Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad: PEMBANGKANG, MAJLIS PEGUAM DAN COMANGO “MERAMPAS” #MKPN (#NUCC)

'Saya katakan bahawa Kerajaan melalui Jabatan Perpaduan Negara dan Integrasi Nasional (JPNIN), secara senghaja atau tidak, sedar atau tidak, telah menyerahkan tugas menetapkan dasar (polisi) dan menyediakan draf rang-rang undang-undang berikut kepada pembangkang'

'Seperti yang ditegaskan oleh MKPN, rang-rang udang-undang itu berada di peringkat rundingan. Walaupun ia masih di peringkat rundingan, soalan saya ialah mengapa pembangkang, termasuk Majlis Peguam dan COMANGO diminta, dibenarkan, dibiarkan untuk menetapkan dasar dan menggubalnya, sedangkan mereka mempunyai agenda sendiri?' 

'Mengikut amalan biasa, apabila Kerajaan hendak membuat sesuatu undang- undang, Kerajaan (Kementerian atau Jabatan) akan terlebih dahulu membuat keputusan-keputusan dasar. Selapas itu Kementerian/Jabatan akan mengarahkan Jabatan Peguam Negara (melalui pegawai-pegawainya di Kementerian atau Jabatan itu.) Tugas Peguam Negara adalah untuk menggubal seperti yang dikehendaki oleh sesuatu Kementerian atau Jabatan. Mengapa amalan itu tidak diikuti?'

'Dalam hal ini, adalah amat menghairankan mengapa jawatankuasa itu bukan sahaja diberi tugas untuk mendraf rang-rang undang-undang, tetapi juga untuk menetapkan dasar mengenainya. Peguam Negara pun tidak tidak diberi tugas seperti itu.'

 Kerajaan BN, terutama sekali UMNO dan juga PAS akan bertanggungjawab jika undang-undang itu diluluskan dan ia akan menghakis hak-hak orang Melayu dan kedudukan agama Islam. Pemimpin-pemimpin anak negeri Sabah dan Sarawak juga tidak akan terlepas daipada tanggungjawab itu. 

Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad

'MKPN (NUCC)….PM Najib Razak, What have you done Sir?'

Me

A must read by PM Najib and his Cabinet and UMNO and all Malaysian Malays and Muslims:

PEMBANGKANG, MAJLIS PEGUAM DAN COMANGO “MERAMPAS” MKPN (NUCC)
Oleh
Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad (29 Jun 2014)

Jika ada satu keputusan yang saya buat dalam beberapa bulan lepas yang semakin terbukti bahawa ia adalah betul, ianya adalah keputusan saya untuk menolak tawaran untuk menjadi Pengerusi Majlis Konsultansi Perpaduan Negara (MKPN)atau lebih dikenali dalam Bahasa Inggerisnya sebagai National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC). Saya menolak tawaran itu kerana saya khuatir saya akan menjadi alat untuk memanjangkan tuntutan-tuntutan pihak-pihak tertentu yang senentiasa mencari peluang untuk menguatkan kedudukan mereka dengan menghakiskan hak-hak orang Melayu dan anak-anak negeri Sabah dan Sarawak dan kedudukkan agama Islam, sambil mengekalkan hak-hak mereka. Saya takut kiranya saya akan menjadi “pengkhianat” kepada bangsa Melayu dan agama Islam. Saya berbuat demikian sebelum saya mengetahui komposisi dan nama ahli-ahli MKPN.

Apabila saya melihat komposisi dan nama ahli-ahli MKPN, saya lebih yakin bahawa keputusan saya itu adalah betul. Besar kemungkinan MKPN akan menjadi saluran untuk pihak-pihak yang mendokong program parti-parti pembangkang, terutama sekali DAP dan PKR (manakala PAS, seperti biasa akan menurut sahaja) dan ahli- ahli Melayu/Islam tidak akan dapat mempertahankan kedudukan yang diperuntukkan dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan, malah ada yang tidak akan mempertahankannya kerana fahaman mereka yang “liberal” itu. Ahli-ahli yang terdiri daripada anak-anak negeri Sabah dan Sarawak, terutama sekali yang beragama Kristian, yang kurang senang denagn orang Melayu/Islam di Semenanjung kerana isu kalimah Allah, juga akan bersekongkol tanpa menyedari bahawa hak-hak mereka juga akan terhakis.

Siapakakh Pengerusi dan Timbalan Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Undang-Undang dan Polisi MKPN? Pengerusinya ialah YB Dato' Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa, Ahli Parlimen PAS Parit Buntar dan Timbalan Pengerusinya ialah Encik Lim Chee Wee (LCW), bekas Presiden Majlis Peguam. Dato’ Dr. Mujahid adalah seorang pemimpin PAS dan LCW adalah mantan Pengerusi Majlis Peguam. Saya katakan bahawa Kerajaan melalui Jabatan Perpaduan Negara dan Integrasi Nasional (JPNIN), secara senghaja atau tidak, sedar atau tidak, telah menyerahkan tugas menetapkan dasar (polisi) dan menyediakan draf rang-rang undang-undang berikut kepada pembangkang:

1. Racial and Religious Hate Crime Billl;
2. National Harmony and Reconciliation Bill; and
3. National Harmony and Reconciliation Commission Bill.

Mengapa saya kaitkan Majlis Peguam dengan pembangkang? Semua orang tahu pendirian Majlis Peguam mengenai politik tanahair. Terus terang saya katakan bahawa Majlis Peguam menyebelahi dan menyokong Pakatan Rakyat, terutama sekali DAP dan Keadilan. Tidak perlu saya menghabiskan ruang untuk menurunkan fakta-fakta untuk menyokong kenyataan ini. Walau bagaimana pun saya akan cerita satu peristiwa yang berlaku semasa saya menjadi Ketua Hakim Negara.

Selepas PRU12, Majlis Peguam mengadakan Majlis Makan Malam Tahunannya. Untuk menjaga hubungan baik di antara Badan Kehakiman dan Majlis Peguam, saya hadir. Majlis itu tak ubah seperti majlis menyambut kemenangan parti-parti pembangkang. Antara lain, Dato Ambigar, Presiden Majlis Peguam berkata, “Akhirnya pengundi-pengundi telah matang....” (Soalan saya: Adakah pengundi hanya matang apabila mereka mengundi pembangkang, khususnya DAP dan Keadilan?) Encik Cecil Rajendra, peguam-penyair dari Pulau Pinang itu, menulis sebuah puisi memuji peguam-peguam yang memenangi pilihanraya atas tiket DAP dan Keadilan. Sebelum membaca puisinya, beliau memanggil mereka naik ke pentas dan mengisytiharkan mereka sebagai “Our heroes”. Itulah majlis rasmi Majlis Peguam yang menjemput Ketua Hakim Negara sebaga dif kehormat! Saya berfikir sama ada hendak meninggalkan majlis itu atau tidak, tetapi kerana tidak mahu membuat heboh, saya sabar juga. (Mungkin itu salah satu kelemahan orang Melayu: Orang Melayu terlalu sensitive terhadap perasaan orang lain sehingga orang lain tidak perlu sensitive terhadap perasaan mereka.)

Saya difahamkan bahawa LCW dan Andrew Khoo (Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Hak Asasi Manusia Majlis Peguam dan seorang aktivis COMANGO) terlibat dalam menyediakan draf ketiga-tiga rang undang-undang itu. Malah saya percaya bahawa firma guaman merekalah yang membuatnya. Naskah awal yang saya terima melalui email tertera kata-kata “Prepared by Bar Council”. Saya juga membandingkan kedua-dua set rang-rang undang-undang itu. Banyak peruntukan kedua-dua set itu serupa, seksyen demi sekyen.

