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Liow Tiong Lai and Mah Siew Keong should ask Najib to put on hold any Cabinet reshuffle as MCA/Gerakan will not be part of BN Cabinet …

The Malay Mail Online has reported that the Umno Selangor Assemblyman for Sungai Air Tawar Kamarol Zaki Abdul Malik has submitted a motion to push for the implementation of hudud law for the forthcoming Selangor State Assembly beginning next week.

The Malay Mail Online has also reported that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak may carry out a major Cabinet reshuffle as early as Friday, which will include bringing in the MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and the Gerakan President Datuk Mah Siew Keong.

Liow and Mah should ask Najib to put on hold any Cabinet reshuffle as MCA and Gerakan will not be part of Barisan Nasional Cabinet until UMNO can give an undertaking that it will not push for implementation of hudud law whether at federal or state level, as this will be against the founding principles of the founders of UMNO, MCA, MIC and Gerakan as well as the Malaysian Constitution that Malaysia is a secular democratic nation. Continue reading “Liow Tiong Lai and Mah Siew Keong should ask Najib to put on hold any Cabinet reshuffle as MCA/Gerakan will not be part of BN Cabinet …”

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A generation of Malaysians have lost their trust in Putrajaya, says Anglican bishop

by Jennifer Gomez
The Malaysian Insider
10 June 2014

Malaysia is “losing a generation” that no longer trusts the government, authorities and even each other, given the current trend of religious extremism, says Anglican Bishop Datuk Ng Moon Hing.

Ng, the newly minted president of the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM), said his greatest fear for Malaysia is a societal break-up due to hate speeches, racial hatred and religious extremism that is not being monitored.

“This nation has begun to lose a generation of people who no longer trust the government, the authorities, the elders, the religious leaders, and more so each other,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

Ng said trust and confidence in Putrajaya have plunged to its lowest level with unresolved issues affecting Malaysia’s multi-religious society, including the seizure of Bibles and the controversy over the use of the word “Allah” by Christians. Continue reading “A generation of Malaysians have lost their trust in Putrajaya, says Anglican bishop”

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Umno reps mull push for hudud in Selangor

By Zurairi AR
The Malay Mail Online
June 10, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 ― After Kelantan, Selangor Barisan Nasional (BN) is now eager to see hudud roll out in Malaysia’s most developed state, which is likely to open another can of worms.

The state opposition coalition is meeting today to decide whether or not to propose a study to push out the controversial Islamic penal code at the next sitting of the Selangor legislative assembly, which starts next Monday.

Selangor State Assembly Speaker Hannah Yeoh confirmed the study on hudud to be among four proposals she received from BN for debate.

“I have yet to decide on them, whether to allow or not for them to be debated,” she told The Malay Mail Online in a text message.

Umno’s Sungai Air Tawar assemblyman Kamarol Zaki Abdul Malik, who mooted the study, told The Malay Mail Online that his proposal was submitted last week.

“It was submitted around a week ago, but it was sent on my behalf by Inmind,” Kamarol said over the phone, referring to Institut Perkembangan Minda, an agency which acts on behalf of BN assemblymen in the state. Continue reading “Umno reps mull push for hudud in Selangor”

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Malaysia omitted as MH370 families thank all involved in search

The Malay Mail Online
June 9, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 — Groups representing the families of the passengers and crew aboard Flight MH370 issued a letter of thanks to the governments and teams involved in the search for the missing plane, but the Malaysian government was conspicuously absent from the list.

Voice 370 and MH370 Family Association, in a joint letter addressed to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) chief coordinator Angus Houston, said they deeply appreciated the efforts by all involved in finding the elusive aircraft.

“This incident has no such precedent through the history of aviation, and we would like to highlight the progress made toward understanding the events unfolding in the morning of March 8 and fate of the plane in the face of innumerable obstacles and complications,” the letter read.

“It is here that we would like to applaud the relentless efforts of the men and women of the search crews directly involved in the search operations for MH370 and those involved in the analysis of the flight path of the plane; this letter is a medium insufficient to convey the depth of the gratitude felt by all affected families toward your endeavours.”

The families thanked Abbott and Houston for “their gracious assumption of responsibility for the coordination of the search” in the southern Indian Ocean where the plane is believed to have ended its flight.

“Their calm and able handling of the situation has assured the families that this responsibility has been passed to capable hands,” said the letter. Continue reading “Malaysia omitted as MH370 families thank all involved in search”

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Propagandist I am not!

