twitter so we can't really flesh out many of the arguments and positions but it at least allows people and the media to read and understand our perspective."

Malaysians have flocked to the Internet for news and views, a phenomenon credited with the opposition's stunning performance in 2008 polls when the government lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority for the first time.

RSF's regional correspondent Patrice Victor says the Malaysian experience could be replicated in other countries as they develop a potent combination of repressive governments and reasonable Internet access.

"We are seeing social media free the way journalists report in this region and the trend in Malaysia can also be seen happening in Singapore, Thailand and Burma (Myanmar)," he says.

"Governments here are slowly realising that it is very hard to censor and restrict information once people have access to the Net and this trend of using social media to break down censorship looks like it is here to stay."

MSN News

Samy Vellu: I did it my way ....

2010-07-10T18:37:00.003+08:00

Samy Vellu: I did what was right for the community

Up close and personal with Penan tribes | The Brunei Times

2010-07-08T09:15:00.000+08:00

Up close and personal with Penan tribes | The Brunei Times

Heart of Borneo: Hopes & Fears

2010-04-22T12:59:00.005+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 4/22/2010

'Love-dart' slug, lungless frog among new species on Borneo

Wildlife researchers said Thursday they have discovered around 120 new species on Borneo island, including a lungless frog, the world's longest insect and a slug that fires "love darts" at its mate.

Conservation group WWF listed the new finds in a report on a remote area of dense, tropical rainforest that borders Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei on Borneo.

The three governments in 2007 designated the 220,000-square-kilometre (88,000-square-mile) area as the "Heart of Borneo" in a bid to conserve the rainforest.

"We have been finding on average three new species a month and about 123 over the last three years, with at least 600 new species found in the last 15 years," Adam Tomasek, head of WWF's Heart of Borneo initiative told AFP from Brunei.

"The new discoveries just show the wealth of biodiversity on Borneo island and the promise of many more future discoveries that could eventually help cure illnesses like cancer and AIDS and contribute to our daily lives," he said.

The "Heart of Borneo" region is home to 10 species of primate, more than 350 birds, 150 reptiles and amphibians and about 10,000 plants that are not found anywhere else in the world, the report said.

Among the finds are a seven-centimetre (three-inch) flat-headed frog, known as "Barbourula kalimantanensis", discovered in 2008, which breathes entirely through its skin instead of lungs.

Researchers in the same year also discovered "Phobaeticus chani", the world's longest stick insect, with a body 36 centimetres long. Only three specimens of the creature have ever been found.

Another interesting find was a long-tailed slug that uses "love darts" made of calcium carbonate to pierce and inject a hormone into a mate to increase the chances of reproduction.

The WWF urged governments act sensitively when developing the area's economic potential.

"We know that it is impossible for the three governments not to have development in mining, oil palm plantations and logging in the area," Tomasek said.

"What we want to have is a balance so that we have a foundation of conservation and sustainable development in order to protect this unique site for future generations," he added.

Indonesia and Malaysia, the world's two largest exporters of palm oil, account for 85 percent of global production.

Palm oil -- used extensively across the globe for biofuel, processed food and toiletries -- has been vilified by environmental campaigners for causing deforestation and threatening the survival of near-extinct species.

Tomasek said the "Heart of Borneo" initiative is also important for protecting the habitat of endangered species such as the pygmy elephant, orangutan, rhinoceros and clouded leopard.

"In many ways this is the last stronghold for the long-term survival of these species," he said.

The Sumatran rhinoceros is one of the world's most endangered species, with only about 200 remaining in the wild, up to 180 in Indonesia and the rest in Malaysia.

The Bornean sub-species is the rarest of all rhinos, with just 30 left in the wild on Borneo island.

Conservationists also warned the world has less than 20 years left to save about 50,000 to 60,000 of the charismatic red-haired orangutans left in the wild.

MSN News

Heart of Borneo: Nature and Culture

2010-04-22T12:54:00.008+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 4/21/2010

Rare Borneo rhino caught on camera in Malaysia

A rare Borneo rhino, thought to be pregnant, has been caught on camera in Malaysia, and wildlife experts said Wednesday a new calf would be a lifeline for the near-extinct species.

Just 30 rhinos remain in the wild in Borneo island, which is shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, and researchers are only able to monitor the population through images captured on remote camera traps.

Images of the rhino, "believed to be a pregnant female, estimated to be below 20 years" were captured by a camera trap in February, the Malaysian arm of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) - said in a statement.

"There are so few Sumatran rhinos left in the world that each calf represents a lifeline for the species," international rhino expert Terry Roth said.

The Borneo sub-species is the rarest of all rhinos, distinguished from other Sumatran rhinos by its relatively small size, small teeth and distinctively shaped head.

The Sumatran rhinoceros is one of the world's most endangered species, with few left on Indonesia's Sumatra island, the north of Borneo island and peninsular Malaysia.

Laurentius Ambu, wildlife director for Malaysia's Sabah state, where the female rhino was spotted, said two rhino calves had also been seen in a similar area and urged the government to do more to enforce laws against poaching.

"Habitat protection and enforcement have been recognised as the main strategies in ensuring the survival of the rhino population in forest reserves," he said.

The WWF said the rhino's future on Borneo island would depend on preserving sufficient forest reserves for the animal.

Raymond Alfred, head of the WWF's Borneo Species programme said data from an ongoing rhino monitoring survey programme showed the animal's home range was affected by the expansion of palm oil plantations.

Malaysia is the world's second-largest exporter of palm oil after Indonesia, and the two countries account for 85 percent of global production. **

**Blogger's note: It should be noted that a large amount of the palm oil cultivated in Indonesia is Malaysian-owned. Hence Malaysia may be considered as the world's largest producer of palm oil.

MSN News

Polygyny in Malaysia: "Don't pray pray ..."

2010-04-21T01:14:00.009+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 4/20/2010

Malaysia lawmaker pleads guilty to polygamy

A senior Malaysian Muslim lawmaker pleaded guilty Tuesday to a charge of polygamy after he married an actress without court permission, a court official said.

Muslim men in Malaysia are allowed up to four wives, but in certain parts of the country they must obtain written court consent or risk a fine or jail term under religious Sharia law.

Bung Mokhtar Radin, 50, a vocal parliamentarian from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, and his second wife, Zizie Ezette A. Samad, 31, both pleaded guilty to committing polygamy.

"They pleaded guilty and have been released on a bail of 500 ringgit (155 dollars) each pending a trial to be heard on May 18," said an official at a religious court in the central state of Selangor state.

They were married in a private ceremony in December last year, according to news reports.

Bung's lawyers could not be reached for comment.

Activists and women's groups say polygamy is cruel and has deviated from its original purpose in Islam, which was to protect widows and orphans.

Under Selangor state religious law, the couple could face up to six months in jail and a fine if they are found guilty.

Islam is the official religion of Malaysia, where more than 60 percent of its 27 million people are Muslim Malays. Polygamy is illegal for non-Muslims.

MSN News

Joke of the Month: Malaysia given the license to talk tough by the great Obama ...

2010-04-18T08:24:00.003+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 4/16/2010

Malaysia warns Iran after cutting off gasoline supplies

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak confirmed Thursday that his country has cut off gasoline supplies to Iran, warning Tehran it was close to facing new international sanctions over its controversial nuclear program.

Najib's announcement came three days after he held talks with US President Barack Obama, who had called for the world to move "boldly and quickly" on tough sanctions against the Islamic republic.

"It's going to be quite inevitable that additional sanctions will be imposed in the near future unless there is some movement in the right direction by Iran," Najib said in Washington.

"The onus is on Iran now to react expeditiously to prevent additional sanctions."

The 15-member Security Council, including China, has already imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran over its refusal to halt sensitive uranium enrichment and is considering the prospect of a fourth round of UN sanctions.

The United States and its allies believe Iran is covertly working on a nuclear weapon, but the Islamic republic says it is pursuing only civilian power.

Najib said predominantly-Muslim Malaysia's state oil company Petronas decided to suspend gasoline supplies after consultations with the government.

He did not say when Petronas stopped supplies to Iran, but some reports said it was done in the middle of March.

Petronas is among a small group of non-Chinese oil companies supplying gasoline to Iran, the world's fifth-largest crude oil exporter.

A member of the OPEC cartel, Iran has seen investment in petroleum refineries shrink as a result of US sanctions. It has resorted to importing about 40 percent of its gasoline needs.

Najib said that while Malaysia maintained that Iran had the right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, Tehran must comply with the UN Security Council decision ordering it to suspend uranium enrichment activities until the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) can verify they were exclusively peaceful as Iran claimed.

"They must earn the trust of the international community and the only way they can earn the trust is to be fully transparent in whatever they do and allow full verification by the IAEA," he said.

"There are some serious doubt as to whether this has been carried out or has been complied with by Iran," he added.

Asked whether Malaysia was reviewing any current projects or possible joint ventures in Iran, Najib said: "We will see how it goes, we do not want to send the wrong signals.

"We appreciate the importance of our economic relations with Iran as well."

Ambassadors from the five veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany -- met for a second straight day in New York Thursday on the sanctions issue.

On the table was a US draft resolution outlining sanctions in five areas: arms embargo, energy, shipping, finance and targeted punitive measures against Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards, a diplomat familiar with the discussions said.

"Our sense is that countries of the Security Council, probably including China and Russia as well, there is a shift in their opinion to indicate they would go for stronger sanctions against Iran," Najib said.

Iran insists it needs the higher-enriched uranium to fuel a research reactor which makes radioisotopes for medical purposes, such as the treatment of cancer, where the current fuel is expected to run out by the end of this year.

But Tehran has snubbed an IAEA-brokered deal that would have seen Russia and France fashion the fuel out of Iran's own stockpile of low-enriched uranium.

Najib said Petronas would "certainly" lift its suspension on gasoline supplies if Iran complied with the IAEA.

"We believe in engagement but Iran has to respond as well and there are some clear indications of their non compliance."

MSN News

Masyarakat Terpinggir - Bajau Pe' Lau

2010-04-06T22:52:00.004+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 4/6/2010

Activists urge Indonesia to release sea nomads

Human rights activists on Tuesday called on Indonesia to release more than 100 stateless seafaring nomads who have been detained on Borneo island for alleged immigration and fishing offences.

People's Coalition for Fishery Justice coordinator Riza Damanik said 19 families with 45 children from the Bajau Pe'lau people were arrested last month as they travelled in Indonesian waters in 16 traditional boats.

"Some 103 seafaring nomads have been detained since March 10 by police in Berau district of East Kalimantan province, accused of an immigration offence and illegal fishing," he told AFP.

He said that when Indonesian officials asked them where they were from they "pointed in a direction assumed by the police to be the Philippines or Malaysia".

The government of those two countries have not recognised them as their citizens, he added.

"This is a humanitarian issue. They are now being held in poor conditions in the detention centre with insufficient food. We have to save them and return them back to the sea immediately," Damanik said.

At a meeting in Kuala Lumpur late last month, some 41 non-governmental agencies from countries including Britain, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and the United States signed a statement urging the United Nations to give the nomads protection, he said.

"The Bajau people are known to have lived as nomads on the sea for thousands of years. Their tradition must be acknowledged and protected," Damanik added.

A police officer in Berau district confirmed only that a number of unidentified people had been "arrested for not having proper documents" and were still in detention.

Damanik said the nomads' boats had sunk due to neglect since they had been in detention.

MSN News

In Malaysia Semua Boleh ...

2010-03-31T07:18:00.006+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 3/28/2010

Sex tape scandal politician wins Malaysia party polls

Malaysia's main Chinese political party Sunday elected a politician involved in a sex tape scandal as its new president, hoping to end months of leadership infighting.

The polls were triggered by the mass resignation of the leadership of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), the second-largest member of the governing Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, earlier this month.

More than 100 candidates representing various factions within the party contested for 31 posts.

Deputy president Chua Soi Lek, who was suspended over a sex tape scandal in 2009, won the party election with a slim majority by securing 901 votes.

Chua's sacking had triggered bitter factional fighting.

Incumbent president Ong Tee Keat got 833 votes while former president Ong Ka Ting won 578 votes.

Prime Minister Najib Razak has pressed the party to resolve the crisis, as his coalition attempts to regain the support of minorities -- including ethnic Chinese and Indians -- who dropped the BN in 2008 elections.

"The purpose of (Sunday's) election is to stabilise the party ahead of the next general election, which is likely to be held before the end of this year," said James Chin, a political scientist at Monash University's campus in Kuala Lumpur.

Chin said Chua won because he had "better organisational skills," and the party members realised it was a crucial element for MCA to have him at the helm ahead of the polls.

"The Chinese community are politically matured," he said, in reference to Chua being caught on video having extramarital sex.

After days of intense campaigning, more than 2,300 delegates picked their new leaders.

Chin said the results might ease tensions within the party, but the MCA would not be able to claw back the Chinese support it lost in 2008.

"The party is seen as unable to protect Chinese interest in the ruling coalition. The Barisan Nasional ruling coalition is too dominated by the United Malays National Organisation and Malay interest," he said earlier.

The MCA suffered its worst ever electoral defeat in 2008, winning less than half of the parliamentary and state seats it contested.

MSN News

The Most Often Forgotten West Malaysian Minority: Indigenous Malaysians (OA) protest proposed land bill

2010-03-18T12:23:00.005+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 3/17/2010

Some 500 indigenous Malaysians on Wednesday mounted an unprecedented protest over a government bill they say will deprive them of land.

Activists for the Orang Asli, the term for the native tribes in peninsular Malaysia, say the legislation expected to be tabled this July will give them only 50,000 hectares (123,550 acres) of the 129,000 they claim.

"Who are you to give the land when it is already the Orang Asli's," said Colin Nicholas, coordinator for the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns, addressing the government.

Several protesters carried multicoloured placards saying "Don't take away our rights" and "We are willing to bathe in blood" as leaders handed over a memorandum to rural and regional development minister Shafie Apdal.

Some of the demonstrators, who gathered outside the prime minister's office in the administrative capital of Putrajaya, were dressed in loincloths and colourful headgear made of flowers, tree bark and coconut leaves.

"We open our ears to whatever grouses the public, in particular the Orang Asli, have. If anyone says we are depriving them, we are neglecting them, that's not true," Shafie told reporters.

Activists want Orang Asli claims to their customary land recognised, saying their continual occupation and economic activities establish their ownership.

Nicholas said the planned amendment to the Aboriginal People's Act would give each family between two and six acres of land.

"Once they get this plot of land, they will lose (their rights to) other plots of land," he said.

Shafie confirmed the proposed amendment would give each each family two to six acres but said the terms were not final.

"This is not finalised so that's why we need their views. We are willing to listen," he said.

The Orang Asli make up less than one percent of Malaysia's 28 million population and are generally disadvantaged in terms of income, health, education and living standards.

MSN News

Pasca-Konfrontasi: Remains of Australian soldiers found

2010-03-18T12:16:00.002+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 3/16/2010

The remains of two Australian soldiers who died during secret operations inside Indonesia more than 40 years ago have been found and positively identified, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Tuesday.

Rudd told parliament the remains of Lieutenant Kenneth Hudson and Private Robert Moncrieff, both of the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR), would be returned to Australia.

The men were swept away during a river crossing in Indonesian Borneo on March 21, 1966 as they took part in clandestine border security operations.

"Despite extensive searches at the time they were not found," Rudd said.

"Now their remains can be brought home to their final resting place in Australia."

Australian and British troops were involved in secret border security operations from 1965-66 during a small, undeclared war between Indonesia and Malaysia triggered by the 1963 Federation of Malaysia.

The Australian soldiers conducted extensive operations on both sides of the border and were involved in clashes with Indonesian units as they attempted to ensure Malaysia's security.

The Australian army began an attempt to find the men's remains in 2008 and the Indonesian military agreed to assist in the search the following year.

Rudd thanked the Indonesian armed forces for their cooperation in helping find the remains of Hudson, who was 30 when he died, and Moncrieff, then 21, who had been respectfully buried by locals a few kilometres apart.

MSN News

Manohara Odelia Pinot - Perlukah Indonesia mengistiharkan perang ke atas Malaysia kerana wanita berumur 18 tahun ini?

2010-03-11T21:45:00.006+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 3/11/2010

Malaysian prince wins defamation suit against teen wife

The estranged wife and mother-in-law of a Malaysian prince were ordered Thursday to pay 1.8 million dollars after alleging he had raped and abused his teenage bride, his lawyer said.

Tengku Temenggong Mohammad Fakhry, a prince from northern Kelantan state, won the defamation suit by default last November after the two women failed to file a defence.

The prince's lawyer Haaziq Pillay said the High Court on Thursday set the compensation at 6.0 million ringgit (1.8 million dollars).

"The court took into account the special circumstances by virtue of the seriousness of the defamation and the high standing of the plaintiff in the society," he told AFP.

The suit was launched after Manohara Odelia Pinot, 18, slipped away from the prince's retinue during a stay in Singapore and returned to her family in Indonesia with tales of abuse, rape and torture.

The lawyer said the 31-year-old prince, whose father is the sultan of Kelantan, was "happy" with the ruling and would initiate similar legal action against Manohara and her mother in Jakarta where they live.

Manohara's lawyer Farhat Abas told AFP in Jakarta that the teenage model and socialite would "never" pay the compensation.

"This is a cruel verdict," Farhat said. "We will study the verdict first and then file an appeal against the ruling."

Divorce proceedings are still pending in a religious court to dissolve the 2008 marriage.

MSN News

Man and Nature in Borneo: First footage of new leopard species captured in Sabah

2010-02-15T19:32:00.005+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 2/15/2010

First footage of new leopard species captured in Borneo

The Sundaland clouded leopard, a newly identified and little understood species of big cat in Borneo, has been filmed for the first time.

The leopard, a healthy-looking animal a metre long (3 feet) and weighing about 40 kilos (90 pounds) was caught on video at night at the Dermakot Forest Reserve in Malaysian Borneo's Sabah state.

"What surprised us was that while clouded leopards are very elusive cats, this one was not scared at all," said Azlan Mohamed, a field scientist with University Sabah Malaysia.

"Despite our powerful spot lights and the roar of our vehicle's engine, it walked around our vehicle calmly," he told AFP.

"It is rare to see the big cat in the wild. These cats are usually shy of humans, it was by chance we caught it on video."

The Sundaland clouded leopard was classified as a new species through genetic studies several years ago and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature designated it as endangered in 2008.

Previously all clouded leopards living across the Southeast Asian mainland were thought to be the same species.

Azlan said the Sundaland species is the biggest predator on Borneo, a resource-rich island split between Malaysia and Indonesia where wildlife habitats are under pressure from logging and plantations.

Because of their nocturnal habits, secretive behaviour and small numbers, little is known about the beast, including how many of them are living in Borneo.

However, Azlan said the researchers found the remains of a samba deer which had been killed by one of the big cats.

Azlan is a member of a research team focusing on carnivores in Sabah, led by Andreas Wilting of the Leibnez Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research based in Berlin, Germany.

This big cat can be found in lowland rainforest on Borneo and in small numbers in areas of logged forest.

But environmentalist say that the clouded leopard faces the threat of poaching while rapid deforestation and the creation of rubber and oil-palm plantations in Borneo is destroying its natural habitat.

Azlan said Dermakot Forest Reserve, a 500 square kilometre (190 square mile) area which had been commercially logged but where replanting is now underway, is also home to four other threatened wild cats.

Sixty cameras traps placed in Dermakot also captured images of the marbled cat, flat-headed cat, leopard cat and Borneo bay cat, all smaller in size than the Sundaland clouded leopard.

"These small cats feed on rats and mice," he said.

Azlan said the research team was "surprised" to find all five cat species in Dermakot and four of them in the neighbouring Tangkulap Forest Reserve.

MSN News

Are We actually in The Bermuda Triangle? First our fighter planes engines went missing; now our submarine refuses to go diving.

2010-02-11T23:57:00.009+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 2/11/2010

Malaysia says first submarine unable to dive

Malaysia's first submarine, a European-made Scorpene delivered last September, has developed problems that make it unfit for diving, the defence minister said Thursday.

The KD Tunku Abdul Rahman sailed into a grand reception last year as the first of two commissioned from French contractor DCNS and Spain's Navantia for a total of 3.4 billion ringgit (961 million dollars).

Named after the country's first prime minister, it was hailed as an important acquisition despite opposition allegations of corruption in the deal.

"The submarine can still dive but when we detected the defects, we were advised that it should not dive," Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told reporters.

"The (parts found with) defects are still under warranty so the supplier and contractor are repairing them," he added.

Navy chief Abdul Aziz Jaafar said a problem first emerged in the submarine's cooling system last December. After being fixed, another defect was identified in a different system last month.

"We hope it can dive again after February 18 so we can carry out the tropical water trials," Abdul Aziz told reporters.

The navy chief said the second submarine, the KD Tun Razak which is named after the nation's second premier, is expected to arrive from France on May 31. It was originally scheduled for delivery in late 2009.

The two submarines have attracted controversy since the deal was signed in 2002.

Malaysia's opposition claims that a 540-million-ringgit commission was paid to a close associate of Prime Minister Najib Razak in brokering the contract.

Najib has denied there was any corruption in the deal, which was made when he was defence minister.

Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.

In the forests of Peninsular Malaysia: Humans and Tigers Fight for Life

2010-02-11T11:52:00.007+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 2/10/2010

Malaysian tribesman paid by syndicates to poach tigers: WWF

Tribesmen in Malaysia are being paid by syndicates to trap wildlife, including critically endangered tigers, to meet insatiable demand from China, a conservationist said Wednesday.

"Local tribesmen are being used by the middlemen to collect the forest products as they are familiar with the jungle," said Dionysius Sharma, executive director with WWF-Malaysia.

"The demand for wildlife from Asia's forests to be used in China for traditional medicine is strong," he told AFP.

As China's society becomes more affluent, the demand for exotic animals to be used in traditional remedies for illnesses such as heart disease and asthma is expanding rapidly.

Sharma said the poachers, often members of Malaysia's indigenous peoples, do not have the resources to market the animal parts, or smuggle them out of the country.

"The tribesmen receive a small sum of money but the middlemen reap lots of profit," he said, adding that the syndicates were not identified, but likely involved both foreigners and Malaysians.

Sharma's remarks come after a four-year-old male tiger which had injured a Semai tribesman in northern Malaysia last week was found dead with gunshot, spear and snare wounds.

Yok Meneh, who sustained a deep gash on his back and injuries to his hands and legs, said he fought off the injured beast armed only with a rock after it attacked him while he was out picking wild beans.

But Shabrina Shariff, wildlife department director in Perak state told AFP Wednesday that Yok Meneh was in fact part of a group of seven men who had snared the tiger but came under attack when they tried to kill it.

"He was among the tribesmen who trapped the tiger. They shot the tiger four times. Then they used the poisonous spear and blowpipe darts to kill it," she said.

Shabrina said the tribesmen were "promised thousands of ringgit", the Malaysian currency, by unidentified middlemen and admitted to killing another tiger and a panther previously.

Sharma said poachers from other nations were also hunting for wildlife in Malaysian jungles.

"There is a lot of evidence that hunters from Thailand and Vietnam are setting traps in Malaysia. We have found their camps and hunting equipment. They spend a long time in the jungles. They are very organised," she said.

Loretta Ann Shepherd, coordinator with the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers, pressed for swift action.

"It is a sad way to welcome the Year of the Tiger. The authorities should prosecute those responsible. Let it be a lesson for other poachers," she said this week.

Conservationists last month called for a war on the poachers who are undermining Malaysia's ambitious goal to double its population of wild tigers to 1,000.

With 2010 declared the Year of the Tiger according to the Chinese zodiac, experts fear there will be a surge in tiger poaching.

In the 1950s, there were as many as 3,000 tigers in Malaysia but their numbers fell as the country opened up more land for agriculture.

MSN News

Food or Pets? China may ban pet meat from menus

2010-02-08T23:02:00.002+08:00

Al Jazeera English - Asia-Pacific - China may ban pet meat from menus

Prehistoric human bones found in Malaysia: Any idea whether it was a Malay or Proto-Malay youth Prof Nik?

2010-02-08T14:47:00.005+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 2/7/2010 Prehistoric human bones found in Malaysia: reports

Malaysian researchers believe they have discovered a new set of prehistoric human bones in a cave near the largest man-make lake in Southeast Asia, newspapers reported on Sunday.

The skeletal remains are of a youth who died 8,000 to 11,000 years ago, the Sunday Star quoted Nik Hasan Shuhaimi, deputy director of the Institute of the Malay World and Civilisation of the National University of Malaysia, as saying.

The bones were found in the Bewah Cave near Kenyir Lake in the northeastern state of Terengganu in November. DNA samples have been sent to the United States for radiocarbon dating with results expected in March, it said.

Nik Hassan said pieces of pottery, some bearing apparent rock paintings and believed to date back to the Neolithic Age, were also found in the area.

The oldest human remains in Malaysia were discovered in 1991 in the northern state of Perak. The skeleton of "Perak Man" was believed to be 11,000 years old, the New Sunday Times newspaper said.

