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Call on Malaysians to think the unthinkable – a new Prime Minister and a new Malaysian coalition government before 14GE to “Save Malaysia”, protect constitutionalism and rule of law and entrench good governance

The DAP Central Executive Committee decision last night to reaffirm its commitment to Pakatan Rakyat as the embodiment of the hopes and aspirations of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion and region, for a new Malaysia where there is freedom, justice, democracy, integrity and human dignity had been a great disappointment and shock to UMNO and Barisan Nasional leaders who had expected to see the demise of Pakatan Rakyat last night.

Pakatan Rakyat is undoubtedly facing its greatest crisis in its seven-year history as a result of the political conspiracies of plotters who use the bait of UG (Unity Government of UMNO and PAS) and hudud implementation in Kelantan to destabilise, divide and destroy PR.

What the UMNO/BN conspirators never expected was the unintended consequences of such a plot, as it has also brought UMNO/Barisan Nasional coalition to the brink of disintegration or of being totally discredited even if the shell of the coalition is maintained.

This is best illustrated by the great and prolonged “labour pains” of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to declare the stand of UMNO/BN on the private member’s bill of the PAS President and MP for Marang, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

Najib was supposed to make clear the official UMN/BN stand last Friday, but five days have come and gone, and there are no signs that Najib is out of his “labour pains”. Continue reading “Call on Malaysians to think the unthinkable – a new Prime Minister and a new Malaysian coalition government before 14GE to “Save Malaysia”, protect constitutionalism and rule of law and entrench good governance”

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Mengapa saya menolak ‘hudud PAS’

– Zairil Khir Johari
The Malaysian Insider
23 March 2015

Apabila saya diajukan soalan sama ada saya akan menyokong atau tidak rang undang-undang persendirian yang bakal dibawa PAS ke Parlimen bagi membenarkan pelaksanaan Enakmen Kanun Jenayah Syariah II 1993 di Kelantan, saya memberikan jawapan yang tegas dan jelas – tidak.

Keputusan saya itu berdasarkan ketetapan parti dan lebih penting lagi adalah pendirian saya sebagai seorang ahli Parlimen yang mewakili rakyat Malaysia.

Namun, saya dikecam dengan pelbagai tomahan dan celaan kononnya saya menafikan hukum Allah, bersekongkol dengan kafir, mengkhianati Islam dan sebagainya.

Sama ada mereka yang mencaci saya itu benar-benar Muslim yang mencari keredhaan Allah itu saya kurang pasti, tetapi dari segi akhlak dan kesopanan mereka saya agak ragu.

Bagaimanapun, izinkan saya menerangkan mengapa saya menolak rang undang-undang hudud yang mahu dilaksanakan oleh PAS ini. Continue reading “Mengapa saya menolak ‘hudud PAS’”

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PAS is in danger of losing nearly all of its parliament and state seats outside the northern states as a result of the tabling of the hudud private members bill

I am amazed at the gullibility and naivete of the Deputy Kelantan PAS Menteri Besar Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah who could say that he does not believe non-Muslims in the country are against hudud and that it was only the DAP which has been making noise.

Let me state that PAS is in danger of losing nearly all of its parliament and state assembly seats outside the northern states as a result of the enactment of the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code 2015 and the tabling of the private member’s bill by the PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang on hudud implementation in Kelantan.

PAS won 21 parliament seats in GE2013, 7 of which were outside its northern strongholds of Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu. In the same election, PAS won 85 state seats, 29 of which were outside Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.

Many non-Muslim voters were willing to give their support for PAS candidates in GE2013 because of their desire to kick BN out of office, their trust in the promises of Pakatan Raykat in the Common Policy Framework and the PR Manifesto, and the spirit of comradeship which existed among PR leaders. Continue reading “PAS is in danger of losing nearly all of its parliament and state seats outside the northern states as a result of the tabling of the hudud private members bill”

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Govt must respond to Musa’s call on hudud

Ramon Navaratnam
Free Malaysia Today
March 23, 2015

Umno’s near silence on whether it supports hudud or not is causing grave uncertainty as to the future of Malaysia.