Apa salahnya jika pembangkang dilantik menjadi Pengerusi dan Timbalan Pengerusi Jawatankuasa itu? Ia bererti, paling kurang, bahawa setelah BN berhempas pulas untuk memenangi PRU 13, ia mengketepikan pengundi-pengundinya untuk mengambil hati pembangkang. Jika demikian untuk apa penyokong-penyokong BN terutama sekali UMNO berkerja keras untuk memberi kemenangan kepada UMNO dan BN? Pembangkang pula tidak perlu berkerja keras untuk menang, sebab jika ia kalah sekalipun ia akan dapat menyerapkan rancangannya untuk dilaksanakan juga.

Apa salahnya jika Majlis Peguam yang menggubal draf awal? Saya katakan, apabila diberi peluang Majlis Peguam semestinya akan menggubal seperti yang dikehendakinya, sesuai dengan kehendak parti-parti yang disokongnya ia itu DAP dan Keadilan.

Hal seperti ini pernah berlaku semasa saya menjadi Ketua Hakim Negara. Majlis Peguam telah menggubal Rang Udang-Undang Pelantikan Hakim-Hakim. Draf itu dibawa kepada Perdana Menteri (pada masa itu) oleh Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri (pada masa tu), Dato Zaid Ibrahim. Kerana ia melibatkan Badan Kehakiman, saya diberi satu salinan. Ringkasnya, mengikut draf itu Suruhanjaya itu akan menentukan siapa yang akan dilantik menjadi Hakim dan siapa yang akan naik pangkat sehingga menjadi Ketua Hakim Negara. Dalam draf Majlis Peguam itu, majoriti ahli-ahli Suruhanjaya itu adalah peguam-peguam. Ertinya penguam- peguamlah yang akan menentukannya. Saya membantahnya. Antara lain, saya berkata: “Jika Rang Undang-Undang ini diluluskan, Hakim-Hakim akan melutut kepada peguam-peguam.” Akhirnya, rang undang-undang itu dipinda dan peruntukan mengenai ahli-ahli yang terdiri daripada peguam-peguam dikeluarkan.

Tidakkah kita belajar dari kesilapan itu? Atau, dalam hal ini, adakah ia disengajakan, cuai, atau kerana tidak atau tidak dapat berfikir?

Saya difahamkan bahawa LCW, bersama-sama Christopher Leong (Presiden Majlis Peguam ) dan Andrew Khoo telah pun turun padang untuk mempromosikan agenda mereka.

Seperti yang ditegaskan oleh MKPN, rang-rang udang-undang itu berada di peringkat rundingan. Walaupun ia masih di peringkat rundingan, soalan saya ialah mengapa pembangkang, termasuk Majlis Peguam dan COMANGO diminta, dibenarkan, dibiarkan untuk menetapkan dasar dan menggubalnya, sedangkan mereka mempunyai agenda sendiri?

Mengikut amalan biasa, apabila Kerajaan hendak membuat sesuatu undang- undang, Kerajaan (Kementerian atau Jabatan) akan terlebih dahulu membuat keputusan-keputusan dasar. Selapas itu Kementerian/Jabatan akan mengarahkan Jabatan Peguam Negara (melalui pegawai-pegawainya di Kementerian atau Jabatan itu.) Tugas Peguam Negara adalah untuk menggubal seperti yang dikehendaki oleh sesuatu Kementerian atau Jabatan. Mengapa amalan itu tidak diikuti?

Dalam hal ini, adalah amat menghairankan mengapa jawatankuasa itu bukan sahaja diberi tugas untuk mendraf rang-rang undang-undang, tetapi juga untuk menetapkan dasar mengenainya. Peguam Negara pun tidak tidak diberi tugas seperti itu.

Perlu ditegaskan bahawa saya tidak menentang pihak pembangkang dirunding mengenai rang-rang udang-undang itu. Tetapi, janganlah sampai menyerahkan penentuan dasar dan penggubalan kpada mereka. Mereka tentu sekali akan menetapkan dasar akan menggubal mengikut kehendak mereka. Ini kita dapat lihat daripada kandungan draf rang-rang undang-undang terebut.

Kerajaan BN, terutama sekali UMNO dan juga PAS akan bertanggungjawab jika undang-undang itu diluluskan dan ia akan menghakis hak-hak orang Melayu dan kedudukan agama Islam. Pemimpin-pemimpin anak negeri Sabah dan Sarawak juga tidak akan terlepas daipada tanggungjawab itu.

(Bahagian Kedua akan membincang peruntukan-peruntukan rang-rang undang- undang itu)

tahamidm@gmail.com 
www.tunabdulhamid.my

29 Jun 2014

Lo and behold, not once did the 10 point solution mention the word ALLAH

'The case of ‘Allah’s name in The Herald’ now closed. The decision made was that The Herald is not allowed to use the word ‘Allah’ in its publication. Fullstop'

'Are the Christians’ prayers unanswered now because they don’t pray to ‘Allah’? Was it answered before? Are the prayers of the Christians in the U.S answered because they don’t pray to ‘Allah’? You don’t know. Nobody knows' 

'The truth is that, the Christians are only fighting for the rights to spread the religion through manipulation of the word ‘Allah’' 

'Well, the last I checked, manipulation is not a part of Christianity so does the word ‘Allah’' 

'So, which part on freedom of religion did the Christians not enjoy?'

'Therefore, why are you doing all these my dear brothers and sisters? Why are you challenging the Law? Why do you want to create tension? Are you seriously asking for war?'

Blogger S.D Roswell of  Hardtalk 

Finally something sensible is said by a  Christian who is probably tired with all this posturing by the hothead Paderis and their DAP supporters who each probably have their own agendas for lack of a better term.

Thank you blogger Helen Ang for highlighting this post at Hardtalk: 

No ‘Allah’ Mentioned in 10-Point Solution

Frankly as a Muslim I am tired of it all too, I am tired of Muslims being called racists, bigots, extremists, ignorant, weak all because of the ALLAH and the AlKitab issue. There are limits to ALLAH given patience you know.

So this is what the 10 point solution say in PM Najib's own words:

.......lo and behold, not once did the 10 point solution mention the word ALLAH.

So why does the DAP leaders and supporters keep saying this:

“If the BN government promises that it will respect the 10-point solution in that Allah can still be used in church, why did they ban it in The Herald in the first place?”

Lim Guan Eng source here

Obviously the DAP leaders and their supporters and some Katholik Paderis really do not understand or refuse to understand [probably having their own political and religious agenda], the fragile interfaith situation that we have in Malaysia.

Blogger Helen noted on the 10 point Solution : 

Ia tidak wajar bagi Penyelesaian 10 Perkara itu ditakrif oleh puak Kristian sebagai memberikan hak kepada mereka untuk menggunakan lafaz Allah sama ada di Selangor ataupun di mana-mana gereja di Semenanjung.

Sebenarnya orang Kristian masih tertakluk kepada undang-undang negeri di tempat mana mereka bermastautin.