Stephen Ng
Malaysiakini
Jun 6, 2014

COMMENT Some call me a propagandist. Others call me an apologist.

I won’t be surprised that I am also one of those in Utusan Malaysia’s wildest dream – a member of the elite Red Bean Army, except that I do not know how many millions of ringgit I am paid by the DAP for my work. Not even a plate of char koay teow for all you know!

When I wrote my two sen worth of an article about the Teluk Intan by-election, another fallen angel currently living in the comfort of the West, and an armchair critic, even called me a ‘party spin doctor’ by merely assuming that I am with the DAP. Ask the DAP if I am even on their membership roll!

I do not need to envy Anwar Ibrahim now, because even for all the efforts that I put in as an individual to fight against the ‘fitnah’ crafters in this country, I have even earned myself the label of being a ‘racist’.

For someone who always says, “Race is only skin deep”, I wonder why some people can even call me a racist. Continue reading “Propagandist I am not!”

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Malaysian Leaders’ First World Education, Third World Mentality

Review of Syed Husin Ali’s Memoirs of a Political Struggle.
by M. Bakri Musa

Syed Husin Ali: Memoirs of a Political Struggle. Strategic Information and Research Development Center, Petaling Jaya, 2013. 273 pp.

The deserved universal condemnation and merciless ridicule of the Malaysian authorities’ bungling of the MH370 tragedy did not arise in a vacuum. From leaders’ refusing to entertain questions at their press briefings to radar operators ignoring intruding beeps on their screens, this unconcealed contempt for the public, and the accompanying lackadaisical attitude, is the norm.

Our leaders may have had First World education, alas their mentality remains stubbornly stuck in Third World mode. Their bebalism and tidak apaism make the Jamaican “It’s not my job, mon!” a valid excuse by contrast.

To readers of on-line news portals, I am not stating anything new here; likewise to ordinary citizens who have had to deal with governmental agencies. However, when these general inadequacies and gross incompetence in their infinite manifestations are put in print as in books, there is satisfaction, at least to their authors, that they are being documented for posterity. Continue reading “Malaysian Leaders’ First World Education, Third World Mentality”

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Rising debts will rob Malaysia of its competitive edge, warns economist

by Eileen Ng
The Malaysian Insider
9 June 2014

Malaysia risks seeing its economy contract and losing its global market share in key export sectors if it fails to tackle its high levels of public and rising external debts, a United Kingdom-based economist has warned.

Sarah Fowler from Oxford Economics said while the nation’s shrinking current account surplus was not a major concern as it was expected to stay in excess in the next few years, there are worries over Malaysia’s capital account due to rising external debt, which has shot up close to 40% of its gross domestic product (GDP) in recent years.

The country’s public debt-to-GDP ratio has been hovering at an all-time high of more than 50% since 2010 because of large fiscal deficits incurred when an aggressive stimulus package was launched to bolster the country’s economy during the global financial crisis.

“Addressing the concerns would enable Malaysia to achieve a higher growth path, reaching a higher per capita income sooner. We expect the economy to grow by just more than 4% over the next five years but if the concerns were addressed growth could exceed 4.5%,” she told The Malaysian Insider in an email.

Fowler, who produced a report on “Why Malaysia is now a more risky prospect than Indonesia” which was highlighted by global financial news site Bloomberg’s columnist William Pasek last week, used 17 indicators to develop a scorecard to assess emerging market vulnerability to external economic and financial shocks. Continue reading “Rising debts will rob Malaysia of its competitive edge, warns economist”

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Response to Wee Ka Siong’s ‘Make Teluk Intan the end of hate politics’

— Ong Kian Ming
The Malay Mail Online
June 8, 2014

JUNE 8 — In an opinion piece entitled “Make Teluk Intan the end of hate politics”, MCA Deputy President Datuk Dr. Wee Ka Siong lobbed a few baseless accusations against the DAP and Pakatan but ended up implicating and highlighting the failures of his own party and his own BN coalition.

Firstly, he accuses DAP for failing Dyana Sofya and of “trying to push the limitations of tolerance and create discord among races”. I fail to comprehend how the DAP can be guilty of this in any aspect of our campaign in Teluk Intan unless Wee is somehow implying that the fielding of a Malay candidate in a non-Malay majority constituency can create discord among the races.