COMMENT

Former deputy prime minister Musa Hitam probably reflected the deep concerns of Malaysians when he said he was “disappointed with Umno for not making its stand on hudud clear”.

A significant number – perhaps even a majority – of thinking Malaysians have long been expecting the Umno-led government to come out unequivocally on this vital issue. Its near silence is causing national anxiety and grave uncertainty as to the future of our country.

As Musa correctly pointed out, this is a national issue “with far reaching implications to the country, both domestically and internationally”.

Confidence at home and abroad can dramatically decline as Malaysians see themselves at the crossroads of their destiny. We all ask whether we will continue to adopt secular ways to go forward or take the hudud highway and perhaps go backwards?

These uncertainties will also probably cause a further weakening of the ringgit, an increase in capital outflows, a worsening of the brain drain and even a rise in inflation. Continue reading “Govt must respond to Musa’s call on hudud”

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Malaysian politics in no man’s land – may be time for a new “Save Malaysia” coalition federal government comprising MPs from both sides of the political divide who defend constitutionalism and rule of law

Suddenly, Malaysian politics on both sides of the political divide seems to be in no man’s land.

The Barisan Nasional coalition Federal Government, which is in Putrajaya on a minority 47% of the popular vote in the 13th General Elections in May 2013, continues to be rudderless.

The government has lost its sense of direction, with the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s major initiatives, whether 1Malaysia Policy, the New Economic Model, National Transformation Programme or the Global Movement of Moderates, discredited and all in tatters.

But Najib had personified a paradox of a Malaysian Prime Minister – one of the weakest Prime Ministers in Malaysia but a strong UMNO President.

As a result, the host of problems dogging and haunting Najib, whether the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal; the nine-year-old Altantunya Shaariibuu murder which has returned to haunt Malaysian politics with Sirul at large in Australia ; the fourth-incarceration and five -year jailing of Anwar Ibrahim which has made Malaysia again an international “bad boy”; the embarrssing controversy over Tun Razak’s “inheritance” which has seen public differences between the Prime Minister and his four brothers, as well as former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir joining the ranks of those who want Najib to step down as Prime Minister, have seemed like water over a duck’s back.

But Najib’s woes have worsened in recent weeks, with the escalation of the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal, new financial scandals like the RM29 billion Pembinaan PFI Sdn Bhd scandal, the new jet for the Prime Minister, the lavish spending on the wedding of Najib’s daughter and the latest, the warning by former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam that UMNO could “self-destruct” if Najib continued with his political games with PAS as to support the private member’s bill moved by the PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang on hudud implementation. Continue reading “Malaysian politics in no man’s land – may be time for a new “Save Malaysia” coalition federal government comprising MPs from both sides of the political divide who defend constitutionalism and rule of law”

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Musa Hitam is both right and wrong when he said that opposition parties in PR should not pretend they are surprised with PAS’ hudud bill

I welcome the open and forthright position taken by former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam that UMNO should make a stand that hudud is not suitable for a country like Malaysia, that it should not try to out-PAS PAS.

He said: “As a former Umno leader, I strongly believe in my heart that since its establishment until today, Umno’s stance too has been that hudud is not suitable for a multi-religious, multi-racial country like Malaysia.”

Warning that UMNO could set on a course of “self-destruct”, Musa said that if he was wrong about UMNO’s stand on hudud, Umno should make a decision on its stance immediately and not brush off the matter.

Musa said opposition parties in Pakatan Rakyat should not pretend that that they are not aware and surprised with PAS’ hudud bill as the party had been championing the issue consistently for a long time.

Musa is both right and wrong when he said that DAP and PKR should not pretend that we are surprised with PAS’ hudud bill.

The Joint Statement of the Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council of 28th September 2011 acknowledged that the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Enactment 1993 and the Terengganu Syariah Criminal Enactment 2003 were passed before the formation of Pakatan Rakyat, but took the clear position that while it was unreasonable to require PAS to abandon the agenda, the three PR component parties would give priority to the PR Common Policy Framework and that all policies involving PR and their implementation must have the agreement of all three parties. Continue reading “Musa Hitam is both right and wrong when he said that opposition parties in PR should not pretend they are surprised with PAS’ hudud bill”

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