• Control & Restriction of the Propagation of Non-Islamic Religion (Johore)Enactment 1991 (Enactment 12/1991);

• Control and Restriction of the Propagation of Non-Islamic Religion (Kedah)Enactment 1988 (Enactment 11/1988);

• Control and Restriction of the Propagation of Non-Islamic Religion (Kelantan)Enactment 1981 (Enactment 11/1981);

• Control and Restriction of the Propagation of Non-Islamic Religion (Malacca)Enactment 1988 (Enactment 1/1988);

• Control and Restriction of the Propagation of Non-Islamic Religion (Negeri Sembilan) Enactment 1991 (Enactment 9/1991);

• Control and Restriction of the Propagation of Non-Islamic Religion (Pahang)Enactment 1989 (Enactment 5/1989);

• Control and Restriction of the Propagation of Non-Islamic Religion (Perak)Enactment 1988 (Enactment 10/1988);

• Control and Restriction of the Propagation of Non-Islamic Religion (Selangor)Enactment 1988 (Enactment 1/1988);

• Control and Restriction of the Propagation of Non-Islamic Religion(Terengganu) Enactment 1980 (Enactment 1/1980);

• Control and Restriction of the Propagation of Non-Islamic Religion (Perlis)Enactment No. 6 of 2002

and she certainly hit the nail with this:

Sebenarnya ‘Allah’ setakat boleh digunakan di Sabah dan Sarawak manakala undang-undang negeri di setiap negeri semenanjung kecuali Pulau Pinang dan Wilayah Persekutuan tetap menyekat kegunaan kalimah suci itu oleh orang Kristian.

So now we have it folks, no more quarreling, no more stepping on each others toes:

1. The Apex Courts decided that the ban by KDN on the Herald Weekly not to use the word ALLAH in their Bahasa Melayu section stays.

2. The Al-Kitabs can be used by Christians in Sarawak and Sabah based on the 10 point solution.

3. In Semenanjung Malaysia, there is no ban on the use of the word ALLAH by non Muslims in Pulau Pinang and Wilayah Persekutuan.

4. In Semenanjung Malaysia, the ban on the use of the word ALLAH for non Muslims is in force in Selangor,Johor,Pahang,Perak,Kedah,Negeri Sembilan,Terengganu, Kelantan, Perlis and Melaka.

….and yes non of these Islamic enactment forbid non Muslims from practicing their religion OK, the ALLAH ban on non Muslims is more to ensure that proselytizing activities among Muslims by Christian Evangelists in particular are prevented.

So, lets let us just end this polemic and move on…Catholic Paderis? Can? don't listen to those DAP hate mongers OK, they will never bring anything good for you but themselves.

In the Herald ALLAH issue, have the DAP found a weapon to pierce BN armor in Sarawak and Sabah?

'The Court of Appeal had applied the correct test, which was the objective test, and was thus right in overturning the High Court’s decision'

Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria, delivered a 4-3 Federal Court decision against the Herald

“Malaysia is a multi-faith country and it is important that we manage our differences peacefully, in accordance with the rule of law and through dialogue, mutual respect and compromise,”

“Malaysian Christians can still use the word ‘Allah’ in Church. The Government remains committed to the 10-point solution,”

Statement issued by the Prime Minister's Department

'I would like to congratulate the Christians in Sabah and Sarawak, for you can now see the true colours of the organisation that you’ve so enthusiastically supported for the past 50 over years'

Yeo Bee Yin DAP Social Media Strategist

'The judgment on the Herald‘s ‘Allah’ appeal was read in the Federal Court today. There have been loud, nasty and hostile reactions from the Chinese DAP supporters to the judges’ 4-3 decision'

Blogger Helen Ang

'The government's recent statement on the 10-point solution to the use of the word 'Allah' is hypocritical and is clearly made just to appease voters in the Sarawak state election' 

Lim Guan Eng DAP Secretary General

Now read this post by Raja Petra:

HOW ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY ARE BEING TURNED INTO PARIAH RELIGIONS

If I were Umno I would never admit defeat. So much bad blood exists (and which is going to get worse over the next three or four years) and it is not easy to forgive and forget. There is a lot of what the Malays would call dendam. For Umno to just pack its bags and hand over power to its bitter enemies is a fate worse than death. And if I were Umno I would rather see a civil war.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

If you want to know more regarding Islam and Christianity do not ask Muslims or Christians. The Muslims will start quoting the Hadith while the Christians will quote the New Testament.

If you point out certain verses from the Qur’an that contradicts what they say, they will tell you that you cannot ‘cherry-pick’ verses and take them ‘out of context’. You need to read the entire Qur’an to get the real meaning of those verses.

And if you point out certain verses from the Old Testament, the Christians will tell you that Jesus came to ‘change the laws’ and the New Testament has replaced the Old Testament. They will insist that you focus on the New Testament and ignore the Old Testament, which has been ‘abrogated’.

I remember back in 2008 when I was an ISA detainee in Kamunting and JAKIM sent an ustaz (preacher) to ‘rehabilitate’ me and lead me back to the ‘right path’. He gave a one-hour lecture about this Hadith and that Hadith. Not once did this ustaz quote the Qur’an.

After he ended his sermon and he asked the congregation of about 50 whether there are any questions, I asked him how many Hadith are there in total.

He stammered and said ‘many’. There are many Hadith.

He was the ustaz appointed by JAKIM to ‘rehabilitate’ me and he spoke an entire hour regarding the Hadith and he did not even know how many Hadith there are in total. So I gave him the answer. There are 700,000 Hadith in total.

There you are, he said. There are 700,000 Hadith in total. So this is why we need such sessions, he told the class of 50. Sometimes the teacher can learn from the student.

I then told the ustaz, but hold on, while there may be 700,000 Hadith, only less than 7,000 are accepted as sahih (or what the Christians would call canonised). The rest are what the Christians would call ‘apocryphal’. Hence less than 1% of the Hadith as far as Sunni Muslims of the Shafiee sect are concerned are authentic. Other sects accept only 500 while some reject all and refuse to accept even a single Hadith.

We never saw that ustaz again and for the subsequent twice-a-week ‘religious rehabilitation’ sessions they sent a different ustaz. I was also called to the office of the director of the detention camp and told to not embarrass the ustaz in public, who are there to lecture us and not to be lectured by us. But then what can you expect when you send brain-dead preachers to talk to us about a subject that clearly the preachers themselves know nothing about?

The trouble with Muslims and Christians is they read what is IN their ‘holy books’. They do not read any of the research done ABOUT their ‘holy books’. And they interpret what is IN the ‘holy books’ according to what biased and prejudiced ‘scholars’ tell them. Hence their knowledge is confined to what these so-called scholars want them to believe.

And what they have been told are a whole load of nonsense, conjecture, propaganda and whitewashing to make their religion look good and all other religions look bad. In short, you of my religion are the ‘chosen people’ while all those of other religions are the misguided ones destined for condemnation for eternity in the fires of hell.

Hence whatever the ‘believers’ tell you about their religion and their ‘holy books’ need to be rejected. If you really want to know the truth you need to talk to the unbiased and non-prejudiced ‘unbelievers’ who have done extensive research into the subject and have uncovered the truth regarding Islam and Christianity.

For more than 1,000 years, Islam and Christianity have always been in direct competition regarding who owns the truth. Muslims and Christians will get an orgasm when important people and renowned personalities from the ‘other side’ cross over to become one of their ‘flock’.

They will announce that so-and-so, a very famous person, who was once a Christian, is now a Muslim — or so-and-so, a very famous person, who was once a Muslim, is now a Christian. To both Muslims and Christians, this is a great victory that the whole world must be told about. The fact that this world famous person has now become one of us is proof that our religion is true and the other one is false.

Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, etc., can be regarded as religions, although they are more in the form of a philosophy or way of life. The Abrahamic faiths or Semitic religions, however, are political movements.

Jews, Christians and Muslims, however, would deny this and would insist that their religions are religions of peace and tolerance. And some Jews, Christians and Muslims actually believe this nonsense because they are too ignorant to know any better and they know very little about their own religion.

The Taliban, Al Qaeda, ISIS, ISIL, Muslim Brotherhood, etc., are labelled as radicals and extremists. Actually they are not radicals and extremists. They are true Muslims who uphold the real teachings of Islam. Those so-called ‘liberal’ Muslims who reject these ‘radicals’ and ‘extremists’ are not following the real teachings of Islam.

In the heart of Christendom you also have similar radicals and extremists. The only thing is since the last 200 years or so they have stopped killing deviants, apostates, heretics, etc., like they used to for almost 2,000 years. And this is because they have been told to follow the New Testament and not the Old Testament. This is like telling Muslims to stop following the Qur’an and just follow the Hadith.

In short, the modern Christians are no longer followers of Jesus. They have abandoned Jesus while Muslims still follow Muhammad. But if you were to point this out to them they will protest and tell you that you know nothing regarding Christianity and you do not know what you are talking about.

The Christians have not only turned their back on Jesus, they are also living in denial.

In Malaysia, race and religion are an integral part of politics. You cannot separate race and religion from politics. Umno knew this from the very beginning and that is why Umno plays the politics of the 3Rs — race, religion and royalty. As long as Umno is seen as the defender of the Malay race, Islam, and the monarchy, they can be assured of the support of the Malay heartland.

To break Umno’s hold on the Malay heartland the politics of the 3Rs must first be demolished. And if you cannot break Umno’s hold on the Malay heartland you need to isolate Umno by demolishing Barisan Nasional.

Umno can remain strong in the Malay heartland if that is unavoidable. But Barisan Nasional’s hold on the non-Malay heartland must be destroyed. Isolate Umno in the Malay heartland and demolish Barisan Nasional. Umno alone, without Barisan Nasional, will give them less than 50% of the seats.

But then Umno does not have the monopoly of the Malay heartland. It has to share the Malay heartland with PAS, the Islamic party. So the task of PAS is to split the Malays in the Malay heartland and DAP and PKR will demolish the non-Umno parties in the rest of the country.

Both Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional admit that Sabah and Sarawak are Barisan Nasional’s ‘fixed deposit’. It is because of Sabah and Sarawak that Umno is still in power. Hence Sabah and Sarawak must be turned to bring down Umno.

And this is what Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s team of so-called advisers are too stupid to understand. And because of this Umno may be history come the next general election in three or four years’ time.

The opposition has very skilfully played up the ‘Kalimah Allah’, Bahasa Malaysia Bible, conversion, body ‘snatching’, children ‘kidnapping’, etc., issues. Najib and Umno do not realise that the opposition set up booby-traps and they walked right into it.

These laws have actually been around a long time and they were never a problem before this. Only since the 2008 general election have these issues been stepped up and have become hot.
And now the voters in Sabah and Sarawak are extremely upset. Can Barisan Nasional retain Sabah and Sarawak? Even the top leadership of Umno does not think so.

In the past it was just Umno that played the politics of the 3Rs. And that was one of the main reasons why many Malay liberals, like me, rejected Umno. Now the opposition is playing this same brand of dangerous politics.

The issue of ‘Kalimah Allah’ is very damaging to Umno. In the end it may see the downfall of Umno when the Sabah and Sarawak voters reject Barisan Nasional, meaning reject Umno. In this whole episode Umno is seen as the aggressor while the non-Muslims are seen as the victims.

This issue is not confined to just the Christians. Even the non-Christians such as Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics, atheists, etc., are on the side of the Christians and are opposed to Umno. Umno is in for a damn hard time come the next election.

The opposition realises that issues regarding abuse of power, corruption, transparency, accountability, good governance, etc., are not enough to bring down Barisan Nasional or Umno. If it were then Barisan Nasional would have been kicked out back in 1990 or 1999 at the height of the anti-government movements. They need something more potent to bring down Barisan Nasional and Umno.

And what is more potent than the politics of the 3Rs?

So now the issue of Malay privileges, Article 153, UiTM, etc., need to be played up. They are even asking that the Malay Regiment be disbanded, much to the chagrin of the Rulers who feel that this is pushing things a bit too far.

The Christians versus Muslims (a more than 1,000-year-old ‘war’) and the ‘Kalimah Allah’, Malay Bible, and much more, are also being played to the hilt to demonstrate how Muslims persecute non-Muslims and how unfairly non-Muslims in Malaysia are being treated.

And many opposition supporters, Malays included, are questioning the constitutional monarchy, its relevance, the waste of money maintaining the monarchy, and how better off Malaysia would be as a republic.

Demolish Umno’s politics of the 3Rs and you demolish Umno. Demolish Barisan Nasional in Sabah and Sarawak and you demolish Umno. But you need to fight Umno by playing Umno’s game of the 3R politics. You must beat them at their own game.

Since 1990 it has been proven that the issues of abuse of power, corruption, transparency, accountability, good governance, etc., are not enough to demolish Umno. It needs something more potent than that. And there is nothing more potent than the politics of the 3Rs.

And that, in a nutshell, is what we are seeing happening in Malaysia today. And when Christians and Muslims have been at war and have been competing with one another for more than 1,000 years, it is not difficult to use this animosity as a strong political strategy.

Whether this strategy is working will be revealed in the 14th General Election. If Najib continues to sleep and continues to trust his half-baked advisers, then Umno is dead meat very soon. I would say it is a foregone conclusion that the way things are going we are seeing the last days of Umno.

What I am more concerned about is what will happen after that. Will Umno just pack its bags and hand power to Pakatan Rakyat and allow Anwar Ibrahim to take the throne in Putrajaya?

If I were Umno I would never admit defeat. So much bad blood exists (and which is going to get worse over the next three or four years) and it is not easy to forgive and forget. There is a lot of what the Malays would call dendam. For Umno to just pack its bags and hand over power to its bitter enemies is a fate worse than death. And if I were Umno I would rather see a civil war.

But that would be me. Maybe Umno is made of better stuff. But then when the issue is Malay versus non-Malays and Christianity versus Islam anything can happen because this is no longer just about politics.

I suppose Christians and Muslims will never be happy until they see the country burn and bodies piled up on the streets. This is what the Abrahamic faiths or Semitic religions are all about — war, war, and more war.

Christians and Muslims are the most idiotic people on this earth. 2,000 years of history has proven that. And both consider themselves God’s chosen people. And this is what my cousin e-mailed me:

Each of the three Abrahamic Religions (all of which have the same core belief, i.e. that there is a “personal” God who cares about us as individuals) came before their Good Books. So let’s look at the Religions first, and make the huge assumption that, whoever created them, did so with the very best of intentions.

Now, anyone today with half a brain can see quite clearly that Religion is causing tremendous strife all across the globe. So that means that those good intentions have been totally screwed up, since the opposite of what (presumably) was supposed to be the result of Religion is now occurring. And then we have the Good Books – the instruments to which all Religionists tend to point to justify their killing sprees and, by modern-day standards, their acts of barbarity.

Come on, please! If there is a personal God, was that God’s intention? If there is a personal God, to answer “yes” to that question would seem to me to be the greatest insult anyone could ever throw at their own God.