Of all people, Wee should appreciate the benefits of having a minority representative since his very own parliament seat of Ayer Hitam is a 56 per cent Malay majority constituency. Rather than criticise the DAP, Wee should have congratulated DAP for taking a bold step in breaking down racial barriers and stereotypes in the decision to field Dyana in Teluk Intan. Continue reading “Response to Wee Ka Siong’s ‘Make Teluk Intan the end of hate politics’”

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What would be the response of the authorities if there is a non-Malay Isma which openly attacked Najib as anti-Chinese or anti-Indian, out to wipe out the Chinese or Indians in Malaysia?

In response to online news reports that Isma had concocted downright lies and falsehoods in its latest accusations of a plethora of crimes and horrors against me like being “anti-Malay”, “gunning for Malays since 1960s” and “wanting to wipe out the Malay race”, I had tweeted yesterday, among others, the following:

1. How should I react? Such blabber. My hair should stand but sorry, No! http://goo.gl/x7MYkW Isma: Kit Siang wants 2wipe out Malay race (Mkini)

2. Should I lose sleep? Will u if some crazy hurl abuse at u? http://goo.gl/OxUefz Isma labels Kit Siang “anti-Malay” – Looi Sue-Chern (TMI)

3. Thankful for live examples of jesters and liars. http://goo.gl/6lCfW8 In reprisal, Isma claims Kit Siang gunning for Malays since 1960s (MMO)

There have been hundreds of responses on the facebook, twitter, blog and online news portals to the wild allegations by Isma and advising me how to react – basically that I should just ignore Isma and that I should sue it until kingdom come! Continue reading “What would be the response of the authorities if there is a non-Malay Isma which openly attacked Najib as anti-Chinese or anti-Indian, out to wipe out the Chinese or Indians in Malaysia?”

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Mengapa Orang Cina pula dimusuhi?

Abu Hassan Adam
Friday, June 6, 2014

Aku tidak faham dan ‘bingung’. Seolah-olah telah wujud satu teori yang mengatakan bahawa orang Melayu mesti memiliki perasaan perkauman dan memusuhi golongan bukan Melayu di Malaysia supaya orang Melayu boleh maju. Seolah-olah semacam begitu pemahaman sebilangan kecil penduduk Malaysia yang menggelarkan diri mereka sebagai penganut Islam sejati sedangkan Rasullullah tidak pula pernah mengajar pengikutnya supaya membenci antara satu sama lain.

Seolah-olah golongan ini sentiasa mencari kesalahan orang lain untuk meyakinkan tohmahan mereka bahawa sememangnya orang Cina yang menyebabkan orang Melayu mundur. Seolah-olah golongan bukan Melayu (Cina khususnya) yang mesti dipersalahkan yang menyebabkan orang Melayu masih mundur, masih berpendapatan rendah, masih mengharapkan bantuan dan subsidi dari kerajaan, masih mengharapkan belas dan ikhsan dari orang lain sebagai bayaran menjadi ‘tentera upahan’.

Aku agak sedih mengenangkan keadaan orang Melayu yang sebegini, walaupun sudah ramai orang Melayu yang tidak berperangai sedemikian lagi. Maknanya aku sedih melihat ‘saudara-mara’ aku yang masih bersikap demikian. Aku sedih melihat bahawa masih ramai orang Melayu di negara ini yang tidak mengikut ‘rentak’ dan ‘tari’ bangsa-bangsa lain yang jauh lebih maju dari bangsa Melayu.

Tidak dapat dinafikan bahawa orang Cina jauh lebih maju dari orang Melayu ditinjau dari sudut mana sekalipun. Namun apakah terpaksa kita memusuhi mereka disebabkan mereka berjaya di negara Malaysia ini. Apakah golongan bukan Melayu yang mahu dipersalahkan yang menyebabkan orang Melayu tidak sehebat kaum lain di negara ini? Continue reading “Mengapa Orang Cina pula dimusuhi?”

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Attacking DAP, Dyana not heroism, Zaid tells UiTM, ‘defenders of Malay race’

The Malay Mail Online
June 6, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 — Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and those who fashion themselves “defenders of the Malay race” can be true heroes by working to end the country’s socio-economic ills and not in attacking the DAP or Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said.

The former de facto law minister took to his blog yesterday to defend the largely-Chinese party and its rising Malay star, observing the vitriol released by UiTM lecturers, administrators and other graduates during the 12-day campaigning for the May 31 May Teluk Intan polls that ended with the DAP’s loss to Barisan Nasional (BN).

“Perhaps they think this enhances their profiles and makes them suitable for promotion and contract extensions because they are ‘champions of the Malays’, but they are actually doing a disservice to academia generally,” wrote Zaid.

