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Jais acting like Taliban, says ex-Perlis mufti Asri

MD IZWAN
The Malaysian Insider
5 June 2014

The Selangor Islamic authorities’ action to disrupt a Hindu wedding on suspicion that the bride was a Muslim is akin to “Talibanisation”, says well-known scholar and former Perlis mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin.

Asri rebuked the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) for raiding a Hindu temple in Petaling Jaya where the wedding was conducted, warning that the Islamic authority that it had, by its action, tarnished the image of Islam.

“Jais should be careful in what they do because their actions have given the wrong image not only to Malaysians, but to the world.

“Day by day, the global community is seeing much of the world leaning towards ‘Talibanisation’ because of such actions,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

Asri said Jais was naive in its handling of the incident, which would have given rise to all kinds of misunderstandings among Malaysians. Continue reading “Jais acting like Taliban, says ex-Perlis mufti Asri”

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Muslim woman who married a Hindu refuses to back down

by V. Anbalagan, Assistant News Editor
The Malaysian Insider
4 June 2014

For the last seven years, Zarinah Abdul Majid had been making frequent trips to the Shariah Court and the National Registration Department (NRD) hoping to remove the word “Islam” from her identity card, as she is not a practising Muslim.

She said she spent thousands of ringgit hiring lawyers to help but it was all in vain.

Zarinah then took a bold step – she decided she was going to marry the man of her dreams, a Hindu – and that too, in a temple on Sunday.

“I was not afraid any more. I was fed up and could not wait any longer. I am getting old and I want a family of my own,” she told The Malaysian Insider, speaking in Tamil.

On Sunday, the 32-year-old factory worker had the “thali” tied around the neck by her boyfriend of seven years, in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony in a temple in Petaling Jaya.

She had invited 400 guests and spent more than RM30,000 on the ceremony and the reception that followed. Continue reading “Muslim woman who married a Hindu refuses to back down”

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Selangor MB Khalid gives assurance there will be no repetition of Jais disruption of Hindu wedding

Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has given assurance that there will be no repetition of Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) disruption of a Hindu wedding, as happened on Sunday when Jais took away a bride from a Hindu wedding ceremony at a temple in Shah Alam on suspicion that she is a Muslim.

I met Khalid earlier today to express the outrage of moderate Malaysians, whether Muslims or non-Muslims, at Jais’ high-handed and unacceptable raid on Sunday, which tantamount to disrespect and interference with the affairs of other religions in the country.
Jais was acting in a most insensitive and offensive manner when it stopped the Hindu wedding ceremony after it received a tip-off that the 32-year-old bride named Zarena Abdul Majid is a Muslim.

It is now established that Zarena was born and raised as a Hindu but her name was registered by her estranged father who had converted to Islam. Continue reading “Selangor MB Khalid gives assurance there will be no repetition of Jais disruption of Hindu wedding”

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The greatest enemy to Najib’s 1Malaysia Policy are the cancer organisations like Isma which preaches the politics of hate, intolerance, lies and racism

When I came across the Malaysiakini report yesterday entitled “Rid nation of cancer called DAP, says Isma”, I tweeted: “Real Cancer talking!”.

This is because the greatest enemy to Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Policy to build a nation where everyone regards himself or herself as Malaysian first and race, religion, region and socio-economic status second are cancer organisations like Isma which preaches the politics of hate, intolerance, lies and racism.

For instance, Isma attacked the defeat of the DAP candidate Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud in the Teluk Intan by-election as “the failure of the Chinese-dominated party to use a Malay as a mask to hide its chauvinism”, disseminating the preposterous lie that the “real struggle of DAP is to abolish the special rights of the Malays and bumiputera, which ruins harmony in the nation”.

Isma wants the DAP “like cancer” to be “cast out from the local political landscape”.

This is an example of the Dyanaphobia which have afflicted Isma and such like organisations which thrive on the politics of hate, intolerance, lies and racism because of the candidature of Dyana Sofya in the Teluk Intan by-election.

They are panicking because they find their message of hatred, intolerance, lies and racism are facing a diminishing market and more and more Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region want to see a new Malaysia uniting all Malaysians and transcending the politics of race, hatred and lies. Continue reading “The greatest enemy to Najib’s 1Malaysia Policy are the cancer organisations like Isma which preaches the politics of hate, intolerance, lies and racism”

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Dyanamania, Dyanaphobia and Dyanaphiles

– OMG
The Malaysian Insider
4 June 2014

Malaysiakini reported today that high-ranking officials in the Education Ministry had called a teacher since last week, “advising” her to remove Facebook postings on Dyana Sofya which they deemed as “anti-government.”

The teacher told the Malaysiakini news portal that a special officer to the Education Ministry director-general had told her to close down her Facebook page and that she will be “watched”.

“It is indeed the height of irony that on one hand, Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor is urging teachers to return to politics under Barisan Nasional’s fold, conceding that the headmasters, principals and teachers were the ‘real movers’ of Umno, MCA, MIC and BN in the past, but on the other hand, high-ranking officials from Education Ministry were reprimanding a teacher for posting campaign posters of Dyana Sofya on Facebook,” Mr Lim Kit Siang, the MP for Gelang Patah, Johor said in a statement today.

“Is Dyanaphobia the inevitable result of what has been described as “Dyanamania” which swept Teluk Intan and the country during the Teluk Intan by-election,” he asked.

My online Merriam-Webster dictionary definitions are:

1. mania: extreme enthusiasm for something that is usually shared by many people

2. phobia: an extremely strong dislike or fear of someone or something

3. -phile: suffix used to specify some kind of attraction or affinity to something

So now we can express precisely what all the hullaballoo was about. Continue reading “Dyanamania, Dyanaphobia and Dyanaphiles”

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Will Najib at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow put a stop to the Dyanaphobia which is beginning to sweep Muhyiddin’s Education Ministry?

A new phobia is sweeping the Boleh-land of Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

I will like to know whether Najib at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow will put a stop to the Dyanaphobia which is beginning to sweep the Education Ministry under the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin or whether he would also succumb to it.

Is Dyanaphobia the inevitable result of what has been described as “Dyanamania” which swept Teluk Intan and the country during the Teluk Intan by-election from May 19 – 31, although 26-year-old DAP/PR candidate, Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud lost to the Gerakan President and BN candidate, Datuk Mah Siew Keong by a wafer-thin majority of 238 votes in a record-low voter-turnout of 66.5% on polling day on May 31.

It indeed the height of irony that on the hand, the UMNO Secretary-General and Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor is urging teachers to return to politics under Barisan Nasional’s fold, conceding that the headmasters, principals and teachers were the “real movers” of Umno, MCA, MIC and BN in the past, but on the other hand, high-ranking officials from Education Ministry were reprimanding a teacher for posting campaign posters of Dyana Sofya on Facebook. Continue reading “Will Najib at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow put a stop to the Dyanaphobia which is beginning to sweep Muhyiddin’s Education Ministry?”

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The BN Government should close down MAS

By Koon Yew Yin

The long term MAS price chart shows that it has dropped from Rm 2.10 in 2007 to 18 sens today. As a long term serious investor, I have had a closer look at the cheap share price. Why is it selling at 18 sen or less than one fifth of its par value?

My intention in writing this piece is to help the BN Government decide to put in the final nail and to bury MAS so as to save tax payers’ money. Obviously the Government did not pay enough attention to my previous articles “Why MAS share price is on cheap sale?” and “Why MAS Is Still Flying” which I published about a year ago. It will be relevant to include some of the points I mentioned in my previous article in this new one.
Continue reading “The BN Government should close down MAS”

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How I felt when I joined DAP

― Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud
The Malay Mail Online
June 3, 2014

JUNE 3 ― I refer to the statement reportedly made by Tunku Aziz that I will leave the DAP when I realise “it is not a multi-racial party.”

My experience with the party was never similar to Tunku Aziz’s. I joined DAP as a regular member after getting to know some of the party’s members and leaders. I understand and admire the struggle of its leaders, and its principle of multi-culturalism. I appreciate its consistency in standing up for all Malaysians, regardless of race and religion. I believe in its principle of doing what is right, despite the risks and repercussions.

I joined without the intention of being appointed into any position. I simply wanted to be with like-minded people, sharing a vision and mission, and partake in the struggle for a better Malaysia. In DAP, I found friends and comrades.

DAP is not merely a political party to me. It is family. My saudara-saudari, brothers and sisters in DAP have made me realise that it is possible to be a true Malaysian without obliging hypocrisy, unlike the empty “1Malaysia” slogan that supposedly encourages the spirit of being Malaysian, but is nothing more than a front for the continuation of racial politics.

Don’t get me wrong, I am proud to be Malay. I am proud of my roots and heritage. However, I don’t believe in abusing it at the expense of other Malaysians. Continue reading “How I felt when I joined DAP”

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DAP loses a seat but scores a political point

YourSay
Malaysiakini
Jun 3, 2014

YOURSAY ‘Fielding Dyana is still a good strategy, despite the result.’

DAP’s strategy missteps cost Teluk Intan

CQ Muar: Obviously, the elderly voters of Teluk Intan were not receptive to being represented by a young Malay woman, but rather preferred a man-about-town, who is a local figure; plus the lackadaisical attitude of young outstation voters, who took things for granted.

Other factors are those issues relating to hudud, internal strifes and party squabbles, which must be quickly addressed and halted.

The next GE is around three years from now, but by then the senior voters will probably see a dip in their number, while young voters an increase theirs.

Therefore, it is of paramount importance that DAP and Pakatan Rakyat need to penetrate the heartlands of the Malays, and continue to convince urban voters simultaneously.

AA: I am not a supporter of any of the political parties, but I did hope for Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud to be elected as her election would be a clear victory against racial politics. Continue reading “DAP loses a seat but scores a political point”

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Misi politik Dyana perlu diteruskan

A Shukur Harun
The Malaysian Insider
3 June 2014

Pengundian berdasarkan kaum oleh generasi lama masih wujud, tetapi ia dilihat semakin berkurangan dan berkurangan. Oleh itu, lambat laun generasi baru akan menggantikan generasi lama dan ini adalah proses biasa dalam kehidupan.

Ketika itu suasana politik semakin berubah dan nada perkauman semakin berkurangan didengar.

Sebagai contoh dalam pilihan raya umum (PRU) setahun yang lalu di mana pengundi generasi baru sudah mencapai sekitar 41%. Maka dalam PRU akan datang peratus pengundi muda ini boleh meningkat lebih tinggi lagi. Di sinilah terletak peluang dan masa depan politik yang cerah bagi Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud. Continue reading “Misi politik Dyana perlu diteruskan”

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Gang-rape is okay, chocs are not

Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
Jun 2, 2014

The Muslim NGOs who were prepared to declare jihad, sue the manufacturers and burn down a factory, because their favourite chocolates were allegedly contaminated with pig DNA, deserve our contempt, not our compassion.

Where was their condemnation of the gang-rape of two teenage girls by some 30 men in Kelantan? Why did they keep silent about the abduction, attempted rape and subsequent beheading of a two-year-old girl?

In third world countries like Somalia, Nigeria, Sudan, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, women are treated like replaceable items. Malaysia is no different. Some of our Muslim men treat their women like disposable razors: Once the edge has gone, their usefulness is over and they are discarded. Another will take its place.

Will the Muslim NGOs demand stern action to deal with violence against women? Are chocolates more important than women? Continue reading “Gang-rape is okay, chocs are not”

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BN’s racial politics still work, but not for long

YourSay
Malaysiakini
Jun 2, 2014

YOURSAY ‘A lesson to learn is that changes come in baby steps, not giant strides.’

Delving into DAP’s shock defeat

Fair Play: For DAP, a lesson to learn in the Teluk Intan by-election is that changes come in baby steps, not giant strides. The road ahead is often fraught with uncertainties, obstacles and frustrations and takes a pathway of ‘one step forward, two steps backward’ approach.

A good start would be to identify young and qualified right-thinking Muslim Malaysians as political secretaries to key DAP politicians and train them as future leaders. Do not forget young and qualified Indian Malaysians too.

DAP has to break the political mold (perception) that it is a Chinese Malaysian political party. For almost all Malaysians, perception (how they see thing) is reality.

Examples like Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud is a good start, but need more fine-tuning and adaptation. Be patient and plan for the long haul. If there is hope, there is a future. Continue reading “BN’s racial politics still work, but not for long”

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The Way Forward

— Joshua Wu
The Malay Mail Online
June 2, 2014

JUNE 2 — I could not agree more with the newly-elected Member of Parliament for Teluk Intan, Mah Siew Keong when he said that the future of Malaysian politics is in multi-racial parties instead of single race entities.

However, he seems to be preaching to the choir. What he should be doing is addressing this to his partners in Barisan Nasional (BN). After all, UMNO, MCA and MIC are race based political parties.

After 56 years (approaching 57 years of independence), one has to wonder if race based political parties can still propel the country forward or have been contributing to the significant division between the many races in Malaysia.

Political parties like DAP, PKR, and Gerakan are multi-racial parties which best represent the new generation of Malaysians who see themselves as Malaysians before identifying as Malays, Chinese, Indians, or others.

In the past, Dato Seri Onn bin Ja’afar called for Umno party membership to be opened to non-malays and for the party to be renamed the United Malayans National Organisation.

However, the idea was shot down by many. He then left Umno to form the Independence of Malaya Party, and subsequently, Parti Negara. Continue reading “The Way Forward”

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Expert: Search for MH370 not becoming more complicated

The Malay Mail Online
June 2, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 ― An expert has said that the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, flight MH370 is not becoming more complicated and that the search and rescue (SAR) team was looking in the wrong area.

New Zealand-based space scientist and physicist, Duncan Steel, made the remarks in an email interview with Bernama following the latest announcement by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which discounted the vicinity of acoustic signals detected previously.

“They were never leads (the claimed acoustic detections). Having discounted them is a good thing, in that it enables other possibilities to be considered,” said Steel, who is also a visiting Professor of Astrobiology at the University of Buckingham, England and a space scientist at NASA-Ames Research Centre in California, USA.

According to him, the sonic pings in the Indian Ocean were obviously (to a physicist) not from the MH370 emergency locator beacon and that ATSB’s announcement was entirely disconnected from the satellite-derived information.

He believed that based on available information from the released raw data, it was most likely that the aircraft headed south at near 500 knots, and ended up much further south than the current search area. Continue reading “Expert: Search for MH370 not becoming more complicated”

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Malaysia Airlines flight MH370: Where were the fighters, asks Emirates chief

Jamie Freed
Sydney Morning Herald

June 2, 2014

Emirates president Tim Clark says missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 would have in most countries been intercepted by fighters if it flew off course, and says the industry should not change aircraft tracking until it has more facts about the disappearance.

“In my view we are all plunging down a path that [says] ‘we have got to fix this’,” he said on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association annual meeting in Doha, Qatar.

“This is the door closing after the horse has gone 25 miles down the track. We need to know more about what actually happened to this aeroplane and do a forensic second by second analysis of it. I think we will find it and get to the bottom of it.”

Emirates is a major operator of Boeing 777s, the aircraft type of MH370. The aircraft has been widely considered one of the safest ever built.

Mr Clark questioned why MH370 wasn’t circled by fighter jets after it was spotted by Malaysian’s military on primary radar. Continue reading “Malaysia Airlines flight MH370: Where were the fighters, asks Emirates chief”

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The Dyana effect

– Philip Yong
The Malaysian Insider
2 June 2014

So Dyana Sofya, the DAP candidate for Teluk Intan’s by-election, lost to Gerakan president Mah Siew Kong. It was a close fight. I am sure it was heartbreaking for her and many other opposition leaders, volunteers and caring Malaysians who campaigned day in day out. This article is written especially for those who have fought hard in this battle.

There are already so many articles out there that are negative, so I thought I should write something that will uplift the spirits of all who strive for a better Malaysia.

Well, Dyana, if I am a voter in Teluk Intan, I would have voted for you. For very logical reasons.

1. I personally believe that DAP made the right choice by fielding a young lady like you. You are educated, smart, energetic, clean and most importantly you embody a true Malaysian. A Malaysian who fights for all Malaysians. A Malaysian who cares for all Malaysians. Continue reading “The Dyana effect”

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Taking Chances

— Christine SK Lai
The Malay Mail Online
June 02, 2014

JUNE 2 — So after all the analysis, post-mortems and opinions, where does it leave us? Everyone has their favourite theory on why Dyana Sofya lost in Teluk Intan.

But that’s not really the issue, or is it? In fact I am pretty sure there are many who will ask ‘Dyana who?’ despite the fact that she has catapulted to celebrity status and is everyone’s fave target for group selfies. Outside of Teluk Intan, I hazard a guess that there are probably many who don’t even know there was an election there. There is such a thing called ignorance, apathy, indifference, complacency — all same category. But I am not pointing fingers, I hasten to confess I am guilty of all that at some time or another.

When I first saw that pretty young face splattered all over on-line news ( there is no denying she is pretty and she is young), mentally I saluted the old man behind her — it takes foresight and guts to do what Lim Kit Siang did, pushing this novice up the way he did, and kudos to the party who dared take a chance to lose. I have to admit though I was a bit tired of all the politicking that seems to be going into over-drive not only in the small town of Teluk Intan but seemingly every where, and not just during a by-election but almost every other day. One time it’s why only certain people can call God a certain name. The next it’s hudud. Then it’s chocolates. Wonder what it will be tomorrow. And oh by the way, it’s not confined to the peculiar species called politicians. NGOs, bloggers, big shots, small shots… everyone can say anything and everything is fair game. Guess that’s the price of democracy. So I kind-of ‘tune off’ these days. It’s very easy to grow tired of it all. Like I said, apathy… Continue reading “Taking Chances”

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Call on Malaysians not to lose faith but to ensure the wafer-thin by-election loss in Teluk Intan becomes the stepping-stone to national victory for a new Malaysia tomorrow

My first electoral experience as a candidate was the Serdang State Assembly by-election in Selangor on 7th January 1969, when I was 27 years old and I lost the Opposition “blue-ribbon” seat by a small majority of 607 votes because of split votes in a three-cornered contest.

Four months later, in the 1969 general elections, DAP won the Serdang state assembly state seat with a 3,314-vote majority, one of the 13 Parliamentary and 31 State Assembly seats won by the DAP in the party’s first general election contest.

Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud is 26 years old and she lost the Teluk Intan parliamentary by-election with a wafer-thin majority of 238 votes.

Worth noting is the electoral experience of the Selangor Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim who lost heavily in his first electoral foray in the Ijuk State Assembly by-election in Selangor in April 2007, but in less than year, Barisan Nasional lost the Selangor State Government for two consecutive general elections to Pakatan Rakyat. Continue reading “Call on Malaysians not to lose faith but to ensure the wafer-thin by-election loss in Teluk Intan becomes the stepping-stone to national victory for a new Malaysia tomorrow”

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Too soon to write off DAP’s Teluk Intan wager, analysts say

by Pathma Subramaniam
The Malay Mail Online
June 2, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — By going against the current, the DAP challenged a pattern of communal voting that has been ingrained for decades.

It lost the contest for Teluk Intan, but it remains to be seen if the gambit of fielding the likes of 26-year-old Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud will work out in the next general election in which political analysts say the makeup of voters and issues will vary.

“It is work in progress and DAP has taken the lead,” said Ibrahim Suffian who heads Merdeka Center. “I’m confident that in the long run people will vote for policies and no longer just for one’s skin colour.”

The head of the independent pollster noted that while it is tempting to blame DAP’s loss on racial silos, the result may also be skewed as by-elections are generally “tougher” for the opposition as it cannot match the might of Barisan Nasional’s (BN) federal strength.

“[By-elections are] unlike in a general election, [where] the resources of both sides are spread out thinly so that allows a smaller party to ride on the national sentiments and issues,” said Ibrahim who heads independent pollster Merdeka Center. Continue reading “Too soon to write off DAP’s Teluk Intan wager, analysts say”

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‘Malaysian seats’ are the future of DAP and Pakatan

Lam Choong Wah
Malaysiakini
Jun 2, 2014

COMMENT In the 13th general election (GE13), DAP achieved its best ever electoral results by winning 38 parliamentary seats and 95 state assembly seats out of the 51 parliamentary and 103 state seats contested, becoming the second biggest party after Umno in terms of seats in the new parliamentary term.

After GE13, Utusan Malaysia, the mouthpiece of Umno, immediately pinned the blame for Najib Abdul Razak’s electoral disaster on the Chinese, accusing the Chinese voters of causing the political tsunami that saw BN being rejected in terms of popular votes. In the process, MCA and the other non-Malay BN component parties suffered major defeats.

Utusan’s intention was to link BN’s poor electoral results with racial conflict arguments and provoke racial protests to divert the attention away from people’s rejection and aversion of Umno.

“Apa lagi Cina mahu” (What more do the Chinese want?) became the prologue to start Umno’s ethnic confrontation tricks after GE13. However with news of the impending goods and services tax (GST) implementation, the hasty passing of the Prevention of Crime Act in Parliament and the surfacing of numerous electoral fraud cases during the 13GE, the provocation failed to materialise.

The tried and tested racial card played by Umno, MCA and MIC in the last 50 years has begun to flounder. There are many complex reasons for that, but one of the significant causes for deflecting the racial provocation by BN is the Chinese-based DAP’s refusal to fall into BN’s race-baiting rhetoric.
Continue reading “‘Malaysian seats’ are the future of DAP and Pakatan”