So, quite frankly, I think it seems a lot like Religions and their so-called Good Books are the Devil’s work!

And this is what DAP clever kid wrote very creatively in its divisiveness (My comments in green):

Congrats to Allah’s soldiers

By Yeo Bee Yin

This must be a happy time for those of you who think you have won a war for Allah.

First of all, I would like to congratulate Perkasa and other NGOs who have screamed, shouted, and threatened Malaysians who disagreed that Allah should be exclusive to Muslims. Congratulations! You have won your holy war. Go celebrate.(My comment: The Apex Court ruling is strictly on KDN's power to ban the use of the word ALLAH in the Bahasa Melayu Section of the Herald)

Second, I would like to congratulate the four judges who dismissed the Catholic church’s application for leave to appeal against a decision upholding the government ban against its use of “Allah” as a reference to God. If you made this judgement to protect your own religion, congratulations for sacrificing your professionalism. (My comment: This is contempt of the Federal Court, the Attorney General should file contempt charges against Yeo))

Third, I would like to congratulate the Home Ministry, for it was you that filed an appeal against the High Court ruling that the Herald can call on Allah. (My comment: Yeo conveniently forgot to say that it was the Herald which brought the Court action against the KDN in the first place)

Fourth, I would like to congratulate Umno, for you have been successful in engineering the war over Allah to distract Malaysian Muslims from the rising cost of living, your corrupt practices and your inability to govern and lead. Oh, Umno, you are such a political genius.(My comment: The court action was brought by the Paderis of the Herald! what has it got to do with UMNO?)

Fifth, I would like to congratulate the Christians in Sabah and Sarawak, for you can now see the true colours of the organisation that you’ve so enthusiastically supported for the past 50 over years.(My comment: Yes, there lies the crux of the matter the bashing and hasuting of the DAP..they are after the Christian votes in Sarawak and Sabah using the same formula they used in Peninsular Malaysia making people hate BN so that they vote DAP. The diverse Sarawak and Sabah Bumiputras are not as gullible as the Chinese in Semenanjung when it comes to who to vote, and I don't think those outside the town center would  trust DAP anyway, so I think DAP tactic won't work but the divisiveness they instill will polarise communities which have been living side by side in peace and harmony for hundreds of years, too bad Najib threw the ISA out )

As for me, call me whatever, catch me if you like, charge me if you can, I will continue to believe and stand on the principle that everyone in this country is given by the Federal Constitution the liberty to practise his or her own religion and to express himself or herself. By the principle of natural justice and liberty, Allah should never be exclusive to any particular group of people. (My comment: The Cabinet 10 point solution should be able to take care of the issue amicably, as long as people like Yeo do not instigate)

To my fellow Malaysians who are Bahasa Malaysia speaking Christians, remember this: They may take “Allah” away from the Herald, but they can never take God away from your heart. Be strong and courageous, continue to love and pray for them who persecute you for they know not what they are doing. (My comment: Stop using religion and make us fight with each other to get votes lah)

God bless Malaysia. (My comment: Indeed this is a very blessed Country for people of all races and faiths, where in this world can a minority religion sledgehammer the majority in Court and then pretend to be victim of persecution when they lost?)

Yeo Bee Yin is the State Assemblywoman for Damansara Utama

'In the Herald ALLAH issue, have the DAP found a weapon to pierce BN armor in Sarawak and Sabah?'

Me

And by the way I do believe that Yeo Bee Yin clever lady that she is, have committed Contempt of the Federal Court when she wrote:

 I would like to congratulate the four judges who dismissed the Catholic church’s application for leave to appeal against a decision upholding the government ban against its use of “Allah” as a reference to God. If you made this judgement to protect your own religion, congratulations for sacrificing your professionalism.

Hope the AG would act without fear or favor in this unwarranted attack on the credibility and integrity of the Judiciary.

A pressing need to make house prices in Malaysia stable

'A disease with unknown causes has no cure'

NST

From the NST on one of my my favorite subjects Killer House Prices before you read I think Gomen intervention is necessary to curb spiraling house prices..even now many newly weds and our young could not even afford affordable housing, lets not even talk about the expensive gated houses and condos which eventually will only be affordable for the very rich Malaysians or foreigners. I fear for our children's future where many could not afford to buy houses and will have to pay high rentals to have a roof over their head. :

Need to stabilise house prices

BY MAZLENA MAZLAN - 24 JUNE 2014 @ 8:07 AM

EARLIER this month, Min Zhu, the deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), gave a speech at a conference in Germany, followed by a post on IMF’s blog a week later, warning the world against a “benign neglect” of house price booms.

He made three important points. FIRST, while housing is an essential sector of the economy, it is also a major source of vulnerability. More than two-thirds of the economic crises of recent decades were preceded by boom-bust patterns in house prices.

SECOND, an overvaluation of the housing market is not easy to detect. A detailed look is necessary to tell whether a market is overheating and thus heading for an impending bust, rather than merely looking at broad measures such as price-to-rent ratio.

THIRD, despite the influence of the housing market in causing crises, the “policy toolkit” to contain housing booms is still under construction.

It has been more than a week since Zhu’s blog post, yet the media worldwide is still picking up his statement. With the housing market strongly moving upwards everywhere, the continuing media attention demonstrates the mounting concerns that house prices are getting overstretched.

There is evidence supporting the concerns. The global house price index has seen seven consecutive quarters of growth. While in some markets, it is a sign of recovery from the financial crisis, in most it is a sign of a growing bubble waiting to burst. The IMF has begun to more actively monitor the housing market by recently establishing the Global Housing Watch. High house prices are important, not only because they pose a threat to the health of the global economy. It also has an important impact on inequality.

A booming housing market favours people who can borrow. Even when the authorities raise lending rates to cool down the market, the gap in the ability to borrow, and thus to own properties, will widen even further.

The IMF has released specific country reports focusing on the housing market as early as 2012. The report for Malaysia was released last April. It highlighted that our housing market has been in the upturn for 30 consecutive quarters, which is actually not news to Malaysians. But the report also highlighted three other salient points that may not be obvious.

FIRST, factors that historically determined Malaysia’s house prices do not significantly explain the recent upturn. In simpler terms, there are new elements at play. The danger is that neither the IMF nor the Malaysian authorities know what these new variables are. A disease with unknown causes has no cure.

SECOND, the behaviour of residential loans does not seem to contribute to the recent price dynamics. This second point may be IMF’s nice way to say that our macroprudential policies undertaken so far did not manage to dampen house prices, although it justifies this by acknowledging that these policies were intended to reduce lending for speculative purposes rather than to stabilise house prices.

THIRD, house prices are diverging further away from rents and incomes. The price-to-rent and price-to-income ratios for Malaysia have risen by more than 30 per cent since the last quarter of 2008. Regardless of Zhu’s view that these don’t necessarily imply overheating, the divergence is still inherently unsustainable.

What are the implications of the IMF findings to our efforts to contain house prices?

FIRST, the IMF findings suggest we have taken a trial-and-error approach in stabilising house prices. The Malaysian authorities have announced 10 rounds of cooling measures, the latest being an effort seen as curbing the operations of the “property investors’ club”.

Yet, the Malaysian House Price Index is more than 40 per cent higher than it was in 2010. Not exclusive to Malaysia, because other countries have also taken many rounds of cooling measures, only to see prices accelerate even further.