An alumnus of the university, the one-time de facto law minister noted the savagery of the attacks against Dyana, the DAP’s 26-year-old candidate in the Perak by-election and against her party, and said the display showed a marked departure from the original aim of UiTM’s promoters, which he said was to help the Bumiputera become world-class professionals.

The “racial indoctrination” at the Bumiputera-preferential university had gone overboard, he said, adding that the campaign of hate-painting the DAP as anti-Malay and Dyana as a “traitor” to her own race for aligning herself with a Chinese-majority party “made no sense” and was hurting UiTM’s reputation as an academic institution as well. Continue reading “Attacking DAP, Dyana not heroism, Zaid tells UiTM, ‘defenders of Malay race’”

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Is Malaysia Asia’s Weakest Link?

By William Pesek
Bloomberg View
Jun 5, 2014

From missing airplanes to jail-bound opposition leaders, Malaysia has recently made international headlines for all the wrong reasons. Will the nation’s economy be next?

That’s the thrust of new report from Sarah Fowler of U.K.-based Oxford Economics, which ranks Malaysia the “riskiest country in Asia of those we consider,” more so than India, Indonesia and even coup-happy Thailand. On the surface, she points out, all’s well: Growth is zooming along at 6.2 percent, the external balance is reasonably sound and political stability reigns. But all’s not what it seems. “Prompted by its high levels of public debt, rising external debt and shrinking current account surplus, there has been a shift in the perception of risks towards Malaysia and away from Indonesia,” Fowler explains.

Malaysia wasn’t included in Morgan Stanley’s “fragile five” list of shaky emerging economies last year, as were India and Indonesia. But Fowler scratches at a number of Malaysian vulnerabilities that deserve more attention: external debt levels that in recent years have risen to close to 40 percent of gross domestic product; a higher public debt ratio than India; the biggest short-term capital flows among the 13 major emerging markets Oxford tracks, including Indonesia; and a shrinking current-account surplus. Continue reading “Is Malaysia Asia’s Weakest Link?”

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Nilai memperkasa mahasiswa Melayu: Apresiasi budaya orang lain

– Mohamad Tajuddin Mohamad Rasdi
The Malaysian Insider
3 June 2014

Dalam keghairahan umat Melayu daripada Perkasa dan umat Islam daripada Isma menghina masyarakat Cina dan Kristian di Malaysia dengan memberi mesej bahawa umat Melayu terbantut perkembangan ekonomi, spiritual dan intelek kerana kehadiran kedua-dua jenis manusia sebegini, saya ingin memberi sedikit refleksi daripada buku yang sedang saya usahakan bertajuk “Memperkasa Mahasiswa Melayu dalam Industri”.

Dalam buku ini saya memperincikan 7 nilai penting yang perlu ada pada mahasiswa Melayu jika mereka ingin diangkat sebagai pemimpin Industri dan masyarakat yang terbaik di antara semua kaum dalam dunia.

Nilai pertama adalah Apresiasi Budaya Orang Lain, kedua adalah Berjuang untuk Semua, ketiga adalah Membina Jaringan Manusia, keempat adalah Membina Minda Kritis, kelima adalah Membangun Diri Sendiri, keenam Menyalahkan Diri Sendiri dan ketujuh, Merebut Inisiatif. Semua nilai ini adalah hasil refleksi pengalaman saya sendiri sebagai seorang ahli akademik dan daripada pembacaan peribadi terhadap buku-buku tulisan pakar motivasi, spiritualis Barat, koleksi hadis daripada 4 kitab utama, buku sufisme dan banyak lagi.

Mesejnya adalah jika kita orang Melayu sanggup melihat ke dalam diri sendiri dan jangan mudah terpedaya dengan dakyah-dakyah parti politik, NGO atau individu yang menghasut serta meracuni fikiran kita, dengan bantuan Alllah Yang Maha Megetahui, kita akan menjadi orang yang berjaya dan dihormati serta disayangi oleh semua golongan manusia yang mempunyai keikhlasan jiwa.