Source: MSN News

Even after 37 Years of Malaysia: West Malaysian Papers Still Reminded to Be Mindful Of Local Sensitivities

2010-02-07T21:30:00.007+08:00

February 07, 2010 12:14 PM

National Newspapers Eyeing Sarawak Advised To Be Mindful Of Local Sensitivities

KUCHING, Feb 7 (Bernama) -- National newspapers planning to expand their operations to Sarawak have been reminded to be mindful of the state's social and political sensitivities and not incite racial disharmony by capitalising on racist issues.

Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan said competition should be seen as a positive development for the media industry but outsiders or individuals who raised sensitive issues which could create havoc and racial disharmony would not be welcome in Sarawak.

"Members of the press must assist the government to preserve peace and racial harmony through responsible reporting. We must stand for truth, and rumours must not be a source of our news," he said at the Kuching Division Journalists Association (KDJA) Chinese New Year gathering, here Saturday night.

He said plans by the big peninsula-based dailies to expand to Sarawak was also a wake-up call for local companies to improve the terms and conditions for their employees, besides giving greater room for journalists to grow in their profession or career.

He also said that local journalists should also embrace social networks like Facebook and Twitter or even have their own blogs by utilising the tools available to them through the development in information technology, particularly the Internet.

"Through the social media, a journalist can become his own brand and feel the pulse of the society he works in," Dr Chan said, but advised journalists to be smart about it and not take everything on the Internet at face value.

He said that in disseminating news and information which were critical for creating a well-informed public, it was important for the media to understand the power it had to influence, shape and mould society.

The media had to realise that its reach was becoming even wider now because a local newspaper could be local for its content but its readership could reach beyond its circulation borders due to the Internet, he said.

BERNAMA

Ancient Andaman tribe dies out

2010-02-05T20:09:00.003+08:00

UPDATED ON:
Friday, February 05, 2010
11:44 Mecca time, 08:44 GMT

Ancient Andaman tribe dies out

Boa Senior died last week, ending the existence of the Bo tribe in the Andamans [Survival International]

An indigenous tribe from India's Andaman Islands, thought to have existed for 65,000 years, has disappeared with the death of its last member.

According to the indigenous advocacy group Survival International, Boa Senior, the last known member of the Bo tribe, died last week at the age of 85.

She was also the last speaker of the Bo language.

"With the death of Boa Senior and the extinction of the Bo language, a unique part of human society is now just a memory," Stephen Corry, director of London-based organisation which lobbies for tribal groups, said in a statement.

"Boa's loss is a bleak reminder that we must not allow this to happen to the other tribes of the Andaman Islands."

The Bo are thought to have been among 10 distinct Great Andamanese tribes which numbered around 5,000 strong when the British colonised the Andaman Islands in 1858.

Most were killed or died of disease, with just 52 now thought to survive.

Tsunami survivor

Narayan Choudhary, a linguist at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University who is part of an Andaman research team, wrote on his website that Boa Senior "epitomised a totality of humanity in all its hues and with a richness that is not to be found anywhere else."

Andaman factfile

Island languages thought to originate from Africa

Some thought to be 70,000 years old, with links back to pre-Neolithic times

Bo was one of 10 languages spoken by the Great Andamanese group of tribes

Around 5,000 Great Andamanese lived on the islands when they were colonised by the UK in 1858

Most of the tribes were killed or died from disease brought by outsiders; today only 52 are thought to remain

Her death, he said, not only represented the end of her tribe, but was also "a loss of several disciplines of studies put together, including anthropology, linguistics, history, psychology, and biology".

Boa Senior survived the Asian tsunami of December 2004, which swept over the Andaman Islands less than an hour after the initial earthquake off northern Sumatra.

She reportedly told linguists afterwards: "We were all there when the earthquake came. The eldest told us 'the Earth would part, don't run away or move'."

At least 1,300 people are believed to have died in the Andaman and Nicobar islands when the tsunami struck.

Though Bo the language has been closely studied by researchers of linguistic history, Boa Senior spent the last few years of her life unable to converse with anyone in her mother tongue.

Boa Senior's follows the the passing last November of Boro Senior, another woman who was the last surviving speaker of Khoro, another Great Andamanese language.

Anvita Abbi, a linguist, who knew Boa Senior for many years, said that among the Great Andamanese population, there are only speakers of the Jeru and Sare ancient languages remaining.

There are up to five speakers of the languages on the islands and they have not been transferred to younger generations, she told Al Jazeera.

"These languages will live as long as they live, and it is a very sad situation," she said.

"Languages are not only a string of words, it exposes a different kind of society and worldview, and they were the only link to the past culture and ultimately, memories of that commuinity."

Lonely

Abbi said that since Boa Senior was the only speaker of Bo she was very lonely as she had no one to converse with.

"Boa Senior had a very good sense of humour and her smile and full throated laughter were infectious," she said.

"You cannot imagine the pain and anguish that I spend each day in being a mute witness to the loss of a remarkable culture and unique language."

Boa Senior also told Abbi she felt the neighbouring Jarawa tribe, whose population had not dramatically declined, were lucky to live in their forest away from the non-native settlers who now occupy much of the islands.

The few surviving members of the Great Andamanese tribes are now largely confined to one small island.

They are reported to depend largely on the Indian government for food and shelter, and abuse of alcohol is rife.

Source: english.aljazeera.net

Kelantan Vs The Federal Government: Former Finance Minister Ku Li Dares UMNO Over The Petrol Royalty Issue

2010-02-01T21:48:00.002+08:00

Tindakan disiplin tidak relevan, Umno boleh lakukan apa saja

Sabah Leads The Way: Natives Settle their cases at Native Courts. What Happens to the Malay Courts and the Mahkamah Syariah in Borneo?

2010-02-01T19:49:00.019+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 1/31/2010

Malaysian couple fined buffalo over affair : report

A tribal court in Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island has fined a man and his lover four buffalo and a pig for having an extramarital affair, a report said Sunday.

The pair were convicted by the Penampang Native Court after the man's wife lodged a complaint, the Star newspaper said. The wife said her husband and the woman were living together and were caught in shorts and sarong when she confronted them.

Judge William Sampil said the court had found evidence of an intimate affair despite their defence as being just "best friends."

The judge ordered the man and his lover to pay compensation of four buffalo, a pig and a fine of 2,000 ringgit (586 dollars).

Indigenous people make up less than one percent of Malaysia's 28 million population.

MSN News

On the native courts of Sarawak: http://www.nativecourt.sarawak.gov.my/services.htm

The State VS DSAI: Malaysia Says Boleh Amnesty International Says Tidak Boleh

2010-01-31T06:44:00.009+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 1/30/2010

Amnesty urges Malaysia to drop sex charge against Anwar

Human rights group Amnesty International has urged Malaysia to drop a "politically motivated" sodomy charge against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, ahead of the trial due to start next week.

Anwar lost his final appeal on Friday for access to the government's evidence in a case which could see him jailed for up to 20 years if convicted of sodomising a male former aide.

Anwar was sacked as deputy prime minister and jailed a decade ago on separate sodomy and corruption charges.

"The Malaysian authorities have resorted to the same old dirty tricks in an attempt to remove the opposition leader from politics," Sam Zarifi, Amnesty Asia-Pacific director said in a statement issued late Friday.

"Malaysia's judiciary should throw out these charges."

Amnesty said it is "seriously concerned" over a fair trial for Anwar, especially after Friday's ruling which the watchdog described as an infringement of international fair trial standards.

"Anwar's case has rightly raised doubts among the international community and investors about Malaysia's commitment to justice and the rule of law," Zarifi added.

Anwar spent six years in prison after he was convicted in 1998 but the sex charge was eventually overturned. Amnesty had considered him a prisoner of conscience before his release.

After being freed Anwar reinvigorated the opposition and rallied it in 2008 to achieve its best ever results in national elections, when it won a third of parliamentary seats.

Anwar has accused the Malaysian government of seeking to convict him quickly as part of efforts to deflect attention against its own woes.

MSN News

Leaders, here and everywhere: First 100 Days of SBY in Indonesia - Still Loud Speeches, Rhetorics and Much Ado about Nothing

2010-01-30T13:18:00.010+08:00

Sabtu, 30 Januari 2010 , 09:35:00
SBY-Boediono Setelah 100 Hari Pertama Berlalu

SERATUS hari pertama duet SBY-Boediono pungkas kemarin. Penanda bahwa Presiden SBY dan kabinetnya telah melewati saat-saat krusial, seperti halnya pesawat yang sedang dalam lima menit pertama meninggalkan landasan, adalah aksi demonstrasi di berbagai penjuru kota di negeri ini. Meski demo marak di mana-mana, secara garis besar aksi-aksi massa kemarin relatif damai dan tertib. Presiden bisa beraktivitas seperti biasa. Dan, di Surabaya, misalnya, pengunjuk rasa malah ditemui Gubernur Jawa Timur H Soekarwo, tanpa rasa khawatir soal keamanan. Demonstrasi, kalau begini modelnya, pasti akan mendewasakan kehidupan demokrasi kita. Besar, tapi tidak menakutkan.

Lepas dari 100 hari pertama, bolehlah kita becermin ke belakang. Kata pemilik kuasa, kurang fair kalau kinerja pemerintahannya diukur dengan parameter waktu sesingkat ini. Tapi, bagi pihak yang mengkritisi jalannya duet SBY-Boediono, 100 hari pertama adalah cermin dari apa yang akan berjalan selama lima tahun ke depan. Keseriusan dan kesungguhan SBY dalam menjalankan semua janji indahnya semasa kampanye bisa terlihat dari kinerjanya pada 100 hari kemarin.Maka, layak tidaknya tiga bulan plus sepuluh hari pemerintahan kabinet SBY dijadikan refleksi untuk langkahnya ke depan bakal menjadi perdebatan kata semata. SBY akan mengerahkan semua kemampuan untuk menangkis penilaian minor akan kinerjanya, pengkritik bakal menyerang dengan segala sisi kekurangan selama ini. Celakanya, penangkal yang digunakan SBY, seperti biasanya, cenderung dalam bentuk kata-kata. Bukan berusaha sekuatnya dalam bentuk kerja konkret untuk mewujudkan keinginan rakyat yang membutuhkan perbaikan di berbagai bidang.

Satu hal yang tak boleh kita kesampingkan bahwa ini merupakan kali kedua SBY memimpin jalannya roda pemerintahan di negeri ini. Sesungguhnya, 100 hari kemarin mestinya tersambung dengan lima tahun kerjanya sebagai presiden terpilih periode sebelumnya. Dan, tentu 100 hari itu merupakan tahun keenam kerja SBY harus dicermati. Ketidakmampuan menunjukkan kepada rakyat tentang hasil-hasil riil dari upayanya dalam penegakan hukum, pemberantasan kemiskinan, peningkatan kesejahteraan, dan lain-lain tidak semestinya dilihat dari 100 hari pertama saja.Mengevalusai secara parsial, dengan mengabaikan apa yang telah dilakukan pada lima tahun sebelumnya, akan dijawab dengan enteng seperti dikatakan Andi Mallarangeng: Yang mengatakan 100 persen SBY gagal adalah bohong. Yang mengatakan 100 persen SBY berhasil juga bohong. Terus, bisakah kita berharap banyak dari kabinet SBY-Boediono selepas 100 hari pertama ini? Kita tak perlu menunggu, tapi harus mendorongnya. (*)

Source: Pontianak Post

Philippines: For so many years, so many series of Peace Deals and Still No Peace?

2010-01-30T06:39:00.005+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 1/28/2010 Philippine government meets rebels in Malaysia: mediator

The Philippine government and Muslim separatists have held two days of exploratory talks in Malaysia's capital aimed at starting negotiations on a new peace deal, officials said Thursday.

Malaysian facilitator Othman Razak said negotiators from the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest of the Philippines' Muslim rebel groups, met on Wednesday and Thursday to review each other's draft position papers and would meet again on February 18 and 19.

The meeting came after the two sides met in Kuala Lumpur last month in a resumption of talks that was hailed as having a good chance of achieving a "just and lasting" peace deal.

Othman said that the next meeting would be aimed at "discussing the draft texts and identifying the next steps towards achieving a comprehensive compact and a negotiated solution".

He said both parties also looked forward to an International Monitoring Team being deployed in Mindanao in the coming weeks.

The Philippines' chief negotiator, Rafael Seguis, said no agreement had been reached and that the two sides had only exchanged drafts.

"I wish to clarify that there is no agreement yet. Both sides are still in the early stages of discussing each other's position papers," he said.

The government's "draft is clear that discussions that will concern legislative and other policy actions will still be proposals which would be submitted to Congress," he added.

Earlier talks collapsed after the MILF launched deadly attacks across Mindanao in August 2008.

The 2008 attacks broke out after the Philippine Supreme Court rejected a proposed deal that would have given the MILF control over large areas of the south claimed by the rebel group as its "ancestral domain".

Over 700,000 people were displaced at the height of the fighting and nearly 400 were killed. More than 250,000 people remain in evacuation centres.

A new ceasefire was signed last September paving the way for talks to resume in December 2009 after the government approved the establishment of an International Contact Group (ICG) comprising Britain, Japan, Turkey and non-governmental groups.

MSN News

Claude Lévi-Strauss Obituary by Maurice Bloch

2010-01-28T00:42:00.008+08:00

The fame of Claude Lévi-Strauss, who has died aged 100, extended well beyond his own subject of anthropology. He was without doubt the anthropologist best known to non-specialists. This is mainly because he is usually considered to be the founder of the intellectual movement known as structuralism, which was to have such influence, especially in the 1970s. He was one of those French intellectuals – like Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Michel Foucault, Roland Barthes, Jacques Derrida and Paul Ricoeur – whose influence spread to many other disciplines because they were philosophers in a much broader sense of the word than the academic philosophers of the British and American tradition.

As a result, these French writers have seemed more stimulating to some Anglo-Saxon thinkers, working in intellectually more imaginative, but perhaps less rigorous, areas such as literature, history or sociology than the home-grown product. Yet it is something of an irony that Lévi-Strauss should have been thought of in this way, as he considered himself, above all, a technical anthropologist, and he was a little surprised, if not also a little suspicious, of the enthusiasm for structuralism manifested by students of literature and others. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that he relished the literary fame that his work acquired, especially for his 1955 book Tristes Tropiques.

Lévi-Strauss was born in Brussels into a family of French artists, and followed a fairly typical career for a successful French humanities student. He attended the Lycée Janson de Sailly in Paris, and then the Sorbonne, where in 1928, at an exceptionally early age and with great success, he passed the formidable philosophy agrégation examination. He consequently became a kind of high-level school teacher in Laon, in Picardy, a type of post that was often a first step towards becoming a university teacher.

He soon became disillusioned with philosophy, however, because of what he saw as its sterile self-reference and mannerisms. He especially disliked the utilitarian and moralistic forms of philosophy dominant in France at the time. For a while he also became active in the French socialist movement but, subsequently, he seems to have lost interest in politics and was surprisingly uncommitted during the dramatic events of postwar France. Instead he became interested in anthropology, after reading the American anthropologist Robert Lowie, partly because he realised that the richness of the cultures then labelled as primitive gave the lie to the optimistic evolutionism of writers such as Auguste Comte.

As a result of this interest in anthropology he was proposed by the sociologist Célestin Bouglé as a member of a group of French academics who were being seconded to the new French-sponsored University of São Paulo in Brazil. He accepted a professorship in 1935, largely in the mistaken belief that he would be able to study the Amerindians. He did attempt to carry out a certain amount of anthropological research from there, but it was difficult, and in 1939 he resigned from the post to carry out more systematic fieldwork among the Nambikwara and other indigenous peoples of the Mato Grosso and Brazilian Amazon. Although this field work has always been considered to be rather poor by many anthropologists, I find it rather impressive given the short time he spent with the Amerindians. More importantly it confirmed him in his sympathy and respect for the culture of the indigenous peoples of South America and also in his growing scepticism towards the philosophical and artistic achievements of the literate civilisations of the Old World.

This attitude must have been confirmed by the events of the second world war. First, Lévi-Strauss was called up for a very short time and experienced the humiliation of the fall of France and the armistice, and then he was faced by the growing discrimination and persecution against Jews in Vichy France. In 1941, he managed to escape and ultimately made his way to New York, where, the next year, together with other French intellectuals, he was given a post at the New School for Social Research. There, he, the theologian Jacques Maritain and others founded a kind of Free French university, the École Libre des Hautes Études. After the war he stayed on in the US until 1948, working as cultural attaché to the French embassy in Washington. On his return to France, he held a number of increasingly important posts at institutions, including the Museé de l'Homme in Paris, where he served as assistant director (1949-50), and the École Pratique des Hautes Études, where he was director of studies in anthropology (1950-74). In 1959 he was elected to a chair of social anthropology at the Collège de France. Among many other honours he was, in 1973, awarded the Erasmus prize and elected to the French Academy.

It was during Lévi-Strauss's period in the US that "structural anthropology" became constructed. This led to what has come to be known as "structuralism" – a term used for a variety of theories both in anthropology and beyond, which, although they claim to be derived from his ideas, do not always bear much relation to his work. It is striking how, in spite of the immense respect with which he is treated, especially in France, he has no direct followers or students. Many claim and have claimed to be structuralists but it usually turns out that only a limited aspect of his thought has an influence on them, and at worst the adoption of the label "structuralist" was merely a matter of passing fashion. He is a lonely, if imposing, figure in the history of thought.

Levi-Strauss's own structuralism is a personal amalgam of a naturalist approach to the study of human beings and a philosophical attitude derived from this. The strictly scientific aspect was largely the result of the combination of two types of theoretical influences. The first has to do with his contact with American cultural anthropology, a relation that is ambiguous since it is so much "at a distance", as was to be his attitude to all other contemporary theoretical influences. Secondly, he came into contact with structural linguistics, a behaviouristic amalgam of European and American theories, and particularly the more imaginative work of Roman Jacobson, the Russian theoretician of language who was also at the New School at the time.

While in New York, Lévi-Strauss immersed himself in the great body of anthropological accounts of North and South Amerindians that early US anthropologists and linguists had been accumulating for more than a century. The data collected from the Amerindians and its complexity delighted him, and made him react permanently against reductionist explanations of culture, which implicitly denied the intellectual achievement that indigenous mythology and social thought represented. The contact with the structural linguists suggested to him an approach that could both generalise and remain true to the richness and specificity of the original material. Thus Levi-Strauss adopted the term "structural" from a very particular school of linguistics that flourished in the 1940s and 50s, which combined the influence of the Swiss, Ferdinand de Saussure, with that of the American Leonard Bloomfield.

The basis of the structural anthropology of Lévi-Strauss is the idea that the human brain systematically processes organised, that is to say structured, units of information that combine and recombine to create models that sometimes explain the world we live in, sometimes suggest imaginary alternatives, and sometimes give tools with which to operate in it. The task of the anthropologist, for Lévi-Strauss, is not to account for why a culture takes a particular form, but to understand and illustrate the principles of organisation that underlie the onward process of transformation that occurs as carriers of the culture solve problems that are either practical or purely intellectual.

For him anthropology was scientific and naturalistic, that is scientific in the way that structural linguistics had become scientific. By looking at the transformations of language that occur as new utterances are generated, by using the tools that a particular language makes available, structural linguistics was able, so Lévi-Strauss believed, to understand not only the irreducible specificities of a particular language, but also the principles that made their production possible. In this way, linguistics, as he understood it, was a branch of the humanities and a natural science that is able to connect directly with psychology and neurology.

By studying the richness of cultural forms and their continued transformations, much the same was to be achieved by anthropology, which was to be both a cognitive and a historical science. Thus, the meaning of symbols and concepts had to be studied both within the context of the working of the brain and the specificity of the historical flow of a particular culture. Anthropology was for Lévi-Strauss one of the cognitive sciences. It was to be compatible with recent discoveries concerning the working of the brain, although as time went on he seems to have given up keeping up with developments in this field. He was, however, insistent that although the cognitive could explain structure, it could not explain content.

This is the programme lying behind all of Lévi-Strauss's major works. But, in a sense, it is also a manifestation of a much more fundamental approach and mood from modern English-speaking anthropologists. In contrast to most professional anthropologists, whose work often seems contained within the controversies of their time and which lacks a general theory of human nature, Lévi-Strauss writes as though he were a naturalist from far away, observing our planet and the ecology of its different species, including the human species, with an Olympian lack of involvement.

He was thus interested in the human species in general terms but, because he knew that for 99% of its existence, humankind has consisted of small groups with very low population densities living in close interaction with a multitude of other living species, he considered the study of peoples such as the pre-contact Amazonian Indians to be far more important and relevant than the details of the short-lived modern industrialised world.

This approach led him to pay particular attention to Amerindian myths, the study of which was the subject of most of his writing since the 1960s. In particular, it is the subject of the four-volume Mythologiques (1964-71). For Lévi-Strauss, Amerindian myths are the Indian's speculation on the condition of interdependence of living things. Thus a myth about the origins of wild pigs is related to marriage rules and to another myth about the benefits of cooking.

This is, for him, a speculation not so much utilitarian as philosophical. Human thought is, of course, governed by the structuring capacity of the human brain but not explained by it. In this light, the myths are the record of the true history of the principal philosophical endeavour of mankind, and Lévi-Strauss not only wanted to record this endeavour, but also to join it. The myths' subject matter is his subject matter. Thus, this most aloof of intellectuals saw himself as a participant in the Amerindian dialogues he analysed without claiming any kind of precedence for himself. Because the myths are about the interrelationship of living things, it is essential for him to understand the natural history of all species in order to understand our own natural history.

Understanding, or participating, in the ecological reflection of humans such as the Amerindians is not only what he considered most important to study for himself as an anthropologist: it also coloured his values. These, from time to time, particularly towards the end of his life, he allowed himself to make public. He repeatedly expressed his distaste for the narrowness and sterility of much post-neolithic thought, and its obsession with the exploitation of other living things rather than simply reflecting on the latter's complexity and mutual relationships. As a result, he became something of a hero to certain modern ecological ideologues. For Lévi-Strauss, writing and formal education are just as likely to lead to philosophical impoverishment as to anything else.

There is also another, even more fundamental, way in which his thought seeks to rejoin that of the mythology of the Amerindians as he understands it to be. Myths have no authors. Their creation occurs imperceptibly in the process of transmission or transformation over hundreds of years and across hundreds of miles. The individual subject, the self-obsessed innovator or artist so dear to much western philosophy, had, therefore, no place for Lévi-Strauss, and indeed repelled him. He saw the glorification of individual creativity as an illusion. As he wrote in Tristes Tropiques: "the I is hateful". This perspective is particularly evident in his study of Amerindian art. This art did not involve the great individualistic self-displays of western art that he abhorred. The Amerindian artist, by contrast, tried to reproduce what others had done and, if he was innovating, he was unaware of the fact. Throughout Lévi-Strauss's work there is a clear aesthetic preference for a creativity that is distributed throughout a population and that does not wear its emotions on its sleeve.

This central philosophical tenet of his approach has often been forgotten, partly because of some subsequent writers, such as Foucault or Derrida, who although they acknowledged his influence, were bizarrely labelled as post-structuralists, as though they differed from him in this respect. They were then credited with the idea of the "death of the subject" while, in this, they simply followed in his footsteps. Yet, the philosophical implications of this position not only implicitly underlay so much of his thought, but were made quite explicit in the polemic against Sartre's glorification of individual choice, which forms the final part of Lévi-Strauss's most adventurous book, The Savage Mind (1962).

Of course, his theories have been much criticised, and few would now subscribe to them in the way that they were originally formulated, but nonetheless many anthropologists, including myself, are continually amazed and awed by the fact that, through the use of a theory that many consider flawed, or at least rather vague, Lévi-Strauss gained the most illuminating and unexpected insights in almost all fields of social and cultural anthropology.

Given his personality and, indeed, his theories, the extraordinary lionisation he received on the occasion of his 100th birthday seems ironic. It was as if the French establishment and the French state had decided that he was suddenly a major diplomatic asset. He had received drawers full of medals and prizes from all over the world and, as the international fame of its public intellectuals is the kind of thing France has always prided itself on, it made sure the birthday did not go unnoticed. Lévi-Strauss had become the last survivor of these great beasts such as Sartre, Foucault and the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu and, what was more, he was politically uncontroversial. Also, the genuine interest of the previous French president Jacques Chirac in the culture of native peoples and in the acquisition of "primitive art" encouraged this apotheosis of a person who, for the general French public represented, above all, the lure of primitive exoticism.

So, when the great date came, nearly every French magazine had his photo on the cover. President Sarkozy went to his flat to wish him a happy birthday, and the ministry of foreign affairs helped to finance seminars in his honour in places as far apart as Iceland and India. The imposing amphitheatre of the newly created collection of indigenous art at the Quai Branly museum, in Paris, was named after him. Most significant of all, a large part of his work was republished in the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade. This honour is normally reserved for dead greats such as Racine or Aristotle, whose writings are thereby placed in a kind of leather-bound bibliophilic mausoleum and printed on paper normally only used for bibles.

This treatment is significant because, as Vincent Debaene points out in a cheeky introduction to the volume, France much prefers to represent its scientists and thinkers as great literary figures, rather than celebrate what they said or discovered.