SECOND, there must be a carefully thought-out policy mix that takes into account the various clever outmanoeuvring, for example the collective buying by “investor’s clubs” and “holding companies” to manipulate the tax and lending policies. Supply-side measures must be included, such as efforts to seek market-friendly ways to reduce constructions costs and encourage competition in the industry. Perhaps it is time for macroprudential policies to deliberately seek to reduce house prices.

THIRD, the rising price-to-rent ratio can mean good news. As of April, rents were only around eight per cent higher than they were in 2010, which means that people can still afford to rent. Nonetheless, the rental market is beginning to build its upward momentum. It may be a sign that instead of a correction in price, we may see rents rising to catch up with prices. Both scenarios would be painful.

Read more here.

Federal Court Agreed with Court of Appeal that Herald Weekly cannot use the word 'ALLAH' in its Bahasa Melayu Section

"The appellate court decided that the use of the word Allah in the Bahasa Malaysia section in the Herald to refer to God was not an essential or integral part of Christianity. Therefore, it does not enjoy the constitutional guarantee under Article 11 of the Federal Constitution,"

Tan Sri Gani Patail, Attorney General

So today the Federal Court have decided:

The Herald Weekly today failed to get leave from the Federal Court to challenge the Home Ministry’s ban on its use of the word “Allah” in its Bahasa Malaysia edition.

Expecting the usual suspects to do their best to hasut the people, but please let us be sensible about this matter, the Herald brought this issue to Court when they filed a  Suit against the Government (Kementerian Dalam Negeri). The nation's final Court have decided that they cannot appeal the Court of Appeal's decision and now the Paderis should now show some Christian righteousness and graciousness to accept the the Court's final decision.

The Paderis should stop being stubborn about the Herald Allah decision before even moderate Muslims started to think they have a hidden agenda beyond the magazine itself.

The Government's 10 point Solution still holds as the AG so rightly said in October 2013 here when the Court of Appeal delivered their Judgement:

AG cautions against statements criticising Allah ruling 

The public should respect and abide by the decision of the appellate court on the issue of the word Allah and refrain from making any statements which could lead to contempt of court, Attorney General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail (pic) said in a statement today.

Netizens have been vocal in voicing their sentiments and thoughts on social media about the decision by the Court of Appeal to allow the Home Ministry to ban the use of the word Allah in the Catholic weekly Herald.

However, even former attorney general Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman cautioned Malaysians against making statements as the appellate court's decision was binding. Whether Malaysians agreed or disagreed with the decision, it had a binding precedent.

In his statement, Abdul Gani said the Home Minister had not acted in excess of his authority or functions under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 when he issued the ban against the Herald. Court of Appeal judge Mohamed Apandi Ali had clearly stated this in his written judgment.

The Court of Appeal held that the Home Minister had the discretion to decide whether the word Allah in the Herald had the potential to disrupt public order and internal security.

Hence, Mohamed Apandi came to the decision that the use of the word Allah in the Bahasa Malaysia section in the Herald could have disrupted the harmony of Malaysian society.
"The appellate court decided that the use of the word Allah in the Bahasa Malaysia section in the Herald to refer to God was not an essential or integral part of Christianity. Therefore, it does not enjoy the constitutional guarantee under Article 11 of the Federal Constitution," Abdul Gani said.

The constitutional protection afforded to the practice of one's religion is confined to the religious practice which forms an essential and integral part of the religion, Abdul Gani said. But the appellate court decided the word Allah did not fall into this category.

Another point Abdul Gani highlighted was the permission given by the Home Minister for the use of the word Allah in the Al-Kitab or Malay Bible could not be treated in the same manner as Herald. This was because the Bahasa Malaysia translation of the Christian holy book was used in churches and meant for Christians.

"However, the Herald is a newspaper which is also accessible online and can be read by Muslims and non-Muslims. Hence, the reason why both publications cannot be treated in the same manner," Abdul Gani said.

"The conclusion of the appellate court's decision is that on issues concerning national security and public order, the Home Minister has the discretion to ban any word which can be prejudicial to national security," Abdul Gani said, adding that the court would not interfere provided the discretion was used legally, reasonably, rationally and proportionally. - October 20, 2013.

The Padris should stop agitating their flock:

Like This lah : CFM: Christians to use Allah except for The Herald 

instead ask their flock to read this:

The 'Allah'/Bible issue, 10-point solution is key to managing the polarity

Thank You.

SIARAN AKHBAR PERSATUAN PEGUAM PEGUAM MUSLIM MALAYSIA 'MALAYSIA BUKAN NEGARA SEKULAR'

SIARAN AKHBAR 

PERSATUAN PEGUAM PEGUAM MUSLIM MALAYSIA

'MALAYSIA BUKAN NEGARA SEKULAR'

PERSATUAN PEGUAM PEGUAM MUSLIM MALAYSIA (PPMM) mengecam usaha ahli Parlimen Sibu Oscar Ling Chai Yew dari DAP yang dilaporkan ingin merujuk Datuk Sri Jamil Khir Baharom Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri kepada Jawatankuasa Hak Parlimen mengikut Peraturan Mesyuarat 36(12) kerana didakwa jawapannya mengeirukan Parlimen dengan mengatakan Malaysia bukanlah sebuah negara sekular berdasarkan fakta sejarah dan Perkara 3 Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

PPMM menegaskan bahawa Malaysia bukanlah sebuah negara sekular. Terdapat banyak peruntukan di dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan yang memberi kelebihan kepada agama Islam dan ini merupakan manifestasi prinsip pemisahan agama dari pentadbiran dan undang-undang sebagaimana diamalkan sekular adalah ditolak. Sebagai seorang ahli Parlimen PPMM percaya Oscar Ling mengetahui peruntukan-peruntukan yang dimaksudkan.

PPMM juga menegaskan pakar undang-undang Perlembagaan seperti Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi, Dr Abdul Aziz Bari, Dr Shamrahayu Abd Aziz, Dr Khairil Azmin Mokhtar dan Dr Farid Shuib Sufian semuanya bersetuju Malaysia bukan sebuah negara sekular sebagaimana yang terdapat di dalam kajian-kajian ilmiah mereka. Terdapat pelbagai ciri-ciri Islam di dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan yang menyanggah sifat sekular yang didakwa.

Malah syor Parti Perikatan kepada Suruhanjaya Reid agar Perkara 3 Perlembagaan Persekutuan turut dimasukkan klausa bahawa walaupun Islam adalah agama bagi Persekutuan ia tidak menjejaskansifat sekular negara juga telah tidak diterima untuk dimasukkan ke dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

Begitu juga penghakiman-penghakiman terkini juga tidak menghadkan tafsiran Islam di dalam Perkara 3 Perlembagaan Persekutuan sekadar dogma-dogma atau ritual-ritual sahaja tetapi merupakan sebuah cara hidup yang lengkap. PPMM menjemput Oscar Ling membaca penghakiman-penghakiman tersebut khususnya dalam kes Lina Joy mlwn Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan(Mahkamah Persekutuan), Meor Atiqurrahman mlwn Fatimah Sihi(Mahkamah Tinggi) dan banyak lagi. Malah di dalam kes Ramah mlwn Laton Hakim British juga telah mengisytiharkan undang-undang Islam adalah undang-undang asas Tanah Melayu.

Dalam hal yang demikian PPMM langsung tidak mendapati sebarang kesilapan di dalam jawapan Jamil Khir tersebut mahupun mengelirukan ahli-ahli Parlimen yang lain. Malah jawapan tersebut adalah paling tepat yang pernah dibuat mana-mana pemimpin UMNO.