Mahasiswa Melayu perlu mempunyai nilai apresiasi budaya lain jika mereka hendak menjadi seorang pemimpin cemerlang dalam masyarakat dan industri. Sesebuah syarikat akan pasti mengambil individu yang yakin dapat bekerja dengan budaya lain dengan mudah supaya syarikat tersebut dapat melantik mahasiswa itu menjadi pengurus cawangan di mana-mana tempat dalam dunia atau menghantar mahasiswa tersebut untuk bertemu klien-klien besar kerana mahasiswa ini berupaya mengendalikan mesyuarat untuk mendapat projek atau menjelaskan perjalanan projek sedia ada. Continue reading “Nilai memperkasa mahasiswa Melayu: Apresiasi budaya orang lain”

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Dyna Sofya Shoots Down A Political Frog

Koon Yew Yin
5 June 2014

Two years ago I wrote a piece titled “Dissecting Tunku Abdul Aziz” in which I wrote that Tunku Aziz was a conservative and pro-establishment figure right from his early days. Also contrary to the public persona that he was trying to cultivate that he has always been an independent and neutral public figure, he was in fact an insider in the corporate world who had benefited from opportunistic moves in advancing his career. It was not ideals that motivated the man but really his super-sized ego and concern for status.

Thus it was was not surprising to me that after a short stint in the opposition, he quickly moved back to the political center right where he has always belonged. My conclusion after his futile attempt to repair his damaged image was as follows:

But what I and most Malaysians find completely unacceptable, objectionable and disgusting is Tunku Aziz’s transformation from being the vice chairman of the largest opposition party to being Prime Minister Najib Razak’s cheerleader.

He has now gone on record to say: “What the prime minister has done now is the right thing and we need to support him”.

He has also said that Najib’s transformation process for change and improving the democratic process would certainly take time.

Earlier, Tunku Aziz was one of those who said that more than enough time had already been given to BN and Najib in ruling the country. Now, he has changed his tune.

To my mind this political somersault is unprecedented in the annals of Malaysian political history….It is tantamount to saying “Vote for the BN” despite all the corruption and abuses of human rights and democracy from someone who claimed that he was anti-Barisan.

No wonder Najib, Muhyiddin Yassin and Dr Mahathir Mohamad are praising him to the sky and using him as part of their anti-DAP and anti-Chinese rhetoric. Continue reading “Dyna Sofya Shoots Down A Political Frog”

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Teluk Intan – As we missed winning the Battle for the Moment, we must ensure victory in the Battle for the Ages

During yesterday’s thanksgiving walkabout in Teluk Intan with by-election candidate Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud together with DAP Perak and Teluk Intan leaders, I was asked by the press whether I had any regrets with the nomination of Dyana as the candidate.

Definitely not. As I told the press, we wanted to win the Battle of the Moment, but we also wanted to win the Battle of the Ages. 爭朝夕爭千秋

Although we suffered the setback of losing the Battle of the Moment with a razor-thin majority of 238 votes, it is all the more imperative that we should gird ourselves to ensure that we can triumph in the larger Battle of the Ages.

What Dyana and I find most heartening in our walkabout yesterday was the words of encouragement by the voters of Teluk Intan of all races, who advised Dyana not to be too upset by the setback of a defeat in the Teluk Intan by-election but to “live to fight another day” for the new politics of justice, freedom, accountability and good governance which is free from the politics of race.

Dyana’s candidature in Teluk Intan has signaled a new phase of Malaysian politics to break the gridlock of the politics of race which had shaped Malaysian electoral politics for over half a century.

We are now seeing a new awakening among Malaysian youths to go beyond the politics of race, but which is resisted and opposed by the Umno old guards who are pulling out all the stops to frustrate the forces of awakening and change. Continue reading “Teluk Intan – As we missed winning the Battle for the Moment, we must ensure victory in the Battle for the Ages”

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Najib should set up a Cabinet committee comprising Home Ministry, NRD and the various state Islamic authorities to provide speedy resolution and rescue from limbo a few hundred cases of Malaysians who were mistakenly registered as Muslims in b/c or i/c

The Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim should give his personal attention to ensure that the Selangor Islamic Department (Jais), which disrupted the Hindu wedding ceremony of factory worker Zarinah Abdul Majid, 32, at a Shah Alam temple on Sunday, make recompense by assisting Zarinah to change her religious status in her identity card as she had been a practising Hindu all her life.

Khalid should ask Jais to give him a weekly report until Zarinah’s problem had been resolved and succeeded in changing to her true religious status.

Jais’ high-handed, arrogant and insensitive action on Sunday in disrupting Zarinah’s wedding ceremony at the Hindu temple in Shah Alam is a “no-no” which shows no respect for other religions in the country and bring disrepute to Malaysia internationally and must never be repeated.
Jais can investigate into complaints but it must never be done in a manner which violates or trespasses the sanctity of other religions and brings ill-repute to Malaysia’s international reputation.