And indeed all this adulation hardly considered seriously the core of Levi-Strauss's work, the groundbreaking analysis of kinship systems that he published on his return to France in 1947 as The Elementary Structures of Kinship, consisting of a detailed study of those societies where family ties determine who people must marry, or the minute examinations of North and South American myth. All these public tributes seem to obscure his prime identity as a professional anthropologist struggling with the basic traditional questions of the discipline.

We do not know what he thought of all this, since by then he felt too ill to respond, but his often-expressed preference for the anonymous creator, which seems to accord so well with his personality, does not square with all this fuss. He hated public occasions and was a very private person. He loved to be out of step with the received "correct" view of the moment. He was uncomfortable with disciples and fled from adulation.

To the members of his team in Paris, the image he evoked above all was the nearly permanently closed doors of his study. This is not to say that he was in any way a recluse. He was secretly warm and had a delightful sense of humour. He was charming and very considerate and respectful towards whoever he was dealing with, irrespective of status. I remember him at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, on the occasion of his being given an honorary degree, listening to students telling him about what they got from his work and not allowing them to be interrupted by the French ambassador, who failed in the attempt to barge in and drag him away in the direction of more important guests. The nearest he approached discourtesy was a faint hint of irony, but on the whole he preferred to be alone, working, reading and accumulating ever more details about the lives of the native Americans whom he so admired.

He married Dina Dreyfus in 1932, Rose Marie Ullmo in 1946, and Monique Roman in 1954, and had a son by each of his second and third wives - Laurent and Matthieu. He is survived by Monique and his sons.

• Claude Lévi-Strauss, anthropologist, born 28 November 1908; died 30 October 2009

Courtesy of GlobalResearch.ca

Why must some Malaysians tread on cows heads, throw molotov cocktails at several churches and now throw pigs' heads at people's mosques?

2010-01-27T13:30:00.027+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 1/27/2010

Malaysian police said three severed pigs' heads were found at two mosques on Wednesday, in the latest of a spate of attacks on places of worship that have escalated ethnic tensions.

Malaysian police said three severed pigs' heads were found at two mosques on Wednesday, in the latest of a spate of attacks on places of worship that have escalated ethnic tensions.

National police chief Musa Hassan said one head was found in the grounds of the Masjid Taman Dato Harun in a Kuala Lumpur suburb and two others were left at the nearby Al Imam al Tirmizi mosque.

The heads were from wild pigs commonly found in Malaysia.

"By looking at the modus operandi of the two incidents... I think it is the same group that is involved in the previous attacks," he said, referring to assaults on two Muslim prayer halls and 11 churches in recent weeks.

The places of worship were pelted with Molotov cocktails, stones and paint in tensions triggered by a court ruling that overturned a government ban on non-Muslims using the word "Allah" as a translation for "God."

Musa said he believed the attacks were being funded by a group that was attempting to worsen tensions in Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim nation which is also home to large ethnic Chinese and Indian communities.

"I think they are throwing money (to those carrying out the attacks) to cause such incidents," he told reporters.

"Don't play with fire, I will not compromise on the security of the country. Please do not provoke the public or any parties to undermine the security of the country," he added.

MSN News

Malaysia’s Strife by Farish A. Noor

2010-01-24T06:35:00.004+08:00

Malaysia’s Strife Farish A. Noor (Asian Edge)

24 January 2010 Malaysia has been making international headlines over the past few weeks for all the wrong reasons, yet again.

The spate of arson attacks on Churches, Temples and Mosques is a worrying sign that the fragile social contract — if there ever was one — that underlies the Malaysian multicultural project is in danger of falling apart if centrifugal forces aligned to communitarian groups and lobbies are not kept in check.

Ostensibly the controversy began as a result of protests on the part of several Muslim groups in the country over the use of the word ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims, in particular Christians, in the country. But one needs to take a step back from the furore to understand the other structural and socio-economic factors that may have played a part in this sudden mobilisation of mass  communitarian anxiety.

After all, why now? Christians in many parts of the country, notably in East Malaysia, have been using the term ‘Allah’ for decades, in fact long before the states of Sabah and Sarawak even joined Malaysia in 1963. If this was not an issue of concern over the past four decades, then why has it been made an issue now, and by whom?

The government of Prime Minister Najib Razak is therefore caught in a double-bind, thanks in part to the communal nature of Malaysian politics that has been normalised over half a century. Despite talk of ‘Malaysia’, ‘Middle Malaysia’, ‘Malaysian Malaysia’ by politicians in power as well as the opposition, the reality is that there are many Malaysias that have remained largely isolated and alienated from each other, developing in tandem but without ever seriously communicating. Malaysian society remains a distant idea as the communities of the country remain living in their private comfort zones with little real contact and understanding of each other. Now the nature of Malaysia’s communal politics also means that anyone who aspires to power has traditionally had to appeal to all the different communities and pander to their private, short-term and at times  exclusive demands.

Successive Malaysian governments have conceded ground to communalist lobbies of all hues, be their language and culture activists, religious activists or proponents of narrow localised politics. Today the ‘Allah debate’ has brought to the fore two lobby groups that represent the interests of Muslims and non-Muslims in general.

How the government appeals to these groups will determine the future outcome of the ‘Allah controversy’, but also the future development  of Malaysia.

The two choices seem equally stark and self-defeating:

Should the government concede to the demand of the Muslim lobby groups, they will regard this as a victory on their part. The government may claim some credit for this and claim that they have appeased the demands of the majority Muslim community, but to what end? This will signal a victory for Muslim communal groups that may embolden them to make more demands, and which will force the government to concede further on other issues. It will also be seen as a token instance of rewarding communitarian ethno-religious mobilisation that ends up securing the comfort zone of one community while alienating others. And what of the sensibilities of the Christian minority, particularly in East Malaysia, who have been supporters of the ruling coalition for so long?

One consequence might be the alienation of the Christian vote, which would not help raise the fortunes of the government in general.

To concede to the demands of the Christian groups on the other hand also has its consequences, and would be seen as a case of being ‘soft’ on matters of religion and identity that has been the complaint against both the Badawi and Najib administrations. It may also shore up support for the more conservative ethno-religious lobbies and to push them even further in  their demands.

Either way, the current impasse seems to be a lose-lose situation that carries heavy political costs whichever way the government decides to act. To concede to the demands of the Muslim lobby would be to deny the historical and cultural claims of East Malaysian Christians who have been using Allah even before they were part of Malaysia, and does not send the right message as far as the project of nation-building is concerned. Yet the irony is this: Since the time of former Prime Minister Badawi to the present, no Malaysian politician (be they of the ruling government or opposition) has had the courage and common sense to note that Malaysia is a complex country and like all complex nations there are bound to be contradictions that can never  be resolved.

No politician has suggested that perhaps the only way out is for Malaysians to grow up to be a mature nation that can live with discomfort, complexities and ambiguities; not least the complexities of multiculturalism. The constant calls for national unity belie the simple belief that complex nations can be rendered homogeneous and unified, but perhaps at the expense of the loss of particular identity. This would be a high cost for communities who feel that they have more to lose than to gain by being part of such a project. For instance: would East Malaysians have to deny or erase their history and their historical use of the word Allah just to be part of ‘Malaysia’? Perhaps that is simply too high a price to pay for them.

In the long run however what the country needs now is cold reason and a return to real concrete political-economic and structural issues, such as the desperate need for Malaysia to re-engineer its economy in time to meet the demands of an accelerated economic race in Asia. Bickering over semantics and customs may be the staple diet of shallow populist politicians who just want to win some votes and end up on YouTube, but it is not the stuff that real development and nation-building  is all about.

Malaysians need to live with complexity and diversity and learn to accept differences among themselves. In the meanwhile, other pressing economic and structural matters need our attention. The world is not going to stop or slow down to give Malaysia a chance to catch up. In fact, the world is not going to give Malaysia a second chance at all. We either resolve our differences and accept that we are a complex nation and move on; or we can continue to play the game of narrow communal politics and commit collective economic suicide while the world walks past Malaysia, passing us off as yet another basket-case failed state embroiled in infantile communitarian politics. The choice, my friends, is as simple as that.

Dr Farish A Noor is Senior Fellow at S. Rajaratnam School of International  Studies, Nanyang Technological  University in Singapore.

Source: Khaleej Times Online

Bridging the Religious Divide: 200 Community Leaders to participate in an Inter-faith Goodwill Feast organized by the Kelantan State Government

2010-01-23T23:36:00.007+08:00

KOTA BHARU, 23 Jan: Seramai 200 orang ketua-ketua kaum seluruh negara yang mewakili lima agama akan menghadiri majlis Jamuan Muhibbah Antara Agama anjuran Kerajaan Kelantan yang akan diadakan pada 28 Januari ini.

Majlis yang diadakan bertujuan untuk mengeratkan lagi hubungan antara masyarakat Islam dan pelbagai agama itu akan dihadiri oleh ulama Islam, ketua agama Hindu, Buddha, Kristian dan Sikh, 16 orang daripadanya paderi Kristian.

Menteri Besar Kelantan, Tuan Guru Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat berkata, majlis yang diadakan di sebuah hotel itu akan diadakan bermula pukul 10.45 pagi dan dijangka berakhir 12.00 tengah hari.

“Kita terpaksa menganjurkan program berkenaan agak awal bagi menghormati sebahagian penganut agama yang tidak boleh makan tengah hari melebihi pukul 12.00 tengah hari,” ujarnya.

Menurutnya, biarpun kerajaan negeri pernah meraikan golongan berkenaan beberapa tahun dahulu, namun majlis yang bakal berlangsung nanti lebih besar, apa lagi ianya melibatkan ketua agama di seluruh negara termasuk Sabah.

Jelas beliau lagi, kerajaan negeri meraikan golongan berkenaan bukan sahaja untuk mengeratkan hubungan yang telah sedia terjalin, bagaimanapun untuk mengekalkan suasana aman di negeri ini yang telah ditadbir oleh parti yang berlandaskan Islam.

Tambahnya, lagipun Islam menggalakkan umatnya berbuat baik kepada semua bangsa dan agama termasuk meraikan mereka dengan jamuan.

“Mudah-mudahan dengan cara ini masyarakat bukan Islam dapat menyaksikan sendiri bagaimana Islam mengajar penganutnya meraikan golongan bukan Islam,” ujarnya.

Source: HarakahDaily

The Malaysian Pastime: Malaysia's war of words over God

2010-01-23T23:17:00.008+08:00

Spurious objections to Malaysian Christians' use of the word Allah must be countered by inclusivist Muslims

Thursday 21 January 2010 12.00 GMT
Article history

by
Nazry-Bahrawi

In countless tourism adverts, Malaysia asks the world to see it as "Truly Asia". In the past days and weeks, its government's bid to portray the nation as a harmonious multicultural society has gone up in flames.

Since its high court lifted a three-year embargo that prevents non-Muslims from using the Arabic word Allah in their prayers and literature on 31 December, detractors firebombed several churches and vandalised others across the nation. While there were no casualties, several churches have thus far been hit, with one so severely damaged that its members had to conduct their service elsewhere. Eight of the attackers have now been arrested.

Despite these attacks, Malaysia's Christians, who make up about nine percent of the 27 million-strong Southeast Asian nation, are insisting that the use of Allah is not exclusive to Muslims, who account for some 60% of the population.

Last February, Malaysia's Catholic archbishop, Murphy Pakiam, publisher of the Herald newspaper, filed for a judicial review against the ban that was first enforced in 2007 by the then home affairs minister, Syed Hamid Albar, against the Catholic weekly for using Allah to refer to God in its Malay language version.

The rationale behind the Catholic church's appeal was that Allah is a generic word for God that preceded the spread of Islam. After all, the word Allah, when translated from Arabic, comprises the definite article al, and the noun ilah which means God – connoting a singular deity, a belief common to adherents of the Abrahamic faiths.

Indeed, Biblical scholar Kenneth J Thomas outlined evidence in a 2001 research paper (pdf) suggesting that Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Arab world have used Allah when citing and translating the Bible since the first centuries of Islam.

In Malaysia, its use by Christians developed along similar lines. Since Christianity became widespread there in the 19th century, primarily through the missionary efforts of English colonisers, Allah has been used extensively by Malay-speaking Christian indigenous peoples of the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak.

When juxtaposed against the fact that Malay-speaking Christians in neighbouring Indonesia have long used Allah in their worship to no complaint, it is understandable that Malaysia's church attacks have been viewed with much chagrin.

Observers have rightly argued that the rumpus is tied to Malaysia's ethnic-based political landscape. To be more precise, it arises from the form of Islam nurtured by a segment of the nation's Malay political elites.

The country's constitution not only makes Islam the official state religion but also specifies that a "Malay" must be a "Muslim". With ethnicity tied so closely to religion, defending the purity of Islam against corruption by foreigners has become both a religious duty and a matter of national pride.

This dogma has been fostered by the nation's ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), whose popularity is partly derived from its status as a defender of Malay rights.

This would explain Umno's ambivalent stance on the issue. Even as prime minister Najib Razak decried the church attacks as heinous, his Umno colleagues in government had filed an appeal against the high court decision to overturn the Allah ban. Home affairs minister Hishamuddin Hussein even went as far as to allow demonstrations against the Allah ruling in mosques across Malaysia after Friday prayers on 8 January.

Christians were not the only group targeted by adherents of exclusivist Islam following the fallout from the ruling. On 13 January, the country's Sikhs became the latest to suffer attacks when vandals threw stones at a temple in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. The Sikhs, who number approximately 120,000, also use Allah to refer to God in their worship.

Even the Hindus are not exempt from this kind of discrimination. Last September, a group of Muslim protestors stamped on a cow's severed head to protest at the building of a Hindu temple in a Muslim-majority neighbourhood.

Yet there is some encouragement to be had in the fact that not all Malays subscribe to this form of exclusivist Islam. Respected Muslim scholar Asri Zainul Abidin, a former state mufti, backs the use of Allah by non-Muslims. Surprisingly, this is the same stance taken by the opposition Islamic party, Parti Islam SeMalaysia, which had advocated the full-blown implementation of Sharia laws in past campaigns.

There are even voices of dissent coming from within Umno itself. Veteran politician Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who has always been something of a maverick, condemned his party's reactions following the ruling. For Malaysians to stop warring in God's name, this emerging inclusive Malay-Muslim voice must drown out the rallying cries of the divisive vandals. Insha'Allah.

Source: Guardian.co.uk

Around Malaysian Campuses - Malaysia squeezing its way into the top ranked universities ...

2010-01-23T20:01:00.018+08:00

Police-rapped-for-arresting-9-students-ahead-of-campus-polls

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23: Pakatan Rakyat leaders have slammed the police and the Umno-BN government for the arrests of nine university students, who were part of a group that was protesting against unfair and skewed campus election procedures.

“The situation was fine, everyone was calm. It was when the police came and created a scene with their loud hailers and started taking down banners and dragging some students away,” PKR supreme council member Badrul Hisham Shahrin, who is also known as Chegubard, told Harakahdaily.

“By taking this high-handed approach, the police have shown themselves to practice double standards. Why pick on the students today when several weeks ago at the Umno-spearheaded mass protests over the Allah issue, not a single arrest was made,” PAS Youth leader Abdullah Karim told Harakahdaily.

Intimidation and influencing voting pattern

More than 200 students from several public universities, due to hold their campus polls on Sunday, had congregated at Menara Tun Razak in Jalan Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur before marching to the Sogo shopping complex about half a kilometre away.

They had wanted to distribute flyers to the public and some had carried banners. Most of them belonged student activist groups such as Kumpulan Aktivis Mahasiswa Independen (Kami), Gabungan Mahasiswa Islam Se-Malaysia (Gamis), Gabungan Mahasiswa Bantah E-Voting (Bantah) and Pro-Mahasiswa.

In Malaysia, campus politics are divided between the pro-establishment camp, which is said to have the backing of the campus authority, and the anti-establishment camp. Polls are intensely competitive and traditionally fraught with allegations of irregularities, harassment and intimidation.

“I think it clear that many of the students were from the anti-establishment camp but that is not an excuse for the police to act this way. Today’s march was peaceful and there was no threat to national security. The police would be well-reminded to stay non-partisan. People are getting fed up and are asking if the arrests were intentional, to intimidate and influence the voting pattern tomorrow,” said Abdullah.

What sort of democracy?

The police crackdown intensified after student leader Aizat Salleh gave a short speech once the group – chanting ‘Bangkit Mahasiswa’ or ‘Arise Students’ as they marched – reached Sogo complex.

"We have already submitted a memo to the Higher Education Ministry. We appeal for greater transparency in the election process at all public universities and we urged the authorities to return to us our campus democracy," Aizat told the crowd.

But before he could continue further, he was detained. The other eight arrested were Hilman Idham, Mohammad Za'im Mustapha, Ahmad Shukri Kamarudin, Ahmad Syukri Abdul Razak, Mohammad Idris Yusoff, Fikhri Harun, Syahriul Ismail and Ridhuan Jamil, all of whom belonged to student organisations from universities in the Klang Valley.

They were brought to Dang Wangi district police headquarters for questioning.

“The right to assemble peacefully is a basic democratic right, and especially necessary for university students,” said Chegubard.

“As the inheritors of our future, youths must be given greater room for freedom of expression, greater room to explore and develop their minds. In every country, in every part of the world, this is understood. But apparently not here in Malaysia, where we look like a democratic country. But we are not, we are only a regimented democracy.”

Harakah Daily

Tell Us Sarawakians and Sabahans who exploited the issue and the spirit you are talking about Khairy!

2010-01-16T08:48:00.008+08:00

Jan 15, 10 7:24pm

The Youth wings of all component parties in the BN are asked to explain to the people, especially the youths in Sabah and Sarawak, the issue on the use of the word 'Allah' so that it would not be exploited by any group to create tension.

"I have directed the BN Youth to make clarifications to ensure that the people, in Sabah and Sarawak in particular, continue to accept the news in a rational and mature manner in line with the 1Malaysia spirit," BN Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin told reporters after receiving a courtesy call by nine members of the Sabah Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said although the issue received coverage in Sabah and Sarawak, the people there accepted it calmly.

Khairy, who is also Umno Youth chief, said the movement maintained good relations with the other BN component parties as there was mutual understanding between the members.

"We want to ensure that the BN Youth becomes a model for the young generation who, I believe, are becoming fed up with the politicking that seems to have no end in several of the component parties," he added.

Courtesy of Malaysiakini

A Fairy Tale That Doesn't End Well ...

2010-01-16T08:31:00.004+08:00

January 14, 2010 18:00 PM

Manohara's Words Meant I Raped, Abused And Tortured Her, Says Kelantan Prince

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 (Bernama) -- Kelantan Prince Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Sultan Ismail Petra told the High Court Thursday that the slanderous words hurled against him by his wife Manohara Odelia Pinot carried the meaning that he was in the wrong and was responsible for raping, abusing and torturing her.

Tengku Muhammad Fakhry said the words also meant he had sexually abused his wife, abducted, confined and prevented her from communicating with her mother Daisy Fajarina, and in fact, the words portrayed him to be a wild beast.

He vehemently denied using violence on his wife who had been a model in Indonesia and described their marital relationship as very good and that he loved her very much.

Tengku Muhammad Fakhry said since he married Manohara on Aug 26, 2008, his wife never showed any signs that she was unhappy living at the Mahkota palace in Kubang Kerian, Kota Bharu, till nine months after their marriage when she suddenly returned to Indonesia without his permission.

"All my family members, other members of the Kelantan royal household, and palace workers are witness of our close relationship," he said when testifying in the court proceedings to determine the quantum of damages that should be awarded to him in his RM105 million defamation suit against his wife and mother-in-law.

In the proceedings held in chambers, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry testified by reading out a witness statement that was signed by him, before Senior Assistant Registrar Noordura Mohamed Din.

The statement was marked as material evidence in the case.

After hearing his testimony, Noordura set Feb 24 to hear submissions from lawyer Mohd Haaziq Pillay, who is representing the prince in the suit.

A horde of journalists, press photographers and television camera crews had gathered at the court since early morning for the arrival of Tengku Muhammad Fakhry, 32.

The prince arrived at 10.50am and while expressing thanks to media personnel present, quickly left the court premises once today's proceedings were over.

He had filed the suit on July 20, 2009, claiming Manohara and her mother had falsely and maliciously defamed him at press conferences they held between April and June last year.

On Nov 5, 2009, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry obtained a judgement in default favouring him after the defendants failed to appoint new counsel to fight the case following the law firm of Messrs Fakrul Hisham Abdullah & Associates withdrawing from acting for them.

Earlier, on Oct 29, 2009, Senior Assistant Registrar Shazali Hidayat Shariff had given Manohara and her mother till Nov 5, 2009, to appoint new counsel or risk judgement being issued in default.

In his witness statement, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry had also said that as a result of their actions, his reputation and integrity as a prince and the Tengku Temenggong of Kelantan (third in line to the throne) was tarnished and that he had lost the faith and respect people had for him.

He said he was also accused of causing a diplomatic row between Malaysia and Indonesia, so much so, Indonesians carried out street protests claiming Malaysians were abusing and torturing the country's citizens in Malaysia.

Tengku Muhammad Fakhry said the stress he underwent as a result caused him to skip official state functions and was also embarassed because he had become a laughing stock among the public while some of his friends began to shun him besides others ending business relationships with him.

"I might not be able to rebuild my reputation which I had carefully nurtured and whatever damages are awarded, probably cannot undo the damage," he said, adding that he also felt ashamed before his father who had to hear the accusations made against him and at a time when his father was ill.

He further said the actions by Manohara and her mother could also be a conspiracy to cause his downfall and deny his rights at the Kelantan palace and to be dropped from the succession list.

BERNAMA

I've Told You There are Two, Not One Malaysia

2010-01-15T14:31:00.007+08:00

'Allah’ allowed in East M’sia

by Phyllis Wong and Francis Chan
January 15, 2010, Friday

Nazri says govt recognises two states’ traditional usage of word

KUALA LUMPUR: The word ‘Allah’ is allowed to be used by Christians in Sarawak and Sabah because the government accepts that the natives in these two states have traditionally been using it in their prayers and religious services and the Muslims there are accustomed to this practice.

“Christians in Sarawak and Sabah need not worry over this issue because it is a common tradition there. I have been to an Iban church service and I heard the word ‘Allah’ used there,” he said.

However, ‘Allah’ is not allowed to be used by churches in Semanunjung Malaysia and Christians from the two states have to respect this ruling when they are in Semenanjung, Nazri said.

Asked why there are two sets of rules on the usage of the word ‘Allah’ in the nation, he pointed out that this is not a unique practice as Malaysia also has two sets of laws on other matters, citing the Syariah Court and the Civil Court as an example.

He explained that the situation in Semenanjung Malaysia is different as ‘Allah’ is only introduced into Christian worships and publications a few years ago.

Nazri said: “Muslims here in Semenanjung cannot accept it as ‘Allah’ was never used in Christian preaching until recently and they questioned the motive behind the substitution of ‘Tuhan’ for ‘Allah’.

“It is clearly stated in our constitution that no other religions can be propagated to Malay Muslims and this article has been enacted in all the states in Malaysia where the Sultan is the Head of State … so this excludes Federal Territory, Penang, Malacca, Sarawak and Sabah.

“In these states, for the ban on the use of ‘Allah’ to be implemented the Home Affairs Minister can use the Printing Act to enforce it.”

Nazri added that Christians should recognise that using ‘Allah’ in their worships and publications is sensitive to Muslims and that this is not an issue that can be solved by going to court.

“The government has a duty to stop acts of disrespect and provocation that inflame religious and racial feelings in the nation even if there was no law that stated these acts were wrong.

“Take for example, there is no law in the country that states stepping on a severed cow head is wrong but when a group of Malays did that in their protests against the building of a Hindu temple we hauled them up and charged them because that act was disrespectful to the Hindus,” Nazri said.

He added that on the same score, if the usage of ‘Allah’ by Christians was (it certainly is, he said) sensitive to Muslims the government has to act even if courts deem it legal.

If that is the case, why does the government resort to going to the court to resolve the issue on the usage of ‘Allah’ by Christians?

To which, Nazri replied that it was Archbishop Murphy Pakiam who brought it to the court and the government had no choice but to defend in court and that once the process of law on the case has started it could not be stopped.

He said the government is continuing with the case in court by applying for a stay of execution which the other party has agreed to.

Judge Lau Mee Lan, in ruling against the ban on the usage of ‘Allah’ by Christians, had said that there was no evidence to show that the use of ‘Allah’ could incite violence.

To this, Nazri said such incidents had not happened when the hearing was on and the government could not produce such evidence.

But on the other hand, he said, the attacks on churches after the ruling proved the government right.

“Banning the use of ‘Allah’ by Christians was a pre-emptive move to stop outbreaks of religious violence in the nation,” he argued.

Asked how the controversy could be solved, Nazri said there had to be a solution soon and in the meantime he appealed to the people to be calm and rational.