Walau bagaimanapun PPMM amat bersetuju dengan saranan ahli Parlimen DAP Puchong Gobind Sing Deo yang menyeru Yang Di Pertuan Agong merujuk isu tafsiran dan kesan Perkara 3 Perlembagaan Persekutuan ini kepada Mahkamah Persekutuan menurut Perkara 130 Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Yang Di Pertuan Agong mempunyai kuasa untuk merujuk kepada Mahkamah Persekutuan untuk pandangan mahkamah tentang kesan mana-mana peruntukan di dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Jika Mahkamah Persekutuan memberikan pandangan mereka, maka kemelut dan pertikaian tentang dakwaan sekularnya negara ini akan dapat dipastikan dengan tuntas.

Berbalik kepada usaha yang dipelopori oleh Oscar Ling ini, PPMM menyeru kepada Yang Di Pertua Dewan Rakyat agar menolak usul ini dan jika usul ini dibahaskan PPMM meminta semua ahli Dewan Rakyat agar menolak usul yang dikemukakan ini.

PPMM juga menasihati Oscar Ling agar sedar dan akur tentang kedudukan Islam bukan sekadar agama rasmi tetapi agama bagi Persekutuan disamping agama-agama lain boleh dianuti dan diamal dalam aman dan damai.

Bertarikh pada 17 Jun 2014

Dato Haji Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar
Presiden
Persatuan Peguam Peguam Muslim Malaysia

Ok, I think enough of these Secular or Islam state, now can we talk about how the Billions in RM that is being held by Baitul Mal:

1.  How is it managed?

2.  How well is it managed?

3.  Did the right people get benefit from its investments?

4.  How about audits,  is it being audited by professional audit firms?

THE OPPOSITION by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed

'The Government has gained nothing and has lost a lot due from trying to please the Opposition. Has the Government learnt the lesson?'

'Apparently the Government is still bent on pleasing the Opposition rather than Government supporters. There is now a move to accede to the Opposition demands for meritocracy. Three laws are to replace the Sedition Act which will have the effect of ending the affirmation Action of the New Economic Policy'

Tun Dr. Mahathir

Wahai PM Najib Razak, don't be fooled by the title of this post by Dr. Mahathir because I think it is meant for you and you only as Presiden of UMNO and Prime Minister of Malaysia:

THE OPPOSITION

1. In a democracy there should be Opposition whose job is to oppose the Government. In the more mature democracies the Opposition may at times support the Government or take a bipartisan stand. But mostly, and certainly in new democracies, the Opposition simply opposes.

2. The objective of the Opposition is to bring down the Government and to take over. They are not really interested in issues or the wrong things the Government is doing. These issues are good only for blackening the governing party so as to bring it down..

3. It is a mistake for the Government to accede to or meet the demands of the Opposition. Acceding to their demand will not result in their supporting the Government. They will make sure their supporters too will not switch their support to the Government.

4. They will either belittle the Government’s decision or they will come up with new issues.

5. This was what happened to the Government’s decision to drop the ISA. The Opposition never said thank you or praise the liberalism of the Government. Certainly they would not support the Government because it had met their demand. The attack against the Government continued. And the resulted was the performance of the Goverment party becoming worse than when the ISA was in the statute books.

6. On the Government side compliance with the Opposition stand angers its supporters. They would regard the Government as weak and withdraw their support.

7. In the case of the ISA the law enforcers too felt they have been betrayed. The crime rate grows and the security people gets the blame.

8. The people will also feel betrayed and angry with the rise of crime rates

9. The Government has gained nothing and has lost a lot due from trying to please the Opposition. Has the Government learnt the lesson?

10. Apparently the Government is still bent on pleasing the Opposition rather than Government supporters. There is now a move to accede to the Opposition demands for meritocracy. Three laws are to replace the Sedition Act which will have the effect of ending the affirmation Action of the New Economic Policy.

PM Najib will shoot UMNO in the foot if he continues to defy the wishes of UMNO supporters and voters and continue to please those who will not ever vote for him or UMNO. Please take this as a notice before GE14.

I end this post with a good question asked by my blogger friend from The Lions's PawPrint blog:

Hello? Hello?

Am I the only one that seem to have the idea in effect, Malaysia has not had a Prime Minister since October 2003?

In fact, to expand the whole thing further, it would seem that no one has been running the country at all since then.

Pretty much the only thing that has stopped the country from falling into anarchy are our million-plus civil service, including and especially our security forces.

Therein lies the problem : Malaysia, for a lack of a better word is seriously f-ed if we can’t find any leaders of calibre soon.

The opposition which briefly dazzled many -including yours truly- in 2008 as a fresh breath of air turned out to be even worse poison that Barisan ever was. The DAP keeps gnawing away at anything Malay and Islam (and irritating the majority Malays in the process) while Pas is still playing the Blind (and may I add : the Bodoh) and letting the DAP run roughshod all over it all the time.

We need leaders with real calibre to come run the country and when I mean calibre, I don’t mean those syok sendiri “intellectuals” who join fancy named NGO’s or have blogs which write fancy articles on how Malaysia should be.

This doesn’t mean I’m anti-intellectual or against intellectualism, far from it. We need leaders that can relate to the common people, the uncle at the grocery shop, the cikgu at school, the officer we meet at the government department, these kinds of people. Not people who just know how to talk and write things that are far divorced from reality.

And someone better emerge fast, the longer we wait, the f-ed we’re gonna get. And something that keeps running in my mind over and over again : Is the DAP really wishing for that thing to happen again? It seems ridiculous at first but somehow they seem to putting us on a pathway toward it again. I wonder…

read more here.

Return Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) in English or Lose Out - PAGE Malaysia

Return STEM in English or lose out

Posted on 26 May 2014 

WE refer to "Mahathir: Master knowledge" (News Without Borders, May 20) where the advice of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on acquiring expertise in the fields of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and which is best learnt in its lingua franca, English, and more specifically scientific English, should not under any circumstances be taken lightly.

In his memoirs, A Doctor In The House, he briefly maps out the evolution of language in the development of science and technology and civilisations.

This is explained in detail at the award-winning 1001 Inventions science exhibition (www.1001inventions.com) which uncovers 1,000 years of science and technology and is being held at the National Science Centre, Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, until June 30.

It showcases the Golden Age of Science or what the West would term the Dark Ages which serves as the foundation for discovery in the areas of education, navigation, medicine, engineering, astronomy, renewable energy and agricultural and farming techniques.

Among the exhibits are where, "Surgeon Al-Zahrawi shared all he knew about medicine in his famous 30 volume encyclopaedia Al Tasrif. Translated into Latin, the encyclopaedia's popularity spread in Europe, and it was used as a manual for surgery in medical schools for centuries."

And "For many centuries, English medic William Harvey took the credit as the first person to work out how our blood circulates. In 1628, he described in great detail the full circulation system including the way in which blood returns to the heart from all around the body. But Ibn al-Nafis had uncovered the heart and lungs' combined role in blood flow hundreds of years before.

"Recently, historians have found evidence that Ibn al-Nafis's Arabic text was brought to Italy and may have been translated into Latin, paving the way to suppose that it might have indirectly influenced William Harvey's work."

At the height of the Islamic Civilisation, ancient knowledge of the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans were built on by scholars and scientists of many religions as early as the 7th century much of which was translated into Arabic and learnt even by the Europeans to acquire not just religion but also all fields of knowledge.

Even Maimonides, the Jewish philosopher, wrote all his work in Arabic.