Moderate and right-thinking Malaysians, both Muslims and non-Muslims, are outraged by the high-handed action by Jais, with the Selangor Mentri Besar describing it as an “embarrassment” while the former Perlis mufti Datuk Dr. Mohd Asri Zainual Abidin has likened it as akin to “Talibanisation”.

The most recent Jais action is undoubtedly a most negative and destructive development which not only undermines inter-religious harmony and relations in plural Malaysia but stains the country’s international reputation as a model multi-religious nation. Continue reading “Najib should set up a Cabinet committee comprising Home Ministry, NRD and the various state Islamic authorities to provide speedy resolution and rescue from limbo a few hundred cases of Malaysians who were mistakenly registered as Muslims in b/c or i/c”

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Emirates’ Clark Sees MH370 Investigation Deficiencies

Jens Flottau
Aviation Week
Jun 3, 2014

Emirates Airline President Tim Clark is demanding more transparency in the investigation of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. “We are the largest operator of the Boeing 777 in the world. I need to know how anybody could interdict our systems,” Clark told Aviation Week in an interview on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) annual general assembly in Doha, Qatar. “Something is not right here and we need to get to the bottom of it.”

Clark criticized how the investigation into the disappearance of the Malaysian Boeing 777 has been handled. “There have been many questions unanswered or dealt with in a manner that is unacceptable to the forensic nature of the inquiry.” He believes that “this aircraft was disabled in three primary systems. To be able to disable those requires a knowledge of the system which even our pilots in Emirates don’t know how to do. Somebody got on board and knew exactly what they were up to.” Continue reading “Emirates’ Clark Sees MH370 Investigation Deficiencies”

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Sailor may have seen flight MH370 on fire

New Zealand Herald
Jun 4, 2014

A British woman who was sailing near Indonesia at the time Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared says she believes she saw the plane “burning” and billowing smoke before it crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

An eye-witness account from yachting enthusiast Katherine Tee, 41, has now been filed with the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) leading the search, based in Australia, which is yet to find any trace of the missing jet.

In her account, Ms Tee has described seeing “an elongated plane glowing bright orange, with a trail of black smoke behind it”, heading from north to south.

The object was flying at “about half the height” of two other flights in the same patch of sky at the time, she said, in a series of posts detailing the sighting on the yachting website Cruisers Forum, where Ms Tee is a moderator.

She later told the Phuket Gazette that she initially dismissed the incident as being “just a meteor” or even a figment of her imagination – until a recent check of GPS logs confirmed that the plane’s projected track may have taken it very close to where the yacht was sailing at the time. Continue reading “Sailor may have seen flight MH370 on fire”

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Teachers’ right to support political party of their choice, say teachers, NGOs

by Elizabeth Zachariah
The Malaysian Insider
4 June 2014

Teachers should not be compelled to only support Barisan Nasional as they have the right to support any political party of their choice, educationists said today.

“Teachers are just like any other citizen in the country. And like other professionals, they have political opinions too,” said Hashim Adnan, president of the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP), in response to Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor’s call to teachers to return to politics under BN’s fold.

“They should be given freedom to exercise their rights,” he added. Continue reading “Teachers’ right to support political party of their choice, say teachers, NGOs”

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Hindu group to sue NRD for ignoring bride’s plea on religious status

by Pathma Subramaniam
The Malay Mail Online
June 5, 2014

Kuala Lumpur June 5 — The Malaysia Hindu Sangam, the country’s main advisory body on Hindu worship, said it plans to sue the National Registration Department (NRD) for refusing to change the state religion of Zarinah Abdul Majid, the woman at the centre of the latest row over faith conversions here.

Its president, Datuk R. S. Mohan Shan, said as a public institution, the NRD is obliged to at least investigate the religious background of Zarinah, who alleged that she was unilaterally converted to Islam by her estranged father as a child.

He said the government department should not have delegated its duties to the religious authorities.

“We are looking for lawyers to help us seek legal recourse because they have denied her the right to explain why she wants to leave Islam,” Mohan Shan told The Malay Mail Online.

He said the NRD rejected Zarinah’s first application to switch her religious status in 2007 because she failed to obtain her father’s signature.

In her second attempt, made just months ago, Zarinah’s application was completely ignored, he added.

“If they leave it to the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) or the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) to investigate, surely she will not be able to get a favourable response,” said Mohan Shan. Continue reading “Hindu group to sue NRD for ignoring bride’s plea on religious status”