Source: Borneo Post Online

Malaysia's Monopoly on Allah - City of Brass

2010-01-14T13:29:00.000+08:00

Malaysia's Monopoly on Allah - City of Brass

Oh Oh People Watching Us in Malaysia

2010-01-14T13:23:00.001+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 1/12/2010

The US government watchdog on religious freedom voiced concern Tuesday about a spate of church attacks in Malaysia, saying that leaders' response would be vital in shaping the nation's future.

The US government watchdog on religious freedom voiced concern Tuesday about a spate of church attacks in Malaysia, saying that leaders' response would be vital in shaping the nation's future.

"We are very concerned with events in Malaysia, as the church bombings have shaken Malaysia's delicate political and ethnic balance," said Leonard Leo, chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

"How Malaysian leaders settle these matters will determine that country's political and economic future," he said.

The commission, which makes policy recommendations to the US government, is a bipartisan body with members appointed by the the president and Congress.

Assailants have fire-bombed or vandalized nine churches in a wave of violence since Malaysia's High Court on December 31 lifted a government ban on non-Muslims using "Allah" as a translation for "God."

It was the latest incident to stir religious tensions in Malaysia, where the Muslim Malay majority lives alongside ethnic Chinese and Indian communities.

MSN News

The Americanization of Mental Illness - NYTimes.com

2010-01-13T12:21:00.000+08:00

The Americanization of Mental Illness - NYTimes.com

Conflicting strategies Islamicizing Malaysia | The Japan Times Online

2010-01-12T23:36:00.000+08:00

Conflicting strategies Islamicizing Malaysia | The Japan Times Online

Malaysia: The Fallen Angel?

2010-01-12T20:01:00.002+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 1/12/2010 Malaysia's moderate image bruised by church attacks

Malaysia's image as a moderate Muslim nation has suffered a blow with a spate of church firebombings that has widened ethnic divisions and posed a serious challenge for Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Malaysia's image as a moderate Muslim nation has suffered a blow with a spate of church firebombings that has widened ethnic divisions and posed a serious challenge for Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Nine churches have been attacked since last Friday, pelted with Molotov cocktails or vandalised amid anger over a court ruling that overturned a government ban on non-Muslims using "Allah" as a translation for "God".

The government has insisted that the use of the word by Christians, who make up nine percent of the Muslim-majority nation's population, could cause confusion and encourage religious conversion, which is illegal for Muslims in Malaysia.

"It is a low point for Malaysia's image as a moderate Muslim country," said Azmi Sharom from the Universiti Malaya, of the latest in a string of religious disputes that have raised fears the country is being "Islamised".

They include the sentencing of a Muslim model to six strokes of the cane for drinking beer, and "body-snatching" cases where Islamic authorities have battled with relatives over the remains of people whose religion is disputed.

The tussles have caused unease among Malaysia's ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities, who fear their rights are being eroded as political parties battle for the support of the 62 percent of the population that is Malay.

The "Allah" row "is an ethnic and political thing more than a religious one," said Azmi, arguing that the ban on the use of the word is aimed at shoring up government support among Malays, who represent its base.

"The term 'Allah' has been used commonly elsewhere. The government is just pandering to some people who are calling for the ban, but most people actually feel quite indifferent about this issue," he said.

The ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), has been accused of stoking Malay nationalism in order to protect its support base after 2008 elections where it lost ground to the opposition.

Pollster Ibrahim Suffian said the church attacks are a "double-edged sword" for Najib, who came to power last year pledging to heal divisions among the ethnic groups.

"If the government doesn't appeal (against the court ruling), it will be seen as offending the conservative Muslims in the country, but at the same time he has pledged to reach out to all minorities," he said.

"It just goes to show the limited amount of room he has between balancing his political interest and a wider Malaysian interest," said Ibrahim, head of the independent polling firm Merdeka Centre.

Najib has visited the scene of the most serious of the attacks, a church that was partly gutted last Friday, as have several leaders of the opposition Islamic party, which is challenging UMNO for Malay support.

The fire-bombings come just as Malaysia, Southeast Asia's third-largest economy, is trying to woo foreign investors. They also threaten to harm its tourism industry, one of the key foreign exchange earners.

"This is the communication era, so information travels fast... tourists will choose not to visit a country faced with conflicts, especially religious conflicts," Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen has warned.

Religion and language are sensitive issues in multiracial Malaysia, which experienced deadly race riots in 1969.

The latest controversy may be prolonged as there have been no steps towards a compromise over the "Allah" case. The High Court last week suspended the lifting of the ban but has yet to set a date to hear the government's appeal.

Prominent Islamic cleric Harussani Zakaria said he recognised that the disputed word is widely used by Christians in the Middle East, as well as in neighbouring Indonesia, but said it had to be off-limits in Malaysia.

He disputed Christians' claims that they had used the word for centuries without incident, and accused them of having "hidden motives".

"We are still living in a moderate Muslim country but we can't be tolerant on issues of faith. Please just respect our faith, that's all," he told AFP.

Father Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the Catholic "Herald" newspaper which mounted the legal challenge to the government ban, was also resolute.

"How do we withdraw the case when the case has been decided and it was decided in our favour?" he asked. "We have been using the word for so long, at least 400 years here."

MSN News

The Politics of 'Allah' - Malaysia is still struggling to uphold basic freedoms.

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

JANUARY 6, 2010, 2:21 P.M. ET

God means love in many places, but in Malaysia it can also mean politics. That's the takeaway from the United Malays National Organization-led government's attempt to quash the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslim groups.

At issue is the Catholic Herald's two-year court battle to use the A-word in its Malay-language edition—which it claims it needs to do because there's no other suitable word for "God" in Malay. Last week, the High Court overturned an arbitrary government ban. Yesterday, however, the church agreed to a stay of the decision—at the government's request—until the ruling can be appealed. So the Herald is once again muzzled.

Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail characterized the decision as "a matter of national interest," which implies that somehow Muslims across Malaysia would revolt if the Herald were allowed to reference God in another language. Never mind that Malaysians of many faiths have peacefully co-existed for decades.

The real reason UMNO is politicizing the issue and pandering to its conservative base may be to deflect attention from its own political vulnerabilities. The opposition coalition, led by Anwar Ibrahim, has gained popularity by touting a vision of a secular country in which all religions have equal rights. Even the opposition's Islamic partner, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party—which hasn't always supported liberal ideas—issued a statement Monday saying that the Herald's use of "Allah" is its constitutional right.

Prime Minister Najib Razak called the A-word controversy a "sensitive issue" Sunday. But by allowing his party to continue curtailing freedom of speech, he is only stirring tensions. What a disappointment for a man who ran for office promising to create "One Malaysia."

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Experts say Japan must change how it is handling low birthrate | The Japan Times Online

2010-01-08T00:08:00.000+08:00

Experts say Japan must change how it is handling low birthrate | The Japan Times Online

Malaysia court suspends "Allah" ruling

2010-01-06T22:39:00.005+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 1/6/2010 Malaysia court suspends "Allah" ruling in blow for Catholics

A Malaysian court on Wednesday suspended a ruling that allowed a Catholic newspaper to use the word "Allah", after the government argued the decision could cause racial conflict.

A Malaysian court on Wednesday suspended a ruling that allowed a Catholic newspaper to use the word "Allah", after the government argued the decision could cause racial conflict.

Malaysia's high court ruled last week that the Herald weekly had the right to use the word "Allah", after a long-running dispute with the government in the Muslim-majority nation.

The paper has been using the word as a translation for "God" in its Malay-language section, but the government argued it should be used only by Muslims.

Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail welcomed the high court's decision to issue a stay order pending an appeal on the ruling in favour of the church, which triggered a series of protests from Muslim groups.

"I made the request for a stay as it is a matter of national interest," Abdul Gani said at the court.

"We do not want the matter delayed and cause all kinds of tensions in the country" he told reporters. "I believe the Court of Appeal will hear the case very soon."

The Herald's editor Father Lawrence Andrew warned of a campaign of intimidation including hacker attacks against the weekly's website, protest threats and widespread criticism in the media over last week's ruling.

"We believe these actions (are designed) to create a climate of fear and a perceived threat to national security so as to pressure the court in reversing its decision," he said in a statement.

Outside the court, Father Lawrence said the Herald had agreed to the suspension of the controversial ruling.

"We are Malaysians and we want to live in peace and happiness," he said. "We will be rational in our approach in facing this situation. We do not want opportunists to take advantage of this situation."

The Herald's lawyer Derek Fernandez urged the attorney-general to take action against those who criticised the court decision -- which include senior government figures -- in defiance of sub judice laws that bar such comments.

Prime Minister Najib Razak met the nation's king on Wednesday to explain the issue, according to a statement which said Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin had consented to the government's actions.

"While the appeal process is going on, it is our responsibility not to do anything that can jeopardise the interest and well-being of the people," Najib said according to the official news agency Bernama.

The row is among a string of religious disputes that have erupted in recent years, straining relations between Muslim Malays and minority ethnic Chinese and Indians who fear the country is being "Islamised".

Religion and language are sensitive issues in multiracial Malaysia, which experienced deadly race riots in 1969.

The Herald is printed in four languages, with a circulation of 14,000 a week in a country with about 850,000 Catholics.

MSN News

The Bishop of Breda: Lets Call God Allah

2010-01-05T23:57:00.007+08:00

Let's call God Allah by Mohammed Abdelrahman & Nicolien den Boer*

14-08-2007

The Bishop of Breda, Tiny Muskens, wants people to start calling God Allah. He says the Netherlands should look to Indonesia, where the Christian churches already pray to Allah. It is also common in the Arab world: Christian and Muslim Arabs use the words God and Allah interchangeably.

Speaking on the Dutch TV programme Network on Monday evening, Bishop Muskens (pictured) says it could take another 100 years but eventually the name Allah will be used by Dutch churches. And that will promote rapprochement between the two religions.

Retiring

Muskens doesn't expect his idea to be greeted with much enthusiasm. The 71-year-old bishop, who will soon be retiring due to ill health, says God doesn't mind what he is called. God is above such "discussion and bickering". Human beings invented this discussion themselves, he believes, in order to argue about it.

More than 30 years ago Bishop Muskens worked in Indonesia and, there, God was called Allah, even in Catholic churches. The Dutch should learn to get on spontaneously with different cultures, religions and behaviour patterns:

"Someone like me has prayed to Allah yang maha kuasa (Almighty God) for eight years in Indonesia and other priests for 20 or 30 years. In the heart of the Eucharist, God is called Allah over there, so why can't we start doing that together?"

In the Arab world God is called Allah. The long history of Christianity in the Arab world led to the development of a rich Christian-Islamic theological vocabulary, which makes God a normal equivalent to Allah. Both Muslims and Christians use the word in the Middle East.

ar-Rabb

Apart from Allah, the term ar-Rabb (the Lord) is also widely used, although this appears far more often in the Arabic version of the Bible than in the Qur'an. In the Islamic context, references to ar-Rabb are normally found in the possessive form, such as Rabbi (My Lord). Interestingly, the word Allah was already in use by Christians in the pre-Islamic period.

Bishop Muskens proposal will undoubtedly receive a warm welcome from the Islamic community in the Netherlands. Particularly as it follows last week's remarks by Geert Wilders about banning the Qur'an and, shortly before that, former Muslim Ehsan Jami's comparison of Muhammad with Osama bin Laden.

Attention

Perhaps this is the reason Bishop Muskens' remarks have received so much attention in the Dutch press. The bishop actually said exactly the same several years ago. He also suggested abolishing Whit Monday as a national holiday in favour of an Islamic religious day.

In the past, Bishop Muskens has offended many Muslims. In 2005 he said Islam was a religion without a future because it had too many violent aspects. The bishop is also responsible for a number of controversial remarks. He caused uproar in the Netherlands when he said the poor had a right to steal bread if they were hungry. And he put the Vatican's back up with an appeal for the use of condoms in the fight against AIDS.

* Translated from Dutch (imm)

Courtesy of Radio Nederland Wereldomroep (Radio Nedetherlands Worldwide)

Ooops! PAS Scholar Haron Din's Fatwa inconsistent with his party's Decision

2010-01-05T23:13:00.008+08:00

Islamic scholars: Haron wrong about 'kufur' Jimadie Shah Othman
Jan 5, 10 6:55pm

The heated argument over the use of 'Allah' by non-Muslims has been raised a notch as several Muslim scholars criticised PAS deputy spiritual leader Haron Din for his kufur (non-believers) remark.

Haron had reportedly affixed the label to Muslims who defend the right of non-Muslims to use the word 'Allah' for God, following the ruling by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Dec 31 last year.

Renowned scholar and former Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said Haron should explain the rationale of his comment and not misinterpret other people's opinions.

“I want to ask him: If we hear the non-Muslims say 'Allah created the universe', would we want to take action against them? And would we want to order them to say 'other Gods created the universe'?” he asked.

Mohd Asri said Haron's comment is contrary to that of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, reached by consensus at a party meeting last night.

“It is not easy to accuse someone of apostasy, when (Haron's) own party says that non-Muslims can use the word 'Allah',” said Mohd Asri.

“The term has been used since the time of Prophet Muhammad. It is even enshrined in Islamic history. When the Prophet signed an agreement with the (non-Muslim) Quraish clan, it included the word 'Allah'.”

Abdul Hadi said the word 'Allah' may be used by Christians and Jews, but he also said the term should not be abused or exploited as this could affect racial and religious harmony.

In this respect, Mohd Asri reiterated for a guideline or law over the use of the word, in order to prevent provocation.

'Hold dialogues'

PAS consultative council member Ahmad Awang is of the opinion that akidah (faith) issues and court decisions are different things altogether.

“It would be more deviating to say that the word 'Allah' is exclusive only to Muslims because 'Allah' is the God of the universe and of all mankind,” he said.

The High Court decision could lead to strengthening Muslims' understanding of their faith, argued the former Perak PAS commissioner.

He suggested, however, that dialogues be held between those of different religions, to ensure that the word 'Allah' is not abused.

The issue is rooted in a ban imposed by the Home Ministry on Catholic weekly magazine The Herald, against use of the word 'Allah'.

The Herald, which is printed in four languages, has been using the word as a translation for 'God' in its Malay-language section, but the government argued that it should be used only by Muslims.

The term 'Allah' is widely used among Christian indigenous peoples in Sabah and Sarawak, many of whom speak Bahasa Malaysia.

The ministry is appealing the High Court decision, as well as seeking a 'stay' order to prevent use of the word in the interim.

Courtesy of Malaysiakini

Universities must look abroad to reverse Japan's brain drain | The Japan Times Online

2010-01-04T22:40:00.002+08:00

Universities must look abroad to reverse Japan's brain drain | The Japan Times Online

Here We Go Again: Malaysian government to appeal 'Allah' ruling

2010-01-03T21:37:00.003+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 1/3/2010 Malaysian government to appeal 'Allah' ruling: minister

Malaysia's minister in charge of Muslim affairs has said the government will appeal a court ruling allowing a Catholic paper the right to use the word "Allah".

Malaysia's minister in charge of Muslim affairs has said the government will appeal a court ruling allowing a Catholic paper the right to use the word "Allah".

Malaysia's high court ruled last week the Herald weekly had the right to use the word "Allah" after a long-running dispute between the government and the newspaper in the Muslim-majority nation.

The paper has been using the word as a translation for "God" in its Malay-language section, but the government argued the word should be used only by Muslims.

Jamil Khir Johari said the country's national fatwa council had ruled in May 2008 that "Allah" could only be used by Muslims in Malaysia, state news agency Bernama reported late Saturday.

"It is important for Muslims here to guard the use of the word and if there is any attempt to insult or misuse the word we must take all legal action as allowed under the federal constitution," he was quoted as saying by Bernama.

Meanwhile the Herald's website was hacked at the weekend, causing the site to shut down, editor Father Lawrence Andrew told AFP.

"Our website was attacked by hackers and was shut down and we suspect it was done by those unhappy with the present situation," he said, while declining to comment on the government's plan to appeal.

The court ruled on Thursday the Catholic paper had the "constitutional right" to use the word "Allah", declaring the government's ban on the word "illegal, null and void".

Muslim groups have said they plan to protest the ruling.

Universiti Teknologi MARA political analyst Shahruddin Badaruddin said the main issue amongst Muslims was the fear that the use of the word by non-Muslims would inflame religious tensions.

"It is all about the fear that allowing use of the word will make it easier for Christians to convert the local population," he told AFP.

Former premier Mahathir Mohamad said the use of the term had to be governed strictly but that Muslims would still be angry over the ruling, according to the New Straits Times.

The Herald is printed in four languages, with a circulation of 14,000 a week in a country with about 850,000 Catholics.

The court case was one of a string of religious disputes that have erupted in recent years, straining relations between Muslim Malays and minority ethnic Chinese and Indians who fear the country is being "Islamised".

MSN News

Never Ending Issue: Malaysian Muslim activists oppose 'Allah' ruling

2010-01-02T18:42:00.003+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 1/2/2010 Malaysian Muslim activists oppose 'Allah' ruling

Muslim groups in Malaysia have voiced opposition to a court ruling allowing a Catholic paper the right to use the word "Allah", and said Saturday they plan to demonstrate.

Muslim groups in Malaysia have voiced opposition to a court ruling allowing a Catholic paper the right to use the word "Allah", and said Saturday they plan to demonstrate.

Malaysia's high court ruled Thursday that the Herald weekly had the right to use the word "Allah" after a long-running dispute between the government and the paper in the Muslim-majority nation.

The Herald has been using the word "Allah" as a translation for "God" in its Malay-language section, but the government argued "Allah" should be used only by Muslims.

The court ruled the Catholic paper had the "constitutional right" to use the word 'Allah', declaring the government's ban on the word "illegal, null and void". Government lawyers have not yet decided whether to appeal.

Muslim groups have opposed the ruling.

"The court decision is not right and we are planning to hold a major demonstration to protest this," Syed Hassan Syed Ali, secretary general of Malay rights group Pribumi Perkasa told AFP.

He and 50 other Malay activists held a small protest over the ruling outside a central mosque Friday.

"We fear that the court victory will mean that Christian missionaries will now use the word, confusing (the identity of) Muslims and undermining religious harmony," he said.

Federation of Malay Students' Association advisor Reezal Merican said although the court decision had to be respected, the government needed to appeal it.

"We want to live in peace with all religions here but the word Allah has traditionally in Malaysia been used to represent the Muslim God, which is different from Christianity, and this must be addressed," he told AFP.

Northern Perak state mufti Harussani Zakaria was also critical of the verdict, calling it "an insult to Muslims in this country," according to the influential Malay-language Utusan Malaysia newspaper.

The Herald is printed in four languages, with a circulation of 14,000 copies a week in a country with about 850,000 Catholics.

The court case was among a string of religious disputes that have erupted in recent years, straining relations between Muslim Malays and minority ethnic Chinese and Indians who fear the country is being "Islamised".

MSN News

Again: Malaysia court rules Catholic paper has right to use 'Allah'

2010-01-01T03:01:00.005+08:00

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 12/31/2009Malaysia court rules Catholic paper has right to use 'Allah'

Malaysia's high court ruled Thursday that a Catholic paper had the right to use the word "Allah" after a long-running dispute between the government and the weekly in the Muslim-majority nation.

The ruling overturns the government's controversial threat to cancel The Herald's annual publishing permit.

"The applicant has the constitutional right to use the word 'Allah'," Judge Lau Bee Lan told a packed courtroom, declaring the government's ban on the paper's use of the word "illegal, null and void".

The weekly used the word "Allah" as a translation for "God" in its Malay-language section but the government argued "Allah" should be used only by Muslims.

Lau said the home ministry, which licenses all newspapers in the country, had taken into account "irrelevant considerations" when making the paper's publishing permit conditional on it not using the word.

She said it had shown no evidence that the use of the word by Christians was "a threat to national security".

The Herald's editor, Father Lawrence Andrew, said he was pleased with the decision and the paper would use the word 'Allah' in its upcoming Sunday edition.

"This also means that... the Christian faith can now continue to freely use the word 'Allah'... without any interference from the authorities," he added.

Government lawyers have not yet decided whether to appeal the ruling.

The Herald is printed in four languages, with a circulation of 14,000 copies a week in a country with about 850,000 Catholics.

The court case was among a string of religious disputes that have erupted in recent years, straining relations between Muslim Malays and minority ethnic Chinese and Indians who fear the country is being "Islamised".

Religion and language are sensitive issues in multiracial Malaysia, which experienced deadly race riots in 1969.

MSN News

Kedah DAP quits PAS-led gov't - semua gara2 khinzir

2009-07-01T23:16:00.002+08:00

Malaysiakini

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Showa Shell told to pay sex redress | The Japan Times Online

2009-07-01T22:32:00.001+08:00

Showa Shell told to pay sex redress | The Japan Times Online

Shared via AddThis

Indonesia to suspend sending domestic helpers to Malaysia

2009-06-26T22:46:00.001+08:00

Agence France-Presse - 6/25/2009 12:44 PM GMT
Indonesia to suspend sending domestic helpers to Malaysia
Indonesia will temporarily suspend sending domestic helpers to Malaysia amid outrage over the abuse of its nationals by their employers, the labour minister said Thursday.

"We will temporarily stop sending domestic helpers to Malaysia as we wait for the completion of a review on (the current) Memorandum of Understanding," Erman Suparno told reporters, adding the suspension was effective from Friday.

It will last at least until meetings between Indonesian and Malaysian officials in Kuala Lumpur in mid-July to discuss a new agreement on migrant workers, Suparno said.

Indonesia has proposed that domestic helpers be protected from non-payment of wages and poor conditions and be ensured of the right to days off and holidays, Suparno said.

"Domestic workers should also be able to hold on to their passports," he said.

"If our demands are not fulfilled and not guaranteed in the MoU, we will not continue (sending workers)," Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Da'i Bachtiar said.

Malaysia has no laws governing conditions for domestic workers but the government has promised to draft legislation to protect them from sexual harassment, non-payment of wages and poor conditions.

Malaysia is home to some 1.2 million documented Indonesian workers, as well as about 800,000 Indonesians working there illegally.

Cases of abuse of maids at the hands of Malaysian bosses are a frequent source of outrage in Indonesia, contributing to often prickly relations between the two countries.

A 43-year-old Malaysian woman was charged last week with causing grievous bodily harm to a 33-year-old Indonesian domestic helper by allegedly beating her with a cane and dousing her with boiling water.

A Malaysian former flight attendant was also sentenced in November to 18 years in jail for using an iron and scalding water to inflict horrific wounds on her maid.
Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.

Source: MSN news

Michael Jackson, 50, Is Dead

2009-06-26T14:36:00.005+08:00

Michael Joseph Jackson died at age 50 in Los Angeles on June 25, 2009. He spent a lifetime surprising people, in recent years largely because of a surreal personal life, lurid legal scandals, serial plastic surgeries and erratic public behavior that have turned him -- on his very best days -- into the butt of late-night talk-show jokes and tabloid headlines. But when his career began to take off nearly four decades ago as a member of the pop group the Jackson 5, fans and entertainment industry veterans recognized something else about the pint-size musical dynamo that was unusual: He was in possession of an outsize, mesmerizing talent.

The introduction to his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame entry seemed apt as a global audience followed reports of his hospitalization and then death:
"Michael Jackson is a singer, songwriter, dancer and celebrity icon with a vast catalog of hit records and countless awards to his credit. Beyond that, he has transfixed the world like few entertainers before or since. As a solo performer, he has enjoyed a level of superstardom previously known only to Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Frank Sinatra."

John Rockwell, the music critic of The Times, cited Mr. Jackson's musical and cultural influence in a 1982 review of the album "Thriller," calling it "a wonderful pop record, the latest statement by one of the great singers in popular music today." But it was more than that, he contended: "It is as hopeful a sign as we have had yet that the destructive barriers that spring up regularly between white and black music -- and between whites and blacks -- in this culture may be breached once again. Most important of all, it is another signpost on the road to Michael Jackson's own artistic fulfillment."

Mr. Jackson was born in Gary, Ind., on Aug. 29, 1958 and began performing professionally at age 5, joining his three older brothers in a group that their father, Joe, a steelworker, had organized the previous year. In 1968 the group, now five strong and known as the Jackson 5, was signed by Motown Records.

Source: The New York Times Friday June 26, 2009

Malaysia palace says sex allegations 'a private affair'

2009-06-05T00:56:00.006+08:00

Agence France-Presse - 6/4/2009 4:36 AM GMT

Malaysia palace says sex allegations 'a private affair'

Malaysian royals have described allegations by a teenage US-Indonesian model that she was raped and abused by her Malaysian prince husband as "a private affair" between the couple.

Manohara Odelia Pinot, 17, Monday told reporters she was treated like a sex slave after her marriage last year to Tengku Temenggong Mohammad Fakhry, the prince of Kelantan state.

She escaped the prince's guards at a Singapore hotel and returned to her family in Indonesia with tales of abuse, rape and torture at the hands of the prince.

In its first comments on the matter, palace coordinator Abdul Halim Hamad said "the Kelantan palace authorities are watching and studying this issue and until now consider it as a private affair of a husband and wife that needs to be settled through the provisions of the law."