Unfortunately, after one millennium, the Arabs ceased to pursue knowledge except for religion resulting in the downfall of Arabic as a language of new and living knowledge culminating into a stagnant civilisation.

Latin quickly evolved into the new language of knowledge followed by other European languages and now English where the bulk of all scientific knowledge is produced and globally communicated.

In capturing cutting edge state-of-the-art technology and its further development of science in the country, several organisations have been formed, among them, the Academy of Science Malaysia, MIGHT (Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology), GSIAC (Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council) with assistance from the New York Academy of Sciences and now further intensified by the S2A (Science to Action) initiative last year and now the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC) to apply science and technology to national development and the people's wellbeing.

Knowing full well that the language of STEM technology is scientific English, it is ironic that although the government realises the importance of English it has failed to acknowledge the vast difference in meaning and understanding between conversational and scientific English.

Many scientific discoveries were made during the Muslim civilisation that stretched from southern Spain to China and also including historically significant places like Baghdad, Fez, Istanbul and Aleppo.

But what has happened to the glory days of these civilisations?

The Muslims around the world ignored the importance of reading to gain knowledge and if Malaysians do the same we will end up becoming yet another lost civilisation.

STEM in English should be re-introduced in schools as soon as possible if the government is serious about increasing interest in the science stream and its upward mobility into higher education.

Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim
Chairperson
Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia

Ah...YTL crony deals are under the microscope I see

“You make it out as if you have never done business here, that you became rich because you went abroad. You made your first, second, third million here, at least say thank you, don't run this country down"

Tun Dr. Mahathir

YTL crony deals are under the microscope of public opinion and rightly so:

Perkhidmatan 1BestariNet tidak memuaskan malah menyusahkan guru seluruh Malaysia.

Tarikh: 17 Jun 2014

Saya merasakan bahawa KPM telah menjadi 'kambing hitam' dalam isu masalah perkhidmatan 1BestariNet.

1BestariNet diperkenal oleh KPM bagi mempermudahkan segala urusan dalam talian untuk kegunaan para guru di Malaysia. Akan tetapi apa yang berlaku sekarang ialah perkhidmatan yang diberikan agak menyedihkan malah menyusahkan lebih 300,000 guru di seluruh Malaysia.

1. 1BestariNet hanya menyediakan 1 Mbps dengan bayaran melebihi rm200 atau mungkin lebih mahal dan merugikan kementerian.

2. 1BestariNet hanya menyediakan kuota 300mb sahaja untuk kegunaan satu sekolah setiap bulan.

3. 1BestariNet menumpang tiang anterna di dalam sekolah disamping untuk perkhidmatan Yes 4G untuk orang awam?

4. 1BestariNet telah menyebabkan lebih 300,000 guru terbeban dengan sistem server yang lembab. Buktinya ialah SPPBS yang telah dimansuhkan.

Saya memohon kepada pihak KPM agar mengkaji semula atau membatalkan terus perkhidmatan YTL iaitu 1BestariNet yang lebih memalukan pihak KPM sendiri.

Saya meminta semua kesatuan, persatuan guru untuk menyuarakan pendirian tentang kelemahan perkhidmatan 1BestariNet yang lebih menyusahkan para guru dan murid.

Saya yakin, KPM mahu menyediakan kemudahan terbaik seiring dengan PPPM 2013-2025 iaitu penggunaan ICT ke tahap maksimum tetapi KPM wajar memilih syarikat perkhidmatan yang lebih baik daripada sedia ada.

Mohd Nor Izzat bin Mohd Johari
Ketua Gerak Kerja
Suara Guru-Masyarakat Malaysia (SGMM)

More on YTL cronyism here in these mega blogs:

Pekerja TNB dah tolak, Kini Guru bersuara batalkan Bestari.net YTL!!!

Prince of YTL and the Paupers of Kg Chubadak

The Cariocas and YTL, a Malay Reserve Land and the Malay resolve

I save the best for last..copy and pasted from the Mole:

Dr M: Re-tender YTL, Johor Royal and TNB consortium's IPP project

Azreen HaniWednesday, June 18, 2014

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Dr Mahathir says the consortium's IPP project in Johor should be re-tendered to disallow any direct negotiations (Pix by Hussein Shaharuddin/ The Mole)

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad believes that the independent power producer (IPP) project in Johor which was awarded to a consortium consisting YTL International Power Plant Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd and SIPP Energy Sdn Bhdshould be re-tendered.

In an exclusive interview with The Mole, Dr Mahathir said: “I think it should. If you want to do away with the negotiated tender then you should reverse the decision, and have a tender.”

“You can have limited tender...you can have a number of companies, not everybody, but five or six companies which can be chosen and they can make a bid. Then there is competition.”

Dr Mahathir said this when responding to a question on whether the IPP project, known as project 4A should be re-tendered following growing criticisms against the project being approved under direct negotiation.

It was previously reported that the Energy Commission had awarded a fast-track power project 4A to a consortium consisting of YTL Power International Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and SIPP Energy Sdn Bhd which is linked to the Johor royalty.

The Star reported that TNB Unions protested the direct award, saying all large scale energy generation awards should be made through competitive open tender. 

“All large scale energy generation awards should be made through competitive open tender. TNB must also maintain a hold on all its assets and property under any circumstances,” TNB unions was quoted as saying.

Blogger Datuk Ahirudin Attan in criticising YTL Group managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, for his ‘crony capitalism’ remarks, wrote that people in the industry have been complaining of the RM3.5 billion power project that Yeoh had just won, citing that the project went to YTL Power because of its "close links" with the Johor Palace.

“I call it Royal Capital Cronyism of the Highest Order, which carries the title Tan Sri,”Ahirudin added.

Meanwhile in explaining his blog post against Yeoh over the issue of the government practising crony capitalism, Dr Mahathir said: “It's not a tradition but when you run down a company unfairly, I have to answer to that. It's not fair.”

Elaborating further, he said: “You make it out as if you have never done business here, that you became rich because you went abroad. You made your first, second, third million here, at least say thank you, don't run this country down. As for me, I have lots of cronies. Every single businessman is my crony. I told them, we have this policy called Malaysia Incorporated and I told the business people "we are helping you because when you make profits, 28% of that profit belongs to the government."

Dr Mahathir stressed that the policy is formulated to enable private sector to do business and with the government’s aid.

“We meet with the private sector and we talk with them, we want to know what is their problem and we help to overcome their problems. Do you think this company would grow if we don't have that kind of attitude towards business? It won't. Most of this is for private sector, not government sector,” he added.

Responding to accusations that during his Prime Ministership, he and the Malaysian Government have been giving out lucrative power producing deals to YTL, Dr Mahathir explained that it was YTL which first came out with a proposal to provide sufficient reserve capacity.

“During the time when Tenaga (TNB) being run by (Tan Sri) Ani Arope and I thought Tenaga was not building up sufficient reserve capacity. Tenaga has no money even to build this plant so we want the private sector to do this. The first proposal came from YTL.”

“So, we gave to YTL but we gave to other people also. Malakoff got it, so many people got it. Why are you focusing on this particular issue? He must be grateful that he got it.” 

New Straits Times reported that Yeoh had sent a letter to Utusan Malaysia saying that he regretted the furore caused.

“I am truly saddened that my words have been misrepresented. Nevertheless, I humbly apologise if offence had been caused as a consequence. I very much regret it.”

“We are genuinely thankful to the Malaysian government and the people of Malaysia for allowing us to continue to thrive in this beloved country of ours,” he was quoted.