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I have been waiting for three days for proof that in my speech in Kota Bahru on Sunday, I had “hina Islam, hina hudud, hina Muslim, hina PAS” and none has been forthcoming, but I am prepared to wait for another 48 hours

(Scroll down for BM version of this statement / Terjemahan BM di bawah)

I have been waiting for three days for proof that in my speech at the “Kukuhkan Pakatan, Hancurkan Barisan“ Ceramah Perdana organised by PAS Kota Baru on Sunday, I had “hina Islam, hina hudud, hina Muslim, hina PAS”, but none had been forthcoming.

But I am prepared to wait for another 48 hours for such proof to be furnished.

In fact, the transcript of my speech in Kota Baru is available on the Internet, on blog, tweet and FaceBook, and it should not be too difficult to point out where I had “hina Islam, hina hudud, hina Muslim, hina PAS” if I had in fact done so.

I thank Malaysians who have encouraged me with their comments that it was clear from the transcript that I had not been guilty of anyone of these three misdemeanours in my speech in Kota Bahru, for instance, the following comments on the DAP Facebook: Continue reading “I have been waiting for three days for proof that in my speech in Kota Bahru on Sunday, I had “hina Islam, hina hudud, hina Muslim, hina PAS” and none has been forthcoming, but I am prepared to wait for another 48 hours”

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MAIWP lawyer’s contention that Islamic Law is above constitution raises disturbing question of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s commitment to the fundamental constitutional principle that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land

(Scroll down for BM version of this statement / Terjemahan BM di bawah)

The contention by the lawyer of the Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (MAIWP) to the Federal Court today that all Islamic enactments are excluded from fundamental liberties in the Federal Constitution raises disturbing questions of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet’s commitment to the fundamental constitutional principle that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land.

While the Federal Court has set August to hear the arguments on “a new point of monumental importance” in the case of lawyer Victoria Jayaseela Martin’s appeal in the Federal Court, seeking the right to practise Islamic law in the Shariah Court, the questions about the Prime Minister and the Cabinet’s commitment to the fundamental constitutional principle that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land must be asked and answered.

The MAIWP is a government body, whose Chairman is Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Islamic Affairs; the Deputy Chairman, Dato Othman Mustapha, Ketua Pengarah JAKIM and ex officio members include the Attorney General Tan Sri Gani Patail, the Datuk Bandar and representatives from the Chief Secretary and the Inspector-General of Police.

It is reported that the postponement of the Federal Court hearing of the case today to August will also give the Attorney-General’s Chambers time to decide which position to take.

This is most ridiculous as the Attorney-General is an ex-officio member of MAIWP. Continue reading “MAIWP lawyer’s contention that Islamic Law is above constitution raises disturbing question of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s commitment to the fundamental constitutional principle that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land”

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Fivefold increase in GDP if every Malaysian teen educated, study claims

The Malay Mail Online
Thursday May 14, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 ― A new study claims that Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could multiply by as much as 500 per cent if the country is able to ensure that every single 15-year-old achieves a basic level of education.

The study on global school rankings by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates Malaysia’s growth potential at 505 per cent of its current GDP, indicating a direct correlation between education and economic growth.

The report, jointly written by Stanford University’s Eric Hanushek and Ludger Woessman of Munich University, said that a country’s standard of education is a “powerful predictor of the wealth that countries will produce in the long run”.

It also warned that countries that maintain poor education policies and practices will remain in a “permanent state of economic recession”. Continue reading “Fivefold increase in GDP if every Malaysian teen educated, study claims”

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What stories will Najib leave behind?

By Eric Loo
Malaysiakini
May 13, 2015

I don’t know how she died, but I remember how she lived her life. I still feel her cheery presence from her Facebook posts and emails, the last one I received a month ago. It’s surreal. Which got me thinking. What stories will we leave behind after we’re gone? Then, I thought about our prime minister. What public memories will he leave when he passes on, from the values he lives by to the political decisions he has made since 2009?

In the documentary ‘A Leader’s Legacy: Tun Abdul Razak’, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak says of his father: “I have a sense of pride knowing my father passed away in the service of the nation. There can be no other service greater than that.” Indeed.

Najib proudly presented his reformist agenda when he succeeded Abdullah Badawi in 2009. To the United Nations in 2010, Najib projected a globalist moderate persona. His realpolitik at home, however, shows a Janus-faced figure, Machiavellian even, in reaching his political ends, amoral they may seem in the public eye.

These keywords hence come to mind when I think of Najib’s administration: Altantuya, Scorpene submarines, Abdul Razak Baginda, government executive jets, Rosmah Mansor’s lavish lifestyle, 1MDB debts, and other scandals listed in the Sinar Project.

Wealth accumulation from mega business deals through political connections has hence ranked Malaysia third in The Economist’s Crony Capitalism Index 2014 after Hong Kong and Russia. Continue reading “What stories will Najib leave behind?”