Abdul Halim in a statement Wednesday also said that all the remarks made by Mohamad Soberi Shafli, a friend of the prince, reflected his personal views only.

Soberi had said the ex-model was allowed to leave voluntarily and blamed her mother for influencing her to make up stories about the prince.

Her mother, Daisy Fajarina, said she would press charges against the 31-year-old prince, and accused the Malaysian and Indonesian governments for trying to cover up the alleged abuse.

"Manohara has suffered physical abuse. She's got several razor cuts on her chest," Fajarina told AFP on Monday.

The teenager -- whose fairy-tale wedding to a prince captured the imagination of Indonesia -- said she would be tortured if she did not appear to be happy when she attended social functions with Fakhry.

She said she secretly called Singaporean police and pleaded for help after the royal family took her to Singapore when they accompanied Fakhry's father, Sultan Ismail Petra Shah II, for medical treatment.

"The police told Fakhry that he would be held in jail if he did not let me go. No one could force me against my will in Singapore and I knew I had a chance to escape," she said.

Malaysia's royal rulers used to enjoy immunity from criminal and civil charges but the privilege was removed in 1993.

Manohara's lawyer, Yuri Darmas, said his client would have a medical examination to back up her allegations of abuse, adding that he intended to pursue criminal and civil lawsuits against the prince.

Manohara has already filed for divorce, her mother said.

MSN News

Melayu dikhianati?

2009-06-05T00:53:00.005+08:00

ARKIB : 31/05/2009

Melayu dikhianati?

Hati Awang semakin hari semakin ditoreh-toreh oleh tuntutan pelbagai pihak bukan Melayu yang bersikap terlalu rasis selepas Pilihan Raya Umum ke-12. Kita boleh tafsir apa sebabnya. Awang tidak mahu mengulas panjang kali ini, cukup sekadar disiarkan semula petikan kenyataan seorang pemimpin MCA, Tun Tan Siew Sin pada 30 April 1969 (dipetik daripada buku Khalid Awang Osman dan pernah diulas Ridhuan Tee Abdullah) untuk renungan kita semua.

''Orang Melayu menerusi UMNO bermurah hati melonggarkan syarat-syarat dalam undang-undang negara ini sehinggakan dalam masa 12 bulan selepas kemerdekaan, 90 peratus penduduk bukan Melayu menjadi warganegara. Ini berbeza dengan keadaan sebelum merdeka di mana 90 peratus daripada mereka masih tidak diiktiraf sebagai rakyat Tanah Melayu walaupun hampir 100 tahun hidup di bawah pemerintahan penjajah. Sebagai membalas kemurahan hati orang Melayu, MCA dan MIC bersetuju meneruskan dasar memelihara dan menghormati kedudukan istimewa orang Melayu dan dalam masa yang sama mempertahankan kepentingan-kepentingan sah kaum lain''.

Sebelum itu, seorang pemimpin MIC Tun V.T Sambanthan pada 1 Jun 1965 pernah berkata: ''Pada tahun 1955 kita telah memenangi pilihan raya dengan majoriti yang tinggi, selanjutnya mendapat kemerdekaan dalam masa dua tahun kemudian. Dalam jangka masa itu, kita terpaksa berbincang dan menangani pelbagai perkara termasuk soal kewarganegaraan. Persoalannya di sini, apakah yang dilakukan oleh orang Melayu memandangkan kita bercakap menyentuh perkauman? Apakah yang dilakukan oleh pemimpin-pemimpin Melayu? Mereka mempunyai 88 peratus daripada pengundi menyokong mereka.

Apakah yang mereka putuskan mengenai isu kewarganegaraan? ''Jika kita lihat di serata negara Asia dan Asia Timur, kita akan mendapati kaum India tidak akan diterima di Ceylon dan juga tidak diterima di Burma. Sama halnya dengan kaum Cina, mereka tidak diterima di Thailand, Vietnam, Kemboja dan di negara-negara lain. Apakah bantuan berhubung kewarganegaraan yang mereka peroleh di semua wilayah tersebut?

"Di Burma, seperti yang kita semua sedia maklum, kaum India telah diusir keluar, di Ceylon mereka tidak diberikan taraf warganegara seperti juga di Burma. Saya tahu dan anda juga tahu. Apa yang sedang berlaku di Malaya? Di sini kita mendapati pemimpin Melayu berkata, ''Kita akan menerima mereka sebagai saudara, kita akan berikan mereka sepenuh peluang untuk meneruskan kehidupan di negara ini, kita akan beri mereka peluang untuk menjadi warganegara''. Seterusnya pada tahun 1957, dengan tidak mengambil kira kebolehan berbahasa (Melayu) ribuan orang India, Cina dan Ceylon menjadi warganegara. Seperti yang saya nyatakan, saya amat bernasib baik kerana dilahirkan di negara ini. Di manakah anda boleh berjumpa bangsa yang lebih prihatin, bersopan-santun dan tertib selain daripada bangsa Melayu. Di manakah anda boleh mendapat layanan politik yang baik untuk kaum pendatang? Di manakah dalam sejarah dunia? Saya bertanya kepada anda. Ini adalah fakta. Siapakah anda untuk menjaga keselamatan kami? Saya adalah kalangan 10 peratus kaum minoriti di sini. Tetapi saya amat gembira di sini.''

Persoalannya, kini apakah pengorbanan Melayu dikhianati oleh kaum lain?

-Awang Selamat

disiarkan 5 Jun 2009 / 11 Jamadil Akhir 1430

Sumber: Utusan Malaysia

For Enlightened Malaysians Who Are Concerned About the Law and The Rule of Law

2009-05-11T19:26:00.010+08:00

Agence France-Presse - 5/11/2009 9:52 AM GMT

Malaysian court rebuffs govt in tussle over northern state

Malaysia's ruling coalition was dealt a major blow Monday when a court ruled that its takeover of a northern state was illegal and that the opposition was still in charge.

Perak state has been in political limbo since February, when the Barisan Nasional coalition, which rules nationally, tried to oust the Pakatan Rakyat opposition alliance which won the state in elections last year.

After defections cost the opposition its balance of power, the coalition ruled out holding fresh polls and installed its own leadership, a move which triggered brawling and protests at the state assembly last week.

However, High Court Justice Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim ruled Monday that the Pakatan Rakyat Chief Minister Nizar Jamaluddin was still the rightful ruler despite being sacked by the state's sultan.

"He is, and was, at all material times the chief minister of Perak," Abdul Aziz told the court, saying that Nizar could only be dismissed by a vote of no confidence in the assembly.

Nizar, who had been forced to vacate his office and official residence, said the opposition would meet with the sultan and ask him to dissolve the assembly to pave the way for fresh elections to end the unseemly power struggle.

"It is an historic day for all who love democracy and will be remembered for years and years to come," he said in a statement.

The Star daily's website cited an aide to Zambry Abdul Kadir, who was sworn in as the new state leader, as saying that the Barisan Nasional would respect the decision and vacate their government offices immediately.

Political pundits say that Pakatak Rakyat has a very good chance of reclaiming the state in new polls.

A defeat would be another humiliation for the Barisan Nasional which suffered unprecedented losses in general elections a year ago, and has lost a string of by-elections since then.

The Pakatan Rakyat won five states and a third of parliamentary seats in the March 2008 polls -- its best performance since independence half a century ago -- and another victory in Perak will help it maintain momentum.

Husam Musa, vice-president of the Islamic party PAS which is a member of the opposition alliance, said he hoped the Perak sultan would now give his consent for new polls.

"It is not about whether we are confident of winning the state again or not but it is a matter of principle for us to go back to the voters to resolve the political impasse that has existed for the past three months," he told AFP.

There were chaotic scenes in the Perak state capital Ipoh last Thursday as the assembly convened for the first time since February. Legislators scuffled and hurled insults while dozens of protesters were arrested outside.

The opposition's speaker, V. Sivakumar, was forcibly removed from his chair and dragged out of the parliament, triggering a melee as opposition legislators tried to shield him.

Source: MSN News

Seminar LAMS 29-31 Mei 2009 di Kabupaten Ketapang, Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia

2009-05-08T22:47:00.023+08:00

Tema Seminar: "Membangun Jembatan Dunia Melayu"

Dasar Pemikiran:

Kondisi puak Melayu yang mempunyai sejarah integritas baik dalam bidang politik, budaya maupun ekonomi telah mengalami kemunduran. Wilayah yang tadinya dikenal sebagai pusat Melayu dan konsentrasi Melayu secara perlahan diambil alih oleh pelaku politik, ekonomi dan budaya dari dunia luar Melayu.

Akibatnya, terjadilah proses marjinalisasi dunia Melayu selama sepuluh tahun terakhir semakin nyata. Hal ini ditambah lagi dengan semakin beragamnya arus pemikiran masing-masing kelompok demi tujuan lokal dan jangka pendek, tanpa melihat pengaruhnya terhadap masa depan dunia Melayu. Untuk itu perlu dikembangkan konsep-konsep dan aktivitas yang dapat membangun kembali jembatan dunia Melayu yang selama ini rapuh sehingga puak Melayu ke depan dapat menjadi tuan di negerinya sendiri. Lembaga Adat Melayu Setantau (LAMS) berusaha untuk menyatukan serta mempererat tali silaturahmi yang selama ini terpisah-pisah, yang seharusnya hal tersebut bukan menjadi jarak di antara puak Melayu serantau.

Kiriman Komanakan dan Panitia Abdi Nurkamil Mawardi Hp +628125777771 Pontianak

Acara Pengukuhan Lembaga Adat Melayu Serantau (LAMS) di Ketapang, Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia

2009-05-01T03:25:00.029+08:00

Acara Pengukuhan Lembaga Adat Melayu Serantau (LAMS) atau dalam bahasa Inggerisnya LAMS FOUNDATION akan diadakan pada Tanggal 29-31 Mei 2009 di Kabupaten Ketapang, Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia.

Antara isi kandungan program atau atur cara pengukuhan LAMS yang telah diatur adalah seperti berikut:

Pengukuhan Lembaga Adat Melayu Serantau Kal-Bar 29 Mei 2009 Ketapang
Peresmian Rumah Melayu Ketapang 29 Mei 2009 Ketapang
Seminar dan Dialog Adat 30 Mei 2009 Ketapang
Jemputan Pernikahan dan Resepsi Perkahwinan Putri Dato Kyai Mangku Negeri H.Morkes Effendi S, Pd.MH 30-31 Mei 2009

Untuk maklumat yang lebih detail atau informasi lanjut sila berhubungan dengan:

Abdi Nurkamil Mawardi Hp +628125777771 Pontianak
Abdul Malik A.Y Hp +628125738967 Ketapang

Never Ending Saga: Malaysia Catholics oppose non-'Allah' Bible

2009-04-28T11:28:00.003+08:00

Malaysia Catholics oppose non-'Allah' Bible

A Malay-language Bible that does not use the word "Allah" has caused controversy among Malaysian Catholics, as the church here fights a court case to guarantee its right to use the word.
The Catholic Herald newspaper, in its Sunday edition, criticised the release this week at an international bookfair of the new Bible, which uses the Hebrew word "Elohim" instead of "Allah" for God.

"The Catholic bible that the church uses has the word 'Allah' for God whereas in comparison, this one does not," the paper's editor Father Lawrence Andrew told AFP.

"The new Malay bible weakens the argument for using the word Allah because some groups are trying to substitute God with a foreign name, whereas Allah is the Malay word for God and has been the accepted translation for centuries," he said.

"The publishers have copied substantially from the Indonesian bible which was approved by the Indonesian Bible Society and the Catholic Church but this new version has not been approved by the society or the church in Indonesia or here."

The publishers of the bible could not be reached for comment.

The Catholic Church has taken legal action against the government after it was ordered not to use the disputed word under threat of having its paper's publishing permit revoked.

Malaysian authorities argue the word should be used only by Muslims, who form the bulk of the country's multicultural population.

Andrew said Malaysian Christians have been using the word "Allah" for centuries in translations of the Bible, and in popular prayers. The opposition has also called for the ban to be revoked.

"The term 'Allah' has been used in Indonesia and the Middle East by Christians without prosecution or controversy, despite both being overwhelmingly Muslim-majority regions," opposition lawmaker Tony Pua said.

"It has been proven beyond doubt that it is not a term specifically monopolised only by Muslims," he said in a statement Saturday.

A court is expected to decide on May 28 whether the Church has the right to use the word.

Around 60 percent of Malaysia's 27 million people are Muslim Malays. The rest includes indigenous tribes, as well as ethnic Chinese and Indians, variously practising Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism, among others.

MSN News

Kerana Nila Setitik Susu Rosak Sebelanga: Laporan Dari Jakarta Yang Boleh Merosakkan Imej Seluruh Malaysia

2009-04-21T21:28:00.009+08:00

Selasa, 21 April 2009 , 10:19:00

Model Diduga Diculik Anak Raja Kelantan Ibu Lapor ke Mabes Polri dan Dubes RI (Tajuk Asal)

JAKARTA – Manohara Odelia Pinot, model terpilih 100 pesona Indonesia di Herper’s Bazaar Magazine, diduga diculik putra raja Kelantan, Malaysia. Hal tersebut dituturkan ibunda Manohara, Daisy Fajarina, 44, yang tak sanggup lagi menahan kerinduan bertemu Manohara.

Didampingi putri pertamanya, Dewi Sari Asih (kakak Manohara), Daisy menceritakan, musibah keluarganya itu bermula dari perkenalan Manohara dengan putra raja Kelantan Tengku Muhammad Fakhry pada sebuah jamuan makan malam di Prancis, 2004.

"Saya barangkali adalah ibu paling bodoh di dunia. Naluri saya sebagai ibu benar-benar tidak bekerja. Saya kira dia orang baik,’’ tuturnya saat ditemui di Rumah Makan Ampera, Jakarta Selatan, kemarin (20/4).

Saat itu, keluarga Daisy memang masih berdomisili di Prancis. Dalam acara tersebut, turut hadir pejabat tinggi Malaysia. Di antaranya, Wakil Perdana Menteri Malaysia Najib Razak (kini PM) dan keluarga Kerajaan Kelantan, Malaysia. Saat itulah, kata Daisy, Fakhry yang berumur 26 tahun tersebut kepincut pada Manohara yang baru berumur 14 tahun.

Alih-alih mendekati Manohara, Fakhry merapat ke Daisy. Dia meminta izin untuk membina hubungan dekat dengan putri kedua Daisy tersebut. Bahkan, dia meminta nomor ponsel Daisy dan Manohara.

Daisy terkejut dengan adat yang dipamerkan Fakhry. Cara pendekatan yang dilakukan sangat sopan dan beradab. Dia pun tak berkeberatan putra ketiga raja Kelantan itu mendekati putrinya yang beranjak dewasa. Apalagi, sejak pertemuan tersebut, Daisy kerap menerima SMS Fakhry yang ingin menjadikan Manohara sebagai pendamping.

Tampaknya, perilaku sopan Fakhry itu tak sebanding dengan kelakuannya. Hubungan Manohara dengan Fakhry terlalu jauh berjalan. Bahkan, akhir 2007, Manohara mengaku kepada Daisy bahwa Fakhry telah merenggut kegadisannya. ’’Tapi, kata Manohara, Fakhry mau bertanggung jawab,’’ tuturnya. Daisy pun tak jadi marah.

Akhirnya, 17 Agustus 2008, mereka diundang ke Kelantan, Malaysia. Daisy mengira acara tersebut adalah sekadar bersilaturahmi serta dalam rangka memperkenalkan Manohara kepada ayah dan ibunda Fakhry, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra. Tampaknya, raja Kelantan memaksa agar Manohara dan Fakhry dinikahkan. Kemudian, oleh mufti (ketua agama) ditentukan pernikahan digelar pada 26 Agustus 2008.

Daisy awalnya menolak. Sebab, dirinya masih harus mengurus surat-surat dan membicarakannya dengan keluarga di Indonesia. ’’Saya tidak bisa berbuat apa-apa. Orang-orang sana bilang, kalau raja sudah meminta, tidak bisa ditolak. Harus dijawab ya. Akhirnya, saya setuju. Dengan catatan, nanti mengadakan pesta pernikahan juga di Indonesia,’’ katanya. Pihak kerajaan menyanggupi.

Namun, setelah ditunggu beberapa lama, tak ada konfirmasi. Tak ada gelagat pihak kerajaan ingin mengadakan acara itu di Indonesia. Daisy dan keluarga pun kembali ke Indonesia.
Akhir 2008, Manohara kabur dari Malaysia. Dia pulang ke Indonesia. Kepada ibunya, dia mengaku diperlakukan tidak baik dan mengancam tak mau balik selama Fakhry tidak meminta maaf.

Apa saja perlakukan itu? Dewi menuturkan, perilaku Fakhry sangat kasar. Ketika Manohara sedang berhalangan melayani hubungan intim, Fakhry marah-marah. Dia bahkan menghardik istrinya itu untuk tidak tidur di kamar Fakhry.

Hingga Februari 2009, Manohara tetap tak mau balik. Keluarga kerajaan terus berupaya membujuk. Saat ulang tahun ke-17, 25 Februari 2009, Manohara dihadiahi mobil. Bahkan, 9 Maret lalu, mereka diajak umrah sekeluarga. Keluarga pun luluh. ’’Ya kami menghargai. Berarti, mereka memang punya niat baik,’’ katanya.

Setelah menunaikan umrah, pihak kerajaan menginginkan dalam perjalanan pulang mampir ke Malaysia. Daisy tak curiga. Sebab, mereka sudah berjanji mengadakan pernikahan di Malaysia. Tapi, di situlah malapetaka bermula.

Saat berangkat ke bandara, Daisy dan Manohara ditempatkan dalam kendaraan berbeda. Begitu tiba di sebuah bandara khusus, Manohara langsung dinaikkan pesawat. Daisy dan Dewi yang ingin menyusul tak bisa. Mereka langsung ditinggal.

Daisy mencatat, Manohara dibawa pergi naik pesawat jet Challenger 300 milik Berjaya Air, Aircraft Reg 9MTAN. ’’Saya tidak mengira mereka sanggup melakukan hal yang tidak manusiawi,’’ tegasnya.

Sejak saat itu, Manohara tak pernah kontak dengan Daisy. Bahkan, nama Daisy dan keluarganya masuk dalam daftar cekal kedatangan ke Malaysia. Pada 23 Maret 2009, Daisy melapor ke Direktorat Perlindungan WNI dan Badan Hukum Indonesia Deplu.

Dia juga sudah mengajukan permohonan tertulis kepada raja Kelantan, tapi tak ada respons sampai sekarang. ’’Saya juga sudah melapor ke Kedutaan Besar Indonesia di Malaysia, bahkan sudah ketemu Pak Da’i Bachtiar (duta besar Indonesia untuk Malaysia, Red). Juga sudah melapor ke Mabes Polri. Tapi, mereka seperti tidak bisa berbuat apa-apa,’’ ujar Daisy meratap. Tangannya terus menggenggam erat tangan Dewi.

Saat dikonfirmasi soal pengakuan Daisy tersebut, Mabes Polri dan KBRI menolak menanggapi. Mereka menjanjikan baru hari ini akan mengecek laporan yang masuk dan mempelajarinya. (aga/kim)

Komentar-->

aji Selasa, 21 April 2009 , 10:20:24

kalo sudah begini memang agak repot, saya sarankan kepihak keluarga agar lebih banyak berdoa terutama untuk manohara agar selalu dalam lindunganNya, semua manusia terlebih kita bukan Nabi dan RosulNya, pasti banyak kesalahan dan kedholiman, jadi bukan karena masih keturunan darah biru lalu prilakunya baik, itu ngak ada jaminan

ROBERT WONG Selasa, 21 April 2009 , 10:20:24

Sudah saatnya kita harus membalas perbuatan org2 malaysia yg berbuat tidak manusiawi! Percuma saja punya gelar bangsawan MELAYU bikin org indon susah!Makanya jgn mau tergoda ringgitnya! Ujung2nya KDRT yg didapat,mestinya kalau seorg ibu mesti jeli dan jgn mau gigombalin seperti pangeran tak becus dikelantan!Bayangin isu2 pembunuhan model asal mongolia aja yg dituduhkan perdana menteri baru skrg aja jadi gak jelas perkaranya di malaysia!Begitukah negara yg didengungkan akan budaya yg soleh berbuat sedemikian rupa?Dan memaksakan kehendak,merasa diatas kekuasaan?Mestinya pemerintah SBY proaktif menelusuri peristiwa yg mengharukan warga kita indon,mana wewenanng deplu dan kerjaanya apa?Kalau gak bisa membela hak rakyat di negeri org lebih baik putus hubungan bilateral aja dari pada warga indon yg selalu mejadi tumbal kebiadapan warga malaysia/MelayuMasalah ini harus dicermati pemerintah indon karena sudah menjadi konsumsi media nasional

PUTERA SINGKAWANG Selasa, 21 April 2009 , 10:20:24

Nga salah lg di tahun 1965 presiden soekarno pernah mengumandangkan GANYANG MALAYSIA,apa yg di katakan presiden R.I pertama itu benar ada nya, MALAYSIA adalah antek2 na kolonialisme barat. org indo selalu jd korban dari kebiadaban negeri melayu itu terutama para TKI baik yg resmi maupun illegal. masalah pulau sebatik,ambalat,perbatasan semua nya masalah yg sengaja di lakukan pihak malaysia terhadap indo. di mana wibawa negeri kita? di obok2 ma tetangga? dan kasus terbaru skrg penculikan manohara warga indo oleh pihak kerajaan kelantan,saya harap presiden SBY cpt menanggapi masalah ini pa bila tdk maka pemerintah malaysia akan meremehkan indonesia. selama ini malaysia hanya mengangap indo itu ga bearti apa2. dulu saya jg pernah ke malaysia,pas ampe di imigrasi saya di interogasi habis2an kt nya org indo itu pendatang haram jd hrs di periksa sebenar2nya,alangkah terkejutnya wkt itu saya, padahal saya ke sana hanya sekedar jalan2,malah di tuduh pendatang illegal.

Dr Hasmadi Mois Selasa, 21 April 2009 , 10:20:24

Saya tidak setuju dengan pandangan rakan bernama Putera Singkawang yang mempersalahkan semua orang Malaysia gara-gara seorang putera raja dari Kelantan. Warga Malaysia yang punya nenek dari Sambas, Kalimantan Barat seperti saya tidak terlibat dengan angkara anak raja yang tertuduh! Bagaimana seluruh orang Malaysia bisa dipersalahkan hanya kerana seorang manusia bergelar anak raja! Apa rasional dan logika yang kamu pakai menuduh semua warga Malaysia terlibat dalam kasus ini? Kalau kamu orang Islam kamu harus bertaubat kerana kamu buruk sangka. Baca kitab agama kamu.

Source: Pontianak Post Online

Berita Baik Dari Kalbar: Jembatan Tayan Percepat Akses Darat

2009-04-19T16:21:00.000+08:00

Sabtu, 18 April 2009 , 10:40:00

Jembatan Tayan Percepat Akses Darat

PONTIANAK – Pembangunan jembatan Tayan akan mempercepat akses hubungan darat ke arah selatan dan timur Kalimantan Barat. Anggota Komisi C DPRD Kalbar Harry Tri Yoga kemarin di Pontianak mengatakan terbangunnya jembatan penghubung antara Sanggau dan Ketapang ini mempercepat terbukanya jalur ke Kalimantan Tengah.“Kalbar sangat lamban terhubung dengan provinsi di pulau yang sama. Sedangkan Kaltim, Kalteng dan Kalsel sudah sejak lama terhubung melalui akses angkutan darat,” ungkapnya.

Anggota komisi yang membidangi pembangunan ini mengemukakan pembangunan jembatan Tayan merupakan proyek besar. Dikatakannya, karena membutuhkan dana ratusa miliar.“Jika terbangun akan menjadi bangunan kebanggaan daerah dan merupakan proyek prestisius. Jembatan terpanjang di Kalimantan itu dengan bentang 1.354 meter diperkirakan menelan dana Rp500 miliar atau setengah nilai APBD Kalbar 2009,” tutur Yoga. Ia mengatakan pemerintah pusat diharapkan serius membangun jembatan harapan masyarakat Kalbar tersebut. Dikatakannya, karena jalan Tayan-Ambawang sekarang hampir selesai pembangunannya.“Jembatan Tayan terletak di Kecamatan Tayan Hilir menghubungkan Kota Tayan dengan Piasak. Jembatan ini melintasi Sungai Kapuas melalui Pulau Tayan yang mempunyai luas 58,3 Ha dan dihuni 2.181 penduduk,” jelasnya.

Yoga mengemukakan jembatan yang akan dibangun nanti akan menjadikan lintas selatan trans-Kalimantan. Menurutnya, jembatan terdiri dua bagian dengan total keseluruhan 1.354 meter dan lebar jembatan 11,5 meter.“Jembatan pertama dari akses utara Tayan menuju pulau mempunyai panjang 280 meter. Jembatan kedua, dari pulau Tayan menuju ke Piasak sepanjang 1.074 meter,” papar politikus ini.Ketua Komisi C DPRD Kalbar Mulyadi Yamin mengatakan dibangunnya jembatan Tayan membuka akses darat bagi Kabupaten Kubu Raya dan Kota Pontianak.

Menurutnya, lalu lintas angkutan barang dan orang makin lancar.“Selama ini, mungkin orang Ketapang ketika ingin ke Kuching menggunakan pesawat udara untuk tiba di Pontianak, kemudian menggunakan angkutan darat. Namun, bila jembatan sudah ada, orang Ketapang cukup mengendarai mobil untuk negara tetangga tersebut,” ujarnya. Mulyadi menyebutkan studi kelayakan pembangunan oleh Departemen PU sudah dilakukan sejak 1995. Ia mengatakan pembangunannya ini akan dihadapkan dengan persoalan tata ruang, pembebasan lahan, dan faktor sosial. “Kita berharap pemerintah pusat selesai membangun jembatan itu dalam waktu lima tahun ke depan,” harapnya. (riq)formulir sebagai bukti bahwa Ketua RT/RW mengetahui hasil coklit,” katanya.

Muzammil menjelaskan ada beberapa hal perlu diperhatikan PPDP di lapangan. Dikatakannya, apabila dalam DPT Pemilu Anggota DPR, DPD, dan DPRD yang menjadi DPS Pilpres ditemukan nama seorang pemilih lebih dari satu kali, maka ditetapkan dalam DPS Pilpres hanya satu kali.“Jika ditemukan NIK sama atau satu NIK untuk beberapa nama, sementara pemilik nama benar-benar ada dan memenuhi syarat memilih, maka tetap dimasukkan dalam DPS. Sedangkan jika ditemukan satu nama pemilih dengan NIK lebih dari satu tetapi orangnya sama, maka hanya menggunakan satu NIK yang disesuaikan dengan identitas orang tersebut,” jelasnya. (mnk)

Ikhsan: Pontianak Post Online

Komentar Blogger: Berita ini adalah berita baik yang sudah lama ditunggu ramai warga Malaysia yang berada di Kuching dan seluruh negeri Sarawak yang ada saudara, ahli keluarga dan sahabat di Kalimantan Indonesia. Selama ini warga Malaysia dari Sarawak hanya boleh naik bis, mobil atau keinderaan lain sekadar ke Pontianak atau daerah lain di Wilayah Kalbar. Dengan adanya jambatan ini nanti mungkin warga Malaysia dari Sarawak seperti saya boleh terus membawa mobil sampai ke mana-mana daerah di Kalimantan Indonesia dan tidak perlu lagi naik pesawat ka Jakarta dan dari Jakarta menunggu sekian jam lamanya kembali ke Kalimantan sama ada ke Banjarmasin maupun ke Samarinda. Syabas bapak-bapak pemerintah di Kalimantan Indonesia.

Sarawak for Sarawakians Dr James Masing?

2009-04-09T06:13:00.000+08:00

LUBOK ANTU, April 7 (Bernama) -- Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Datuk Seri Dr James Jemut Masing has described the bigger majority secured by Barisan Nasional (BN) in the Batang Ai by-election as a sign that the voters in the state constituency reject PKR's brand of politics.

He said the result went to show that "Sarawakians want Sarawakians to control Sarawak affairs" and to remind Peninsular-based opposition parties like the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) was not welcomed into the State.

"This is a message to PKR from the people here that we know what to do here and please don't come," said Dr Masing, who is also the Sarawak Land Development Minister.

Source: Bernama

Blogger's Comments: When Datuk Stephen Kalong Ningkan and many of his Iban colleagues shouted slogans like "Sarawak for Sarawakians" between 1963-1966 they caused a lot of discomfort and displeasure amongst the top UMNO leaders in the federal capital of Kuala Lumpur.

Sarawak celebrated its 45th independence anniversary last year, 2008 accompanied by a full cultural celebration and symposium this year, 2009. One would expect that after 45 years of independence within Malaysia there should be some sense of nationhood amongst the various peoples of Malaysia either in Peninsular or the two Malaysian states of Borneo. Datuk Seri Dr James Jemut Masing's remarks after the Batang Ai's by-election in Sarawak clearly shows that quite a few of our community or political leaders in Sarawak have a lot to learn about nation-building and the need to be careful with their comments pertaining to relations between Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak.

Political remarks made Dr James Masing should not be made at all because they smack of parochialism and worst, bordering on communalism. It is like telling West Malaysians or Semenanjung people to go home! This kind of political behaviour is not good for nation-building and most of all for Malaysia. In fact this is totally against Dr Mahathir Mohamed's policy of "National Integration". As an-ANU trained anthropologist Dr Masing should know the implications of the remarks that he made on national integration and Malaysian federalism. He should not have been too emotional about the BN election victory in Lubok Antu, Sarawak. He could have exercised some caution and shown that he is a well-trained anthropologist and most mindful of the words that he chooses and the remarks that he makes. After all he had been trained to understand concepts like prejudice, ethnocentrism, regionalism and racism. He could have shown that he had inherited some good elements of British training while he was reading for social anthropology at ANU. He could have been a gentleman and gracious in victory. After all BN already won big, right?

While I was teaching in Bangi a number of MALAY colleagues in my former department talked fondly of many Iban scholars like Dr Peter M Kedit (anthropologist), Dr Jayum Jawan (political scientist) and also James Jemut Masing. Since a couple of our colleagues were trained in Australia and two in Australian National University we also talked with a great deal of appreciation and pride in James Jemut Masing's performance in ANU and we all wished him well and success with his PhD supervised by the late Prof. Derek Freeman, the great Iban expert who had carried out the most outstanding study on the Iban commissioned by the British colonial government. This world is quite small Dr James Masing and people could almost listen to the tick in anybody's heart miles away. The distance between Kuching and Kuala Lumpur is only one hour and 45 minutes flight away, almost the same distance as KL and Malacca or KL and Ipoh, Perak by PLUS.

Why Masing should not have made the remarks that he had? If Dr James Jemut Masing had been reading the newspapers well, he should have known and realized that there are about 30,000 Ibans in the state of Johor alone! That's the number of Ibans who had migrated to the Peninsular Malaysian state of Johor. We have not counted the number of Ibans who are working and living in states like Selangor, Perak and etc. Have we heard or read any of the Malay or non-Malay leaders in Johor or the Malay and non-Malay leaders from the opposition parties like PAS,PKR and DAP calling on members of the Iban community in Johor or other Peninsular Malaysian states to "go back to Sarawak"?

Think and think again Dr James Jemut Masing. You are one of the most highly educated Iban leaders around and you should speak more as a true Malaysian and not talk like a simple-minded and petty parochial politician. Show all Malaysians that you are a qualified PhD in Social Anthropology. In the past we used to have a few Iban leaders who were very anti-Semenanjung while they were working and politically struggling in Sarawak. But, when these leaders managed to establish themselves in Kuala Lumpur they became quite meek and found it difficult to remember even the names of their own kampungs and the foods they used to eat in Sarawak ...

In Sarawak: Results Show BN Accepted By People

2009-04-09T05:59:00.000+08:00

Results Show BN Accepted By People

LUBOK ANTU, April 7 (Bernama) -- Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Datuk Seri Dr James Jemut Masing has described the bigger majority secured by Barisan Nasional (BN) in the Batang Ai by-election as a sign that the voters in the state constituency reject PKR's brand of politics.

He said the result went to show that "Sarawakians want Sarawakians to control Sarawak affairs" and to remind Peninsular-based opposition parties like the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) was not welcomed into the State.

"This is a message to PKR from the people here that we know what to do here and please don't come," said Dr Masing, who is also the Sarawak Land Development Minister.

Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) deputy president Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, meanwhile, said the result had shown the maturity of the people in Batang Ai to distinguish between the truth told by BN and the lies spread by PKR.

"They (PKR) had been boasting before that the Dayaks will reject BN in particular our state leadership. Now (the outcome of the by-election) even Dayaks in the rural areas had rejected them, instead," he added.

Abang Johari, who is also the state's Housing Minister, said despite being bombarded with false propaganda by the opposition, more voters had rallied behind Barisan Nasional to allow the governing coalition to win with a big majority.

PBB's senior vice-president Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, meanwhile, said winning the by-election was "very significant" for BN and showed that PKR had no place in the state.

Awang Tengah, who is also the state Second Resource Planning and Management Minister, had assured that pledges that had been made by BN were not mere promises during the campaigning period but would definitely be undertaken.

"In fact, several projects being highlighted during the campaign had already taken off and in the process of being completed," he added.

He said that the result tonight also reflected the constituents' positive response to his call for them to give BN the victory as a gift to the newly-elected Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak.

"It went to show that by giving the victory to Barisan Nasional, they wanted more development to take place in Batang Ai," he added.

Meanwhile, PKR state assemblyman for Padungan, Dominique Ng was disappointed by the result and disputed the way the Election Commission handled the by-election.

He added that PKR had learnt a valuable lesson from contesting for the first time in an Iban-dominated constituency and said that it would not be the end of their attempts to strengthen their footing in Sarawak.

On the absence of their candidate Jawah Gerang during the announcement of the result, Ng said that the five-term Lubok Antu Member of Parliament could not be contacted.

"Maybe he is taking it (the result) a bit more (badly) than usual because this is the first time that he lost (in an election). I'm a veteran of several losses and so I can take it (the defeat) slightly better," he added.

Sarawak United People's Party deputy secretary-general Datuk Francis Harden described Mussen's victory as a victory of the people.

"It also shows the real team work of the Barisan Nasional in wanting a BN victory.

"We are very happy that not only the majority Iban supported Mussen but the minority urban Malays and Chinese in Batang Ai are throwing in their valuable support as well," he said.

Francis said they did this because they knew only the BN could deliver while the PKR could only instigate, incite and blame others for their own shortcomings.

He also said as a state assemblyman from a neighbouring constituency in the Sri Aman Division, he was looking forward to working with Mussen to chart out more development and progress for it.

Source:BERNAMA

Variable Baru dalam Teori Penurunan Angka Kemiskinan di Indonesia ?

2009-04-07T10:29:00.000+08:00

Pemerintah Meninggalkan Ulama (Judul Asal)

By Republika Newsroom

Minggu, 05 April 2009 pukul 16:40:00

GRESIK--Bencana sosial dan alam yang kerap terjadi hampir semua propinsi di Indonesia, melengkapi fenomena korupsi yang menjadi penyakit sosial akut di berbagai lapisan birokrasi dan parlemen di pemerintahan. Sedangkan penurunan angka kemiskinan terjadi karena banyaknya bencana sejak pemerintahan Susilo Bambang Ydhoyono (SBY) memimpin.

Demikian disampaikan oleh Ketua Umum DPP PKNU Choirul Anam saat kampanye terakhirnya di Kabupaten Gresik

"Kemiskinan menurun bukan karena orang miskin menjadi kaya, tetapi penduduk miskin berkurang karena terlalu banyak yang menjadi korban bencana yang datang bertubi-tubi. Yang baru saja terjadi bencana Situ Gintung di Tangerang-Banten ratusan rakyat miskin meninggal, belum gempa di Papua, Tsunami di Aceh dan bencana yang tidak sempat kami hitung," ungkap Choirul Anam dalam kapanyenya terakhir di Lapangan Sekarkurung Gresik Ahad (5/4)

Sementara korupsi yang telah menjalar di seluruh lapisan pejabat tingkat atas hingga anggota parlemen turut andil menambah jumlah kemiskinan. Uang rakyat diambil untuk kepentingan kelompok dan perutnya sendiri.

"Mereka tidak mewakili rakyat, tetapi mereka hanya mengencangkan perutnya sendiri dan kelompoknya. Sudah berapa anggota DPR yang di tangkap KPK. Perilaku para wakil rakyat ini juga memperparah kemiskinan, karena mereka memakan uang negara ratusan miliar rupiah," jelas mantan Ketua DPW PKB Jatim ini

Ini terjadi lantaran pemerintahan meninggalkan ulama, tidak pernah melibatkan ulama untuk memecahkan persoalan bangsa, membiarkan aliran sesat merajalela hingga menimbulkan kecemasan ummat Islam yang benar-benar menjalankan syariat.

"Dari keperiahtinan ini pulalah PKNU dibangkitkan oleh ulama untuk ikut menyelesaikan persoalan bangsa yang selalu dilanda musibah. Sesungguhnya bencanalah yang menurunkan kemiskinan bangsa ini," tandasnya

PKNU tambah Anam bersama ulama dalam pileg ini dengan para utusanya nanti (anggota DPR dari PKNU) akan turut memperjuangkan anggaran pendidikan untuk madrasah dan diniyah pada APBN, karena pemerintah dinilai tidak adil. Alasanya, anggaran 20 persen dari APBN untuk pendidikan hanya diperuntukan sekolah-sekolah yang diurus negara.

"Madarasah juga ikut mencerdaskan bangsa yang akan melahirkan generasi yang berahlak dan bermartabat. tetapi pemerintah tidak pernah memandang madarasah sebagai institusi pendidikan yang mendidik generasi penerus bangsa," cetus Anam. -uki/ahi

Source: Republika Online

Frog-ging? Katak-ing or Kodok-ing?

2009-04-06T15:57:00.000+08:00

Julau Division PKR Chairman, Deputy And Two Others Quit Party

LUBOK ANTU, April 5 (Bernama) -- Julau Division Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) chairman Dr. Ambrose Labang Jamba, his deputy, secretary and committee member, today announced their resignation from the party.

He made the announcement at the Barisan Nasional (BN) Operations Centre in front of Deputy Water, Energy and Communication Minister Datuk Joseph Salang who is also Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) Information chief and Julau member of parliament.

Ambrose, 56, was accompanied by his deputy Wong Kee Kai, secretary Kajang Unan and committee member Kundi Untung.

Speaking to reporters later he said they had decided to leave because PKR would never be able to carry out development programmes or help the people, especially those in rural areas.

"The people in rural areas still need the BN government as such they should not waste their time anymore with PKR.

"I would like to call on voters in Batang Ai to pick BN candidate in the by-election. We must go to the government as we still need development," he said.

Ambrose a former principal assistant secretary in the Chief Minister's Department (Audit and Human Resources Department) had been with the party for two years.

In the last parliamentary election, Ambrose who had also served as Julau district officer during his 30-year civil service, stood as PKR candidate in the Julau Constituency but lost to Salang.

In the 2006 state election, he also stood as an independent candidate against Wong Judat (BN/SPDP) in the Meluan state seat and lost.

Meanwhile, Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) President Datuk Sri Dr James Jamut Masing warned PKR against using antagonistic style of campaigning in Sarawak.

"In any previous elections held in Sarawak, there had never been incidents of violence or antagonism like destroying or damaging posters like what had happened in Batang Ai when opposition supporters damaged BN posters.

"I would like to remind PKR to stop resorting to such action as it is not our culture to introduce violence or antagonism while campaigning," he told reporters when met at the Lubok Antu Sports Complex here today.

Masing said following the incident, PRS had lodged a police report and hoped police would conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.

The Batang Ai by-election, held simultaneously with Bukit Gantang (Perak) and Bukit Selambau (Kedah) on Tuesday, will see a straight fight between BN's Malcolm Mussen Lamoh and PKR's Jawah Gerang.

Batang Ai has 8,006 registered voters who are expected to cast their votes at 26 polling stations identified by the Election Commission.

Source: BERNAMA

Comments: What is reported by Bernama proves that the Malaysian political phenomenon most often described in Malay as lompat parti or Manglish as "frogging" has a strong tendency to happen just a day or few days before any election or by-election. In Sarawak this tendency is best exemplified by the above case and this has become a regular feature in any state or federal-level election in that state. The excuse or rationale for leaving the former parties are more or less the same year in and year out. It shows a great amount of parroting and almost zero amount of ingenuity. This especial Malaysian politico-cultural phenomenon reflects a certain amount of climatic, ecological, cultural, psychological and large amount of material (economic) influence on the politicians unpredictable political behaviour. Medical anthropologists in Malaysia are yet to make some kind of study whether this strange politico-cultural behaviour is affected by nutritional intake, deficiency or the kinds of food that constitute local diet. It could also be the effect of local sorcery and magic...

Look East to Japan: Supporting Single Mothers

2009-03-30T01:39:00.000+08:00

Sunday, March 29, 2009
The Japan Times Online
EDITORIAL
Supporting single mothers

As the economy worsens, some people will suffer more than others. For the first time ever, the number of Japanese single mothers receiving child-care allowances to supplement their low income has topped 1 million, the health and welfare ministry reported in March. These single-mother households greatly need additional help: Their income is stuck at 40 percent of the national average.

The 1-million-plus total, of course, involves not just mothers, but 1 million-plus children as well. Nearly 90 percent of these mothers became single through divorce, which may indicate some degree of outside child support, but not enough. And since the allowances are paid in accordance with the previous year's income, the figures do not reflect the real current situation as affected by an economy that started declining last fall.

These million-plus children need assistance as protection from the worst effects of the economic recession. With the right assistance, the damage from this recession can at least partially be contained within this one generation. If the government can afford lump-sum payments to all citizens to stimulate the economy, surely it can afford to increase the meager ¥42,000 monthly allowance for low-income single-mother families.

Money, of course, is not the only solution. A recent Cabinet Office survey found that 33 percent of married women experienced physical and mental abuse from their husbands. Of those, only around 3 percent contacted either the police or a hospital, with only 1 percent turning to help centers or private shelters. Over half did not ask anyone for help. Most women, it is clear, could use psychological, legal and financial help of many kinds to resolve abusive marriages and difficult situations.

One of the most basic functions of government should be supporting those members of society in most need of help. That support is especially important in the toughest times, when social burdens fall most heavily on the economically vulnerable. Ensuring the safety and well-being of mothers and children, regardless of their marriage status, should be a much stronger government priority. Over a million households are waiting.

Source: The Japan Times Online

Blogger's Comments: Will Malaysia look east to Japan in this great hour of economic downturn? Most likely not. In fact since the great Malaysian medical Doctor Mahathir had problem with his ex-Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in 1997 Malaysia had practically and quietly abandoned its Look East To Japan Policy. Since then Malaysia and most of all West Malaysia under the Dr Mahathir had ben pretty engrossed and obsessed with nothing else but internal or domestic politics - how to control the rising tide of opposition against UMNO which he led. In fact all Malaysians and most of all West Malaysians- from the oldest right down to the youngest have been fed on a staple diet of Malaysian politics almost 24 hours a day (taking into consideration the fact that some Mamak Restaurants in big towns like Bangi are opened 24hrs a day).

Up to date Malaysia is still too busy with politics and this country which used to be called Malaysia Boleh seems no longer Boleh. It does not seem to have time to talk, let alone discuss or deliberate on the wisest moves or measures to help the poor or help Malaysians who have lost their jobs because of the deteriorating world economy. In fact Malaysia seems not to have time to think about the 20,000 odd number of workers being laid off or made redudant because of the world economic recession. (MSN News 29 March 2009 Over 26,000 jobs lost in Malaysia: report.) I wonder what are we going to do with the rising number of our unemployed university graduates? Where are we going to send a couple of thousands more of our unemployed graduates after their graduation come a few months time? Are we going to send them all for a post-graduate degree in Latihan Khidmat Negara with a new training syllabus or module? Whatever it is can we build a society that is more polite even if the politicians cannot help but be political? Is Malaysia no longer Boleh?

Kalimantan Indonesia: Waspadai! Siklus 30-Tahunan Konflik di Kalbar

2009-03-30T01:20:00.000+08:00

Minggu, 29 Maret 2009 , 09:53:00

Waspadai! Siklus 30-Tahunan Konflik di Kalbar

PONTIANAK--Kalbar rentan dengan konflik. Kendati saat ini kondisi keamanan relatif stabil, namun bukan tidak mungkin konflik kembali terulang. Diprediksi pada tahun 2020, akan kembali terjadi konflik antaretnis. Hasil tersebut berdasarkan hipotesis Pakar Konflik, Prof Dr Sy Ibrahim Alkadrie. Hipotesis dilakukan oleh guru besar Fisipol Untan tersebut berdasarkan fakta sejarah. ”Konflik yang terjadi di Kalbar, periode pertama tahun 1900, kedua 1930, ketiga 1960 dan keempat 1990-an,” kata dia dalam seminar politik yang bertemakan Penguatan Forum Komunikasi Antar Etnis di Kalbar Dalam Merekonsiliasi Antar Etnis Guna Mencegah Terjadinya Konflik. Jika melihat siklus 30-tahunan, konflik diperkirakan terjadi tahun 2020 mendatang.

Seminar yang digelar atas rancangan Deputi Seswapres Bidang Politik dan Universitas Tanjungpura di Aula Rektror Untan, Sabtu (28/3), mengupas secara detil konflik etnis di Kalbar.Menurut Sy Ibrahim, ada empat faktor utama penyebab terjadinya konflik. Pertama, dikarenakan pemerintah pusat tidak memperhatikan Kalbar. ”Membuat otonomi daerah, tapi kepala dilepas ekor dipegang,” katanya.Kedua, pemerintah provinsi, pemerintah kabupaten/kota hanya sibuk mengurus kepentingan mereka sendiri tanpa memperhatikan kepentingan rakyat. Ketiga, para elit politik dan ekonomi, tokoh kelompok dan etnis serta pemimpin masyarakat hanya bekerja mengejar kepentingan pribadi dan kelompok tetapi mengeyampingkan kepentingan masyarakat kecil di daerah yang semakin termajinalkan.

Keempat, lanjut Sy Ibrahim, para tokoh etnis dan pemimpin masyarakat tidak memiliki karakter dan sikap multikultural. ”Kalaupun ada mereka tidak menyosialisasikannya kepada anggota kelompok mereka sehingga masyarakat multikultural sulit berkembang,” katanya.Sementara ahli Politik Untan Prof Dr Djohermansyah Djohan mengungkapkan, situasi kondusif saat ini belum menjamin perdamaian akan berlangsung permanen. Dengan semakin berkembangnya kehidupan bangsa dan globalisasi dunia, kata dia, maka permasalahan sosial yang terjadi akan kompleks. Maka dari itu, kata Djohan, kehadiran Forum Komunikasi Antar Etnis (FKAE) dengan aneka kegiatannya merupakan pilar perdamaian yang dapat memberikan kontribusi bagi keharmonisasi hubungan masyarakat Kalbar.

”Diharapkan forum ini bisa memberikan pemahaman bagi masyarakat Kalbar bahwa budaya pluralisme dan multikulturalisme merupakan realitas sosial masyarakat Indonesia,” katanya.

Tonny Ferdy SSos MSi, Kabag Kerbangpil dan Linmas Pemprov Kalbar menambahkan, visi pembangunan Kalbar untuk mewujudkan masyarakat yang beriman, cerdas, aman, berbudaya dan sejahtera sejauh ini terus dilakukan. Meskipun belum bisa menjamin seratus persen, kata dia, kondisi aman ini terus berlangsung diKalbar. ”Sejauh ini masyarakat mulai merasakan rukun, aman dan damai. Dan itu penting sebagai modal dasar pembangunan,” katanya.Menurutnya, berbagai upaya juga telah dilakukan pemerintah provinsi terhadap korban kerusuhan Sambas. Dari pemberian rumah type 21. Lahan garapan antara 200 m2-1 hektar, bekal hidup dan insentif Rp2,5 juta, perbekalan seperti peralatan dapur dan tani. Serta jaminan hidup untuk jangka waktu terbatas.(bdi)

Source/Sumber: Pontianak Post Online

Kenapa ada gambar Katak dan Kodok dalam blog sosiologi dan antropologi?

2009-03-27T01:10:00.000+08:00

Ada pengunjung yang bertanya kenapa blog yang sepatutnya membicarakan tentang isu-isu sosial dan budaya mempamerkan gambar kodok dan katak? Sebenarnya memang bukan tujuan pemilik blog untuk membicarakan tentang hewan yang bernama kodok dan katak dalam blog yang seharusnya membicarakan isu-isu yang menyentuh homo sapiens sapiens. Gambar-gambar kodok dan katak itu dimuatkan dalam blog ini kerana gambar-gambar itu cuba menceritrakan satu fenomena yang sebetulnya tidaklah begitu baru yang sering berlaku dalam aktivitas politik di Malaysia iaitu aktiviti "lompat melompat partai".

Sebenarnya fenomena lompat melompat partai di Malaysia adalah fenomena lama. Di negeri pemilik blog ini yang bernama Sarawak fenomena "bertukar parti" semasa menjelang pilihan raya ini sudah mula berlaku sejak negeri Sarawak membantu wilayah Malaya menubuhkan Malaysia pada tahun 1963. Fenomena "katak" ini memang disedari cukup penting dari segi menentukan nasib partai yang baru bergerak atau bertapak. Sejak Sarawak turut serta menubuhkan Malaysia kegiatan "lompat parti" atau menjadi "katak politik" ini cukup lumrah sehingga pengundi-pengundi di negeri tersebut sudah tidak begitu yakin lagi akan janji-janji ahli politik kerana janji-janji mereka adalah seperti bunyi-bunyi katak yang begitu meriah atau rami sewaktu selepas hujan pada malam hari. Janji-janji ahli politik ini juga sudah mula dilihat sama seperti janji-janji seorang penyanyi yang merintih-rintih dan merindu-rindui kekasih semasa sedang menyanyi - berjanji hidup setia dan hidup semati tetapi selesai saja rakaman lagu itu si penyanyi ini sudah berpegangan tangan dan bepelukan dengan perempuan yang lain.

Di Malaysia fenomena melompat parti ini sering berlaku kerana kurang teguhnya pegangan, pendirian serta prinsip-prinsip politik seorang calon parti semasa mereka membuat keputusan untuk bertanding dalam sebuah pilihan raya kecil maupun besar. Oleh kerana ramai calon politik di Malaysia lemah dari segi mental, fizikal, psikologi dan capital maka apabila diugut atau digula-gulakan dengan ganjaran wang, kereta dan perempuan calon politik ini tidak teragak-agak untuk melepaskan peluang. Tanpa membuang waktu untuk berfikir panjang memikirkan soal prinsip dan ideologi politik calon-calon politik ini terus serta merta bertukar bentuk dan kulit dari manusia yang bergelar homo sapiens sapiens yang memakai warna parti tertentu berubah menjadi amfibia atau amphibian yang bewarna hijau atau cokelat yang boleh melompat dan melekat terus ke parti musuh atau parti lawan kerana terlihat cahaya ganjaran material dan kekayaan.

Golongan yang sering melompat parti inilah yang dinamakan "Katak" atau "Kodok" politik di Malaysia. Manusia yang hidup sebagai separuh amfibia dalam dunia politik Malaysia memang sentiasa ada dan jumlah pembiakan mereka cukup tinggi pada "musim hujan politik" atau pilihan raya. Rakyat Malaysia harus berhati-hati dan berwaspada pada musim pilihan raya kecil maupun besar kerana pada masa "musim hujan politik" atau pilihan raya kecil atau besar inilah katak dan kodok politik Malaysia ini membesar dengan cepat dan sentiasa bersedia untuk melompat dan bertukar parti. Jenis-jenis katak ini juga sama dengan jenis-jenis kaum yang terdapat di Malaysia. Pada masa dulu katak-katak ini lebih ramai Melayu,India maupun Iban dan jarang sekali Cina. Kebelakangan ini penyakit katak ini sudah mula berjangkit dan menular sehingga selain Melayu, India dan Iban ada juga katak Cina yang sudah sanggup untuk turut serta. Sayangnya dalam budaya Melayu katak atau kodok tidak dimakan; katak hanya ditangkap oleh golongan petani untuk dijual atau diperdagangkan. Di negeri-negeri Indocina seperti Thailand, Kampuchea dan Vietnam lain pula amalannya....

Sultan Selangor mahu pandangan rakyat diutamakan

2009-03-10T22:37:00.000+08:00

Sultan Selangor mahu pandangan rakyat diutamakan
Muhammad Arif Ismail

Tue | Mar 10, 09 | 3:33:04 pm MYT

SHAH ALAM, 10 Mac (Hrkh) - Prinsip yang paling penting untuk mencapai sebuah negara yang maju ialah prinsip demokrasi dengan pandangan rakyat perlu diutamakan dalam menetukan hala tuju sesebuah negara.

"Pandangan rakyat merupakan satu petanda yang terbaik sama ada berjaya atau tidak pentadbiran sesebuah negeri.

"Sudah semestinya prinsip ini dilengkapkan dengan perlembagaan persekutuan dan undang-undang tubuh kerajaan negeri yang semua seharusnya sedia maklum," titahnya.

Baginda bertitah demikian dalam Majlis Perasmian Mesyuarat Pertama (Pembukaan) Persidangan Penggal Kedua Dewan Undangan Negeri Selangor ke-12 di Bangunan Dewan Undangan Negeri Selangor, dekat sini pagi tadi.

Menurut baginda, pandangan rakyat harus diambil kira dan mempersoalkan tindakan kerajaan negeri yang melaksanakan 'Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor' (MES) sekiranya menolak pandangan rakyat.

Oleh itu titahnya, proses perbincangan awam seharusnya diperbanyakkan untuk setiap keputusan dan kerangka utama pembangunan kerajaan negeri.

"Masyarakat madani di negara maju menyumbang secara aktif kepada pembangunan negara dan ini sewajarnya menjadi kebiasaan di Selangor," titah baginda.

"Kerajaan negeri beta mesti cuba menggunakan kepakaran yang ada pada pihak-pihak ini dalam tujuan untuk memajukan negeri Selangor.

"Meskipun ada kelemahan yang mesti diatasi, namun negeri beta ini telah meneruskan usaha mencapai matlamat negara yang maju dengan prinsip-prinsip pentadbiran yang terbaik dengan prinsip yang paling penting iaitu demokrasi," titah baginda.

Dalam pada itu, Sultan Selangor juga menegaskan bahawa keamanan, keharmonian serta perpaduan kaum di negara ini akan terjejas dengan berlaku beberapa insiden yang melibatkan perbalahan yang dicetuskan oleh sekelompok masyarakat.

"Justeru, beta ingin menyeru kepada semua pihak agar memberhentikan segala tindak-tanduk yang boleh menjejaskan imej negara ini dan menumpukan perhatian ke arah memupuk perpaduan yang erat di kalangan semua kaum." titahnya.

Baginda juga menyeru supaya sikap hormat-menghormati diantara kaum perlu diamalkan setiap waktu agar keharmonian yang berkekalan.

"Sikap hormat-menghormati diantara kaum di negara ini perlulah sentiasa diamalkan bersama bagi menjamin perpaduan di kalangan masyarakat Malaysia," titah baginda. - azm_

Source: HarakahDaily.Net

The Believers Obey, The Ignorants Ignore and The Deviants Will Divert and Deviate

2009-03-10T22:21:00.000+08:00

Isu Nama Allah: Dr Asri sependapat dengan Nik Aziz
Azamin Amin

Tue | Mar 10, 09 | 1:06:25 pm MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, 10 Mac (Hrkh) - "Saya bukan jawatankuasa PAS, atau orang Kelantan, namun bagi saya sesiapa yang menempelak kenyataan Menteri Besar Kelantan Dato' Nik Aziz Nik Mat tentang isu nama Allah adalah mereka yang kurang jelas tentang akidah Islam, atau mempertahankan apa yang mereka tidak faham."

Demikian dinyatakan oleh bekas Mufti Perlis Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin yang sebelum ini pernah menulis setahun lalu dalam blognya yang bertajuk:"Beza antara merebut nama Allah dan mempertahankan akidah." berhubung isu berkaitan.

"Saya telah kemukakan hujah dan alasan bahawa mereka boleh memanggil Tuhan dengan 'Allah'. Al-Quran dan Sunnah membenarkannya. Akidah bukan diukur dengan panggilan, tetapi dengan membezakan antara tauhid dan syirik," katanya dalam laman blognya itu baru-baru ini

Katanya Majlis Fatwa Perlis ketika beliau menjadi mufti membuat keputusan sebulat suara keharusan bukan Muslim memanggil Tuhan dengan panggilan Allah.

"Jangan kita nak 'divert' isu politik, kita bangkit isu agama, nanti agama menjadi mangsa permainan manusia.

"Saya nasihat kepada yang bising isu ini, jika nak berjihad, biarlah kena pada tempatnya. Ini bukan isu yang patut kita bertarung kerananya.

Katanya jika ingin melarang bukan Muslim guna nama Allah jangan katakan bahawa agama Islam yang melarang tetapi beritahu orang bukan Islam bahawa peraturan Kerajaan Malaysia yang melarangnya atas sebab-sebab tertentu.

"Apa yang patut JAKIM fikirkan adalah bagaimana cara agar bukan Muslim dalam negara kita lebih faham dan suka dengan Islam." katanya yang kini masih berada di Lampeter, United Kingdom. - azm

Sumber dan Ehsan: HarakahDaily.Net

Post-Frogging Cultural Treatment in Malaysia: Jelapang folk are still angry with Hee

2009-03-09T16:51:00.000+08:00

Sunday March 8, 2009
Jelapang folk are still angry with Hee
By IVAN LOH

IPOH: Some voters in Jelapang are still angry over their elected representative Hee Yit Foong’s controversial decision to leave DAP. They made it obvious when she turned up at her service centre here.

Hee showed up for the first time after declaring herself as an independent representative last month. She arrived at the centre at 3pm yesterday to meet a constituent over complaints on drainage problems.

Hee, however, left hurriedly 45 minutes later after a group of people heckled her with abusive words, said her newly-appointed special assistant Sharifuddin Mohd Aminuddin.

Hee had arrived with her husband in a silver Mercedes Benz bearing a Kuala Lumpur registration number.

Sharifuddin believed the car did not belong to Hee, but he could not be sure.

Some locals, he added, saw the Mercedes parked outside the service centre and became curious.

A few passers-by looked into the service centre through the glass panels and saw Hee sitting inside the room.

“Soon a group of about 10 people gathered at a coffee shop opposite the road from the centre, hurling abuses at her. I advised her to leave as soon as possible,” Sharifuddin told The Star shortly after Hee left.

He claimed that the crowd was calling Hee names and unpleasant things such as “traitor who destroyed Pakatan,” and “ungrateful woman”.

Sharifuddin said Hee put up a brave front despite the insults. She smiled and waved to the crowd that was watching her, adding that she did not inform the police about this.

Although she is being boycotted by many, some folk still came to seek her help.

“There have been people coming to the centre, but this is the first time my boss is here to meet them personally,” said Sharifuddin, who has been tasked with manning the centre in Hee’s absence.

He added that Hee was looking for a new place as the landlord wanted to terminate the lease for the centre.

Source: thestaronline

Nik Aziz says ‘bumiputera’ term is racist

2009-03-01T21:13:00.000+08:00

MARCH 1 – In extraordinary remarks today, Pas spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat said the use of the term “bumiputera” smacks of racism and deprived other races of government aid.

His comments, made in Kota Baru today, will certainly spark debate, especially since it comes from a Malay leader who is widely respected even by his foes in Barisan Nasional and Umno.

In calling the term bumiputera racist, he appears to be drawing a clear line between his Pas party and the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) from that of Umno, which has been championing the special rights of Malays.

Nik Aziz’s remarks was made in response over growing criticism from the conservative spine of Umno against comments made by DAP’s Dr Boo Cheng Hau, the opposition leader in Johor.

Dr Boo was reported to have compared “bumiputeraism” with apartheid.

Umno leaders have demanded an apology from Boo, and say his comments were a challenge to Malay rights and the constitution.

Umno’s Utusan Malaysia also described Boo’s remarks as a part of DAP’s agenda to form a republic.

But Nik Aziz was reported by Bernama as saying today that not only did the term smack of racism but deprived other races sharing similar rights and having the same identity cards of government assistance.

“In an election, other races are allowed to cast one vote, so are the bumiputera," he said.

Nik Abdul Aziz said the government should form a body to manage aid for the poor in the country and not cater only for a single group known as the bumiputera.

“I don’t like the (use of the) word bumiputera. What I like is (use of the word) poor, for all races,” he added.

He said the poor, regardless of their race, should be given assistance.

His statement appears to be also in line with Anwar Ibrahim’s concept of “Ketuanan Rakyat,” or supremacy of the people, which has been used to diffentiate PR parties from Umno’s “Ketuanan Melayu,” or Malay supremacy.

Source: The Malaysian Insider

Kisah Ulama-Ulama: Apabila Seorang Ulama diulam Ulama Lain

2009-02-13T21:24:00.000+08:00

Isu Perak: Haron Din jawab Mufti Perak

Salmah Mat Husain

Sun | Feb 08, 09 | 7:43:01 pm MYT

PENGKALAN CHEPA, 8 Feb (Hrkh) - Golongan alim ulama di Negara ini harus bersikap adil di samping memihak hanya kepada Islam dalam menyelesaikan sesuatu isu apa lagi mengeluarkan kenyataan berbaur politik Iklan

Timbalan Mursyidul Am, Dato' Dr Haron Din, menyifatkan kenyataan Mufti Perak, Dato' Seri Harussani Zakaria, yang mengeluarkan kenyataan sesiapa tidak taat kepada pemerintah dianggap derhaka dilihat sebagai tidak menepati tugasnya sebagai Mufti yang hanya wajib memihak pada Islam dan bukannya pada mana-mana individu apa lagi untuk kepentingan politik.

Menurutnya, tindakan sedemikian hanya akan mengundang kekeliruan di kalangan masyarakat, kerana golongan ulama merupakan rujukan utama masyarakat dalam masaalah agama.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas berhubung kenyataan mufti berkenaan yang didakwa sedemikian sebagai merujuk tindakan Menteri Besar Perak, Dato' Seri Muhammad Nizar, yang enggan melepaskan jawatannya sebagai menteri besar.

Harussani baru-baru ini mendakwa, sesiapa yang tidak taat kepada pemerintah ataupun Raja yang memerintah sesebuah negeri, orang itu dianggap derhaka.

Beliau berkata demikian selepas merasmikan majlis penutup Kursus Kepimpinan Dakwah Halaqat, anjuran kerajaan negeri dengan kerjasama Unit Dakwah Halaqat, Jabatan Hal Ehwal Agama Islam Negeri Kelantan, di Putik, di sini semalam.

"Mufti Perak telah menyatakan pendapatnya, tetapi tidak pernah berlaku seumpamanya sebelum ini di mana Mufti telah memihak pada mana-mana parti politik.

"Sepatutnya sebagai orang yang diberi tanggungjawab menjaga kepentingan agama, Mufti tidak seharusnya terjebak dalam kancah politik, selain hanya memihak kepada kebenaran Islam yang satu,"ujarnya lagi.

Haron Din, seterusnya memberitahu kenyataan Mufti sedemikian jelas menampakkan ianya kurang bijak dalam memberikan pandangannya berhubung kemelut politik di Perak.

"Kalau nak membuat sebarang ulasan pun biarlah ianya memberi gambaran yang jelas iaitu Islam,"ujarnya lagi.

Terdahulu ketika berucap pada majlis itu beliau merujuk pada sejarah Islam bagaimana seorang alim ulama yang masyhur Izzudin Abdul Salam yang berani menyatakan kebenarannya walaupun di hadapan sultan sehingga beliau akhirnya dibuang daerah.

Menurutnya, keberanian ulama di zaman ini amat diperlukan khususnya untuk menangani kegawatan suasana politik dunia dan tempatan yang semakin meruncing.

"Hanya golongan ulama sejati yang berani mengeluarkan kenyataan yang benar walaupun sedar diri terpaksa berhadapan dengan sebarang kemungkinan,"ujarnya lagi. - mks.

Source: HarakahDaily.Net

Malaysian Projection of the Inner Self: The Plight of The Rohingya

2009-02-12T16:17:00.000+08:00

Petaling Jaya, 12th February 2009.

The Plight of The Rohingya
by
ANWAR IBRAHIM

Today we witness once again the unfolding of the consequences of the oppression of men by men. Oppressed peoples have the misfortune of being arbitrarily isolated from their own societies and rendered into minorities by a stroke of the pen in the hands of their erstwhile political overlords, the military junta.

The Muslims of Rohingnya are stark reminders of this unfortunate twist of historical fate.

With their plight ignored and their pleas for help falling on deaf ears, the Rohingya Muslims brave the high seas in search of a new tomorrow. The doors of Myanmar, their own homeland, are shut on them, the harbours are closed and their women are raped.

On this occasion, let us step back and reflect on the suffering of Rohingya. We call on the powers that be to take quick and decisive action to help alleviate their plight. Countries in Asean, neighbours of Myanmar as well as multilateral institutions can no longer remain oblivious to the humanitarian tragedy that is unfolding before their very eyes.

Source: anwaribrahimblog.com

Malaysia Tidak Boleh: Malaysia under fire at UN over refugees

2009-02-12T16:03:00.000+08:00

Agence France-Presse - 2/11/2009 5:49 PM GMT

Malaysia under fire at UN over refugees

Malaysia was taken to task by some Western countries on Wednesday over its treatment of asylum seekers and refugees, during a United Nations review of its human rights record.

Belgium, Britain and the Netherlands were among the nations that expressed "concerns" surrounding refugees and asylum-seekers held in detention in Malaysia, as they called on Kuala Lumpur to develop legislation that distinguishes asylum seekers from irregular migrants.

"We note serious problems faced by refugees, migrants and asylum seekers in Malaysia... that is linked to a lack of clarity on their status in the country," Belgium's representative told the UN Human Rights Council during a universal periodic review session.

Under universal periodic review, all 192 member states of the United Nations have their human rights record vetted by the council once every four years.

The session is based on three reports, one submitted by the country under review, and two summaries compiled by the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights.

The high commissioner's report noted the lack of national legislation on refugees as well as absence of laws on the rights of migrant workers.

In addition, it said, "many asylum seeking and refugee children, among them Muslim children from a nearby country, including the Rohingya refugee children who had lived in Malaysia since 1990s, lacked access to formal education."

The secretary general of Malaysia's foreign ministry Rastam Mohd Isa said in his opening remarks that Malaysia prosecutes only refugees who have committed crimes.

Foreign workers are accorded the same rights as local workers, and the rights of illegal immigrants are protected, he added.

Human rights groups have accused Malaysia of mistreating millions of foreign workers who live there, as well as asylum-seekers, including thousands from nearby Myanmar, which is under military rule.

Human Rights Watch had singled out a government-backed volunteer force in Malaysia known as RELA for allegedly beating, threatening and extorting money from migrants and asylum-seekers.

During Wednesday's session, some countries, including Chile and France, encouraged Malaysia to eliminate discrimination due to sexual orientation and to "respect the human rights of all individuals, including homosexuals."

Source: MSN News

Sains Untuk Anak-Anak: Samakah Katak dengan Kodok?

2009-02-11T01:02:00.000+08:00

Ketika berjalan di persawahan dan menjumpai hewan kecil yang melompat-lompat, sebagian orang menamakan hewan itu sebagai “katak”. Sebagian lainnya menyebutnya sebagai “kodok”. Bahkan ada yang menganggap “kodok” adalah istilah bahasa daerah (Jawa), sedangkan “katak” adalah istilah resmi dalam bahasa Indonesia. Dan kenyataannya, banyak orang yang menganggap katak sama dengan kodok. Katak adalah kodok. Kodok adalah katak.

Benarkah anggapan tersebut?

Katak memang sangat mirip dengan kodok. Karena punya banyak kesamaan, saintis pun memasukkan keduanya ke dalam keluarga besar Anura (amfibi tak berekor).

Meski mirip, katak dan kodok adalah dua jenis hewan yang berbeda.

Bila memang keduanya berbeda, bagaimana kita membedakan katak dengan kodok? Apa ciri umum yang membedakan keduanya?

Ssstt, ini dia rahasia untuk mengenalinya …

Ciri umum katak (frog):

tubuh langsing
kulit basah (lembab), tipis, dan halus
kaki panjang, sehingga dapat membuat lompatan yang jauh

Contoh katak: Rana esculenta, Rana tigrina.

Ciri umum kodok/bangkong (toad):

tubuh lebar (besar)
kulit kering, tebal, dan kasar
kaki relatif pendek yang menjadikan lompatannya hanya berjarak pendek

Contoh kodok: Bufo americanus, Bufo marinus.

Jadi, katak berbeda dengan kodok…
—
Adi Nugroho @ sains
Foto katak oleh jeffclow
Foto kodok oleh marc50

Source/Sumber dan Ehsan: Sains.wordpress.com

A Hail of Criticism for the Perak ruler’s decision, the EC and the assemblymen

2009-02-07T20:33:00.000+08:00

Jumaat, 6 Februari 2009 •

Below is a compilation of the comments from various experts on Sultan Azlan Shah’s controversial decision to reject Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin’s recommendation to dissolve the state assembly; his order that Nizar resign; the Election Commission’s disgraceful refusal to fix by-election dates for Behrang and Changkat Jering; the actions of the Behrang and Changkat Jering assemblymen

Sultan Azlan Shah, author of ‘Constitutional Monarchy, Rule of Law and Good Governance’.

“Under normal circumstances, it is taken for granted that the Yang di Pertuan Agong would not withhold his consent to a request for the dissolution of Parliament.

“His role is purely formal.”

Abdul Aziz Bari, law professor at the International Islamic University

“The problem in Malaysia is that the law is not allowed to take its course. I think the Sultan has made a mistake.”

Bari said while it is the Sultan’s prerogative whether or not to dissolve the state assembly and allow fresh elections, the Sultan should not insist on the resignation of his appointed Menteri Besar, until it was clear he no longer held the majority support of the state’s lawmakers.

Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, human rights lawyer

“It could be said there is no situation of no-confidence here because of the dispute over the two seats (Behrang and Changkat Jering). A vote of no-confidence can only be taken by people who are legitimately entitled to vote, meaning people who are still assemblymen.

“As such, the legal basis of the Sultan’s directive may not be found.”

P Ramakrishnan, Aliran

“Legally there exist no doubts as to the vacancies of these two seats but there are clearly doubts as to why the Election Commission chose to take this decision which is without doubt ultra vires.”

“Aliran would also like to appeal to His Royal Highness, the Sultan of Perak, in all humility, to kindly consent to the dissolution of the state assembly as a way to overcome this deadlock.”

James Chin, political analyst from Monash University, KL wing

“According to the old British system, a monarch should always follow the advice of the Prime Minister, regardless of personal preference.

“The Sultan should know the law better than any of us, as he was formerly the Lord President of the Supreme Court

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Gua Musang MP

“The Constitution makes no provision for his removal by any other means, including by petitions or instructions from any other authority,” said Razaleigh in a statement, adding that Nizar is lawfully the Menteri Besar until he resigns of his own accord, or is removed by a vote of no-confidence in a formal sitting of the assembly.

“Defections are not the basis for the formation of a government. Elections are. Governments are formed after citizens have expressed their choice through free and fair elections. Our constitution specifies a formal process for the formation of a government.”

”The two assemblymen (Behrang and Changkat Jering) whose allegiance we have suddenly gained are under investigation for corruption, while the Bota assemblyman’s justification for his record-breaking 10-day double-hop is an insult to the public’s intelligence and nauseating in its insincerity.”

Mahathir Mohammad, former prime minister

“Is Umno so desperate that it cannot wait for the criminal court decision against them before accepting them,” Mahathir wrote in his blog, referring to the Feb 10 corruption trial awaiting the Behrang and Changkat Jering assemblymen.

“If they are accepted now and then found not guilty, the so-called Umno-led government will be accused of influencing the court. True or not does not matter as the public’s perception is such. It will have an effect in the 13th general election.”

Khoo Kay Peng, political analyst

“Umno should prove to Malaysians that it is willing to change its ways. Accepting the two assemblymen, who are facing corruption charges, into its fold only shows it is digging in keep its old habits.”

Lim Si Pin, Gerakan Youth chief

“You are cheating the people as you think the voters are stupid. You are the representative of the people, how can you defect so easily.

“This is an abuse of the democratic process. Gerakan is against the party hopping culture and we do not support BN’s method of taking control of the Perak government by dubious means.

Lim Si Boon, Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Perak

“Elections are the prerogative of the (state) government. We just want the most practical way with the least disruption.”

Param Cumaraswamy, prominent lawyer and former United Nations special rapporteur:

“A constitutional crisis is brewing,” he said, adding that it would now be difficult for either side to effectively govern Perak.

Source: Suara KeADILan Online

ASEAN's Unsolved Human Dilemma

2009-02-06T23:21:00.000+08:00

Friday, Feb. 6, 2009

Suffer the Rohingya

About 800,000 Rohingya live in Myanmar. They are a Muslim group in a Buddhist state. They are not recognized as one of Myanmar's official minorities, which means they are subject to persecution and worse in that army-run dictatorship. Not surprisingly, thousands of Rohingya have fled their homeland. Officially, some 28,000 Rohingya live in refugee camps in Bangladesh; that number is dwarfed by the estimated 200,000 living illegally there.

The Rohingya's precarious existence makes them easy prey for predators of all sorts. Human traffickers promise them better lives outside Myanmar — for a fee. The exodus to countries throughout Southeast Asia exposes them to different dangers. In recent weeks, some 200 Rohingya have been discovered adrift at sea. They tell of being towed into international waters by the Thai military, with engines sabotaged. Hundreds more are thought to have drowned.

After initially denying any involvement, the Thai military admitted towing the Rohingya out to sea, but with food, water and functioning engines. The military also deny charges of beating refugees before exiling them. In the face of growing international criticism, the Thai government has asked the U.N. High Commission for Refugees to inspect the refugees it has in custody. While rejecting allegations of Thai misconduct, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva blamed traffickers for the plight of the Rohingya and has called on all countries of the region to help deal with this problem.

Mr. Abhisit is right about one thing: While the number of Rohingya intercepted in Thai waters has jumped fourfold in two years — from 1,225 in 2006 to 4,886 last year — this is not just a Thai problem. Rohingya refugees are found in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, and refugees say they would rather die than go home.

Using Orwellian logic, Myanmar even denies that the refugees originate there: "Rohingya people are not among Myanmar's more than 100 ethnic minority groups." Nonetheless, the junta has said it will tighten its borders to prevent more people from fleeing the country. That is an ominous promise. The fate of the Rohingya is another line in the indictment against the junta that rules Myanmar. That does not absolve the rest of the world from doing more to help this embattled minority.

Source: The Japan Times Online

Muslims Not Even The IOC bother to Lift A Finger: The Rohingya of Mynmar

2009-02-06T17:49:00.000+08:00

FOCUS: The Rohingya of Myanmar

By Najad Abdullahi in Kuala Lumpur

While the Thai authorities continue to face allegations of abuse of Muslim Rohingya migrants, the policy of rejecting and forcefully repatriating asylum seekers landing on Thai soil is not new.

But increased media attention to the plight of the Rohingya and images of Thai soldiers stood guard over rows of bedraggled men have highlighted the desperation of a minority group effectively rendered stateless by the Myanmar government.

IN VIDEO

Rohingya claim Thai abuseAccording to Kraisak Choonhavan, a Thai government official, between 2004 and 2008, at least 4,866 Rohingya arrived in Thailand, many of whom have since been repatriated to Myanmar.

In December alone, nearly a thousand arrived along Thailand's Andaman coastline.

Travelling in rickety wooden boats from Myanmar, the winter months when the tides are at their lowest are viewed as the best time to set sail.

Human Rights Watch says the orders to deport the Rohingya are part of a broader policy on the part of Thai authorities aimed at keeping the stateless ethnic group out of Thailand.

"This is not a one-off thing where the authorities decide to deport who they see as illegal immigrants," Sunai Phasuk, a Thailand and Myanmar researcher, told Al Jazeera.

"There is a policy aimed at the Rohingya... a directive given from higher-ranking officials."

'Separatist links'

Sunai is referring to clams by the Thai military that the Rohingya may join the Muslim separatist movement in the country's south – a conflict which has claimed more than 3,000 lives over the past five years.

Al Jazeera has spoken to members of a civilian militia recruited and trained by the Thai military to monitor the movements of Rohingya refugees and to round up illegal immigrants.

"We practise how to shoot guns and train after dark because sometimes the Rohingya come out at night by boat and run up into the hills," said Saman Manee Jansuk, a local resident living near the Thailand-Myanmar border

"We don't want them coming here."

A senior Thai military officer overseeing the treatment of the Rohingya has himself been heavily involved in previous and sometimes controversial military operations in the south.

Colonel Manat Kongpan, now chief of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) in the southern province of Ranong, was one of the officers charged over the deaths of 28 Muslim men at the Krue Se mosque siege in the town of Pattani in 2004.

Repeated requests for an interview with Manat were refused, but he has been quoted as saying that Thailand has "a duty to protect itself".

It is unclear though why ISOC, a shadowy army division revived after the 2006 military coup, has become involved with handling the case of the Rohingya, rather than the Thai immigration or border authorities who normally process migrants.

'No evidence'

Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, a non-governmental organisation documenting the plight of the Rohingya, told Al Jazeera that she has seen no evidence that Rohingya migrants have joined separatist fighters in southern Thailand.

"There is no evidence they have joined any movement. These people are starving and simply want to feed their families.

"They could not do this in Myanmar, and many found themselves destitute in refugee camps in Bangladesh," she said.

"They do not care about some ideology – political or religious."

But according to a leading Thai forensics expert, "explosives residue" was found on one of the Rohingya boats that landed on Thailand's Andaman coast in December.

Dr Porntip Rojanasunan, a forensic pathologist working for the ministry of justice, was asked by the Thai military to examine the contents of some of the boats, specifically to examine whether the refugees may be linked to fighters in the south, and if they held any objects that may be a "security threat".

Explosives

"There were substances and chemicals found that can be used in explosives ... there was actually quite a significant level," she told Al Jazeera.

Asked whether the traces could be directly linked to the separatist movement in the south, she said: "I can only give the authorities what my results of the tests were."

"Just because a group of Muslims come to this country, on their way to a better life, does not mean they will fight the government of Thailand"

Parakorn Priyakorn, Islamic Centre of Thailand"But I am aware of the factor that these boats may have been used for other purposes in their countries of origin ... before they were used by the refugees."

"The Thai authorities may question them about these findings," she added.

Parakorn Priyakorn, of the Islamic Centre of Thailand, told Al Jazeera the policies of previous governments towards southern Thailand, had created "an atmosphere of suspicion" towards immigrants of Muslim background.

"Just because a group of Muslims come to this country, on their way to a better life, does not mean they will fight the government of Thailand," he said.

"I understand that we cannot handle so many migrants, but we also need to consider human rights issues."

The official justification given by the Thai government for deporting the Rohingya is that the country is simply unable to handle the influx of immigrants.

"We cannot afford carrying the burden of taking care of another 200,000-300,000 people," Suthep Thaugsuban, the deputy prime minister, told the Reuters news agency earlier this month.

"They come from Myanmar and that is where they will be deported to," he said.

But the Myanmar government has denied that the migrants recently seen arriving in Thailand, India and Indonesia could have come from its territory because the Rohingya are not among its officially recognised ethnic groups.

'No place'

According to the UNHCR, at least 230,000 Rohingya now live a precarious, stateless existence in Bangladesh alone, having fled their homes in Myanmar's North Rakhine state.

Those who have not fled are restricted from travel inside the country, while human rights groups say Rohingya face abuses by the Myanmar military that make the recent crackdown on democracy protests seem pale in comparison.

Gabriele Marranci, professor of anthropology of Islam at the National University of Singapore, told Al Jazeera the main reason the Rohingya are "unwanted" in Thailand, and also facing the prospect of deportation from Indonesia, is that they "lack strategic value".

"There seems to be a consensus among countries neighbouring Myanmar to also treat the Rohingya as a stateless group which has no place in their societies," he said.

"It is interesting to note that other groups, such as the Palestinians who are fighting for a state, and recognition, are given attention primarily attributed to their strategic significance in the Middle East; but a minority group such as the Rohingya, who are unable and unwilling to start a conflict in the region, are systematically treated as gypsies to be pushed out into the ocean."

Source: Al Jazeera

ASEAN's Neutrality ... Rohingya's Marginality: Rohingya migrants 'cast adrift'

2009-02-04T02:20:00.000+08:00

Rohingya migrants 'cast adrift'

Indonesian authorities say a second boatload of Rohingya migrants found off the western island of Sumatra have told them they were cast adrift in an engineless boat after being beaten by the Thai military.

The group, numbering almost 200, were found by fisherman in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Navy officials quoted survivors as saying they had been beaten by Thai authorities, before being towed out to sea and set adrift.

At least 20 of the group died while they drifted for three weeks.

Tedi Sutardi, an Indonesian navy officer, on Tuesday said there was no food and water on board the boat and all the survivors were in very poor health.

"They were drifting for about 21 days," he told AFP. "Most of them are in critical condition and are receiving treatment at a local state hospital in East Aceh district.

He said the survivors were still being interviewed by Indonesian authorities, but communication was difficult.

Last month Indonesian fishermen found another group of about 170 Rohingya drifting off Sumatra. Many of them had severe injuries they said were the result of beatings from the Thai military.

Persecution

A group found last month had injuries they said were inflicted by the Thai militaryMyanmar's military rulers effectively deny citizenship rights to the Rohingya, a Muslim minority who live in the west of the country.

Human rights groups say the Rohingya face systematic discrimination and abuse by Myanmar authorities, leading hundreds to try to flee the country by boat every year.

Rather than finding refuge though, many say they have found even more abuse at the hands of the Thai military who have been accused of beating boatloads of migrants before pushing them back out to sea, often without food or water, and in boats with engines removed.

Rights groups say hundreds may have perished at sea.

The Thai government has rejected allegations of abuse, and says the Rohingya are economic migrants seeking a better life, not refugees fleeing persecution.

Forced to convert

The latest group of Rohingya found off Sumatra on Tuesday said they had left their homes in Myanmar's western Arakan state after being forced to convert to Buddhism.

Al Jazeera correspondent Step Vaessen reporting from Jakarta said navy officials found the survivors, one of whom was 13 years old, to be very weak after their ordeal and said it was a miracle they had survived.

The boat was so small that some of the group had been forced to stand.

She said there were also clear signs that they had been beaten, and the Indonesian authorities are now trying to decide what to do with them.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Thailand set to deport Rohingya (31 Jan 2009)
UN gets access to Rohingya refugees (30 Jan 2009)
Rohingya allege more Thai abuse (30 Jan 2009)
Video: Rohingya migrants speak out (29 Jan 2009)
Rohingyas claim Myanmar abuse (27 Jan 2009)
Thais admit boat people set adrift (27 Jan 2009)

A New Cultural Trend: After Bush, Chinese PM Hurled With Shoe

2009-02-03T22:33:00.000+08:00

After Bush, Chinese PM Hurled With Shoe

Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 3:54 pm

London: A 27-year-old man in Britain has been charged after a shoe was thrown at Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao during a visit to Cambridge University, police said Tuesday.

The man, who has not been named, would appear before magistrates in Cambridge on February 10 accused of committing a public order offence.

The shoe was thrown at Wen and he was called a “dictator” as he gave a speech on the global economy at the renowned university Monday.

The premier, who is on a three-day visit to Britain, described the incident as “despicable.” Witnesses said the shoe landed about a metre away from him.

The Foreign Ministry in Beijing condemned the incident but said it would not harm Anglo-Chinese relations.

The protest was similar to an event in December when former US President George W Bush was forced to duck to avoid shoes thrown at him by an Iraqi journalist at a press conference in Baghdad.

Source: A Pakistan News

Pak Enrico Mulawarman Kami Sudah bilang Sama Siswa/i Malaysia, Anthropology can lend insight to business

2009-02-03T13:24:00.000+08:00

Anthropology can lend insight to business

Enrico Mulawarman , Jakarta Sat, 01/31/2009 1:17 PM Opinion/Opini

A trend is on the horizon. Many people are jumping on the multicultural bandwagon. In the political realm, more politicians are more often stressing the importance of cultural diversity.

In academic circles, qualitative research is gaining ground on the predominant penchant for quantitative research, highlighting a renewed interest in social and cultural phenomena. President Barack Obama said, "there are no blue states or red states, just the United States of America". Obama highlights the importance of unity in cultural and social diversity. This trend is also apparent and highly visible in business and corporate settings.

Tom Davenport of Babson College has been predicting for years that anthropologists would be in demand in the workplace of the future. As the world's economies have become globally oriented and interdependent, the consequences of the 2008 global financial crisis is forcing governments across the globe to find ways to save their ailing economies.

Governments and the private sector, financial institutions and corporations battle to preserve themselves by restructuring their approach or coming up with new business models and plans. Anthropological approaches and research is increasingly appealing to business because it is helping answer pressing questions about consumers, consumption, and how people use products and services.

What anthropologists have to offer is not just confined to marketing and consumer behavior research. Anthropological approaches also makes it possible to understand what we have come to call the culture of an organization: every business entity, because it is a kind of social organization, develops its own corporate culture.

Anthropologists commonly use the term culture to refer to a society or group in which many or all people live and think in similar ways. Likewise, any group of people who share a common culture and, in particular, common rules of behavior and a basic form of social organization constitutes a society.

An anthropological approach is able to expand the understanding of corporate culture from an organizational premise, where often serves as a management tool, to an analysis on how corporate culture can be used to identify an individual's way of life in relation to an existing structure.

Cultural anthropologists have been very effective in studying organizational behavior (Jordan 2003). In his essay "A Scientific Theory of Culture", Bronislaw Malinowski states the science of human behavior begins with organization.

Malinowski argues that the frame of an institution is a legitimate isolate of cultural analysis. In the 1970s, Clifford Geertz radically refigured culture theory in anthropology arguing that culture must be seen as "webs of meaning" within which humans must live.

There are differing perspectives on organizational culture, from the idea that culture is a continuous process in which meaning is made collectively to that idea that culture as a thing which managers can define from above and act upon within a system of command and control.

The concept of corporate culture grew from organizational studies, but scholars of this research have been largely influenced by the field of anthropology from the outset.

Within corporate organizational settings in general, anthropology makes it possible to analyze in depth a company's value system, language, thought and behavior.

Anthropology constantly stresses the importance of ethnography in its approach and methodology. In corporate settings, ethnography helps describe and interpret the culture and worldview of consumers and employees.

For example, employees, particularly those in the field, have frequent encounters with consumers which gives insight into consumer patterns. Employees evaluate and classify customers and consumers needs, concerns, complaints and unfulfilled needs.

Consumers articulate them directly to employees, and effective employees turn those patterns into strategies to enhance sales, improve customer relationships and alleviate customer concerns and grievances. Within a business, ethnography helps explain the effect the corporation's culture has on the implementation of operations by an organization's employees.

Knowing how they perceive the effectiveness of the various sanctions or rewards that are attached to their work performance and vertical corporate relationships helps explain how employees manage their role within the broader social organization of the company.

It also explains how employees receive and interpret the relevance of top-down operational procedures, service policies and marketing initiatives.

Some companies use ideas of culture as management tools. Others emphasize that companies are clearly demarcated entities bounded vis-*-vis their environment, containing specified groups of people, organized hierarchically, each with a checklist of behaviors fostered by and unique to that company's culture.

For example, McDonald's is identified by their golden arches logo, standardized decor and branded packaging. The core beliefs of the company - quality, service, convenience and value - are instilled into managers in order to create a sense of unity across franchises. Counter staff have to follow a checklist of standardized behaviors as the perform their job.

I view corporate culture as a holistic concept. It refers to the ways in which an entire organization is perceived and construed. Over the years, mainstream anthropology has shifted from a discipline that enumerates a systematic functional approach of social structures to a more critique-oriented and postmodern methodology.

The writer is a graduate from the University of Indonesia and is currently a lecturer in the marketing and communications department at the Faculty of Communication and Multimedia of Binus University.

Source: The Jakarta Post

Changing Times Changing Labels: Orang Ulu Want to 'modernise' name

2009-01-28T14:02:00.000+08:00

Orang Ulu want to 'modernise' name

Joe Fernandez Jan 28, 09 11:40am

Tired of being the butt of local jokes about being ulu (backward), some Dayak Orang Ulu (interior people) in Sarawak are looking for a name that will do the community proud.

‘Lun Daya’ has been suggested by Federation of Orang Ulu Association Malaysia (Forum) president Lihan Jok, who is also the state assemblyperson for Telang Usan.

“Orang Ulu seems not to reflect, and does not befit, the community in the modern context,” said Lihan who plans to hold a symposium in April on the name change and forward the idea to the Sarawak cabinet for its consideration and incorporation in the state constitution.

“Many Orang Ulu have migrated to urban areas where some have found success in various endeavours. Some have become professionals, not only in the country, but internationally as well.”

In particular, he cited Malaysia Airlines Chief Executive Officer Idris Jala who has been credited with turning the national carrier around after a spate of near bankruptcies.

“Most of the community’s professionals, intellectuals and leaders have agreed in principle to the name change,” said Lihan.

‘Lun Daya’, he said, would reflect the resourcefulness and strength of the Orang Ulu in bringing changes and development to their families and communities.

The Orang Ulu will remain within the Dayak grouping which includes the Iban (formerly Sea Dayaks), the Bidayuh (formerly Land Dayaks) and the Melanau whose Muslim third often identify themselves with the Sarawak Malays. The word ‘Dayak’ comes from the Melanau word dayeh (land).

Apparently, the term Orang Ulu was chosen to ‘differentiate’ the community from others as they live mostly in the ulu or upper reaches of the great rivers of northern Sarawak. However, many have come to associate the name with ‘backwardness’ in all aspects of modern life.

Others feel that there is no harm in taking pride in the current name, which covers over 30 sub-groups in Sarawak. It was coined in 1969 by the now defunct Orang Ulu National Association which preceded Forum.

“Forum should not think of just a name change for the Orang Ulu but play an important role in the socio-economic development of the community,” said William Ghani Bina, the special adviser to the Sarawak Lun Bawang Association.

“The name should be retained as it signifies the identity, culture and way of life of the community.”

Bina advised Forum leaders to concentrate on organising courses in entrepreneurship and agriculture for the community, instead of wasting time on cosmetic changes.

However, his remarks have not gone down well with some urban Orang Ulu who point out that the Lun Bawang themselves were formerly known as Murut, which they had considered a derogatory term besides denoting a certain coarseness or roughness of nature and backwardness.

Views on proposal

Businessman Henry Opang Luhat, from the Kayan sub-group, thinks that Lun Daya is an idea whose time has come. “Orang Ulu sounds too much like Orang Utan.

I think that it’s about time that we have a name change,” said Luhat, also the executive secretary of Parti Rakyat Sarawak, a member of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.

“Orang Ulu are Malay words. It is only fair that any new term is chosen by the community itself and not by others, as in the past.” Jane Liang Labang, a Kelabit, said that she would support a name change if it truly reflects the identity of the community.

“I am not sure what Lun Daya means. Any proposal for a name change must be from the community and must be accepted by all,” said Labang who is general manager of the Sarawak Cultural Village.

According to one Internet site, Lun Daya is an alternate name for Lun dayeh. Other names for Lun dayeh include Lun Dayah, Lun Daye, Lun Dayeh, Lun Dayoh, Lundaya, Lun Lod, and Southern Murut.

Lawyer Richard Lah, also a Kelabit, agrees with the name change but suggests that ‘Daya’ be spelt as ‘Dayah’.

“I feel offended whenever people call me Orang Ulu. The word orang is degrading. We were always referred to as natives. The term 'Orang Ulu' does not exist in the constitutions of Sarawak and Malaysia. Forum itself should not have been formed until after the name change.”

The Orang Ulu are famous for their unique musical instrument called the sape, elaborate beadwork and tattoos, as well as making swords and totem poles.

They typically live in longhouses elaborately decorated with murals and woodcarvings. The majority are Christians, but traditional spiritual practices are still found in some areas.

Some community elders fear that any tussle over a name change may result in some members calling themselves by a new name while others retain the term Orang Ulu.

In neighbouring Sabah, a decision by some Dusuns to call themselves Kadazan, a new umbrella term, resulted in a split with the emergence of two groups.

Attempts to merge the two terms, Kadazan and Dusun, into the more unified KadazanDusun about a decade ago was not enough to heal the split, resulting in the emergence of three groups and three separate cultural associations.

Purists in Sabah and Sarawak see the emergence of new umbrella terms as politically motivated and feel that ethnic groupings should be allowed to retain their unique identities in a celebration of differences.

Source: malaysiakini

Blogger: Orang Ulu are Malay words indeed but the Sarawak Malays never gave the label Orang Ulu to various groups who have elected or been subsumed under the said label. As the report says the label "Orang Ulu" was coined in 1969 by the now defunct Orang Ulu National Association (OUNA) which preceded Forum. Members of the Orang Ulu group should be able to recall the fact that a few distinguished members of the Council Negri from the Orang Ulu group and especially one famous Temenggong (Oyong Lawai Jau?) was actively involved in this name change in the late 1960s.

It should be noted that before the arrival of the Brookes, the various linguistic groups in Sarawak used to describe and identify themselves according to the name of the rivers or river branches they occupied. Thus, they would refer to themselves as "We from Ulu Skrang, Batang Ai, Batang Lupar or what not". In many areas Malays and non-Malays used to stay in the same vicinity. For instance members of my Malay grandfather's household in Kampung Siling, Lundu, Kuching Division used to include non-Muslim Dayak Sebuyo or Sebuyau. In those days there was a great deal of inter-marriage and adoption. It was not a big deal then. However, things changed drastically with the arrival of James Brooke, followed later by his great nephew Charles Brooke and the ethnic policies that the latter implemented to make the demographic map of Sarawak appear clean and tidy. From the days of Brookes onwards many groups in Sarawak had conveniently subscribed to the labels given by the Brookes and various colonial scholars.

In the context of ethnic relations in Sarawak many local groups have employed interesting terms to describe the others. These names or labels that others give to other groups are known anthropologically as exonyms or "outside names" while a name or a label that an ethnic group creates to identify itself is known as an autonym or "name given by the author". In Simanggang where I grew up, my Iban schoolmates used to describe, refer and call Malays (and Muslims) in Sarawak like me as Laut. Do Sarawak Malays like this term? No, most Sarawak Malays are quite irritated and take offence at this term. Like the terms "Orang Ulu" or "Orang Daya" the term has bad connotations. It refers to the other end or most opposite end of "Ulu". It is being on the fringe or "margin". Indeed, one does feel very "mariginal" on being described as "Laut" or "Orang Laut". Thus not many urban-born, educated and sophistacted Sarawak Malay would like to be referred to by the exonym "Laut' because it is simply the mirror opposite of the term "Ulu" or "Daya". Sarawak Malays prefer the autonym Melayu. This blogger totally agrees with the report that,
"It is only fair that any new term is chosen by the community itself " Hopefully, the new name chosen by members of the OU community would bring greater satisfaction and prosperity to every tribe affiliated with this group. We pray that everything runs smoothly pre- and post-Sarawak Cultural Symposium in March 2009.

Jakarta Complains: Majority of Malaysian publications portray Indonesia negatively

2009-01-27T21:23:00.000+08:00

Majority of Malaysian publications portray Indonesia negatively

The Jakarta Post Tue, 01/27/2009 6:19 PM National

The Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, reported Tuesday that 60 percent of news stories in local publications which mention Indonesia were damaging to the country's image.

Embassy spokesperson Eka A. Suripto told state news agency Antara that only 40 percent of newspaper stories on Indonesia, gathered throughout 2008, were positive.

The clippings, he said, were taken from The New Straits Times, Harian Metro, Utusan Melayu, Berita Harian, The Star and Kosmo.

The negative coverage included stories on the arrest of illegal Indonesian workers in Malaysia, crimes committed by Indonesians, Indonesian men eloping with local women and corruption in Indonesia.

Positive stories on the other hand, included news on bilateral cooperation, talks between Indonesian and Malaysia, promotion of tourism, Indonesian music, film and sporting events, he said.

"The clippings only cover Malay and English publication and not those in Chinese or Tamil," he said. (and)

Source: The Jakarta Post Online

Blogger: The Indonesian government representative in Malaysia should talk with the owners of these publications regarding their reports. Indonesia could always ask the owners of these Malaysian papers to tone down their language and behave as good Malay neighbours and Muslims. These Malaysian papers are in one way or another linked to or owned by the major ruling parties like UMNO, MCA or Gerakan. To be fair to all Malaysians, Indonesia should also look into what the local Chinese and Indian dailies write about Indonesians in Malaysia or about Indonesia. Perhaps Indonesia should send their diplomatic staff who are well versed in Mandarin or Tamil to monitor what is written about Indonesia in the Malaysian Chinese or Indian dailies. Since there are many Indonesian students doing all kinds of courses in Malaysian universities some should be sponsored to do Mandarin or Tamil after they have completed their BA or MA to help the Indonesian government monitor what Chinese Malaysian or Indian Malaysian dailies write about them. Most Malaysians want to maintain good relations with Indonesian Bapaks, Ibus or Nyonyas. And of course many Malaysian officers look forward to perform the Poco Poco with their Indonesian counterparts after official dinners in Bandung, Jakarta or even Kuala Lumpur. Bisa Diatur.

Japan Changing Lifestyle: Househusband not such a bad gig, one-third of men say

2009-01-27T12:32:00.001+08:00

Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009

Househusband not such a bad gig, one-third of men say

By MARIKO KATO
Staff writer

Nearly a third of married men would not mind being househusbands, according to a recent survey by the Housework Aptitude Test executive committee.

Among the 2,080 married men and women in their 20s to 50s who were polled in Tokyo, Osaka, Aichi, Hokkaido and Fukuoka in November, 29.5 percent of the men said they could bear the brunt of the housework, with those in Tokyo leading the way at 31.2 percent.

"In many modern households, wives have jobs and contribute significantly to the income, so husbands know they must share domestic chores in a way that reflects the balance," said Emiko Imaizumi, a representative of the Housework Aptitude Test committee.

The data were collected by the committee in charge of the Kaji Kentei, (Housework Aptitude Test), an examination that assesses knowledge of domestic skills, including cooking, cleaning, budgeting and writing letters.

According to the survey, husbands in Hokkaido spend the most time doing housekeeping, at 54.0 minutes daily, ahead of those in Osaka at 49.7 minutes and Tokyo at 48.4 minutes.

Broken down into age groups, Tokyo-based husbands in their 40s ranked at the top, spending more than an hour each day on housework, at 69.8 minutes.

"This was an interesting result for us," Imaizumi said. "Many wives in Tokyo work full time and jobs are often the hardest during their 40s, so their partners appreciate that it would be hard to maintain the housekeeping, too."

But not many men are yet willing to have their domestic skills assessed, accounting for only 10 percent of entries for the first Housework Aptitude Test last March.

"Because everyone should be doing housework, we feel that it should be 50 percent," Imaizumi said.

The second test will be held this March.

Source: The Japan Times Online

Gong Xi Fa Cai To All Chinese Friends

2009-01-27T00:51:00.000+08:00

To all Chinese Friends and Students in Malaysia and Brunei

Xin Nian Kuai Le

We Wish You all a Happy and Prosperous Year of the Ox

Selamat Menyambut Tahun Baru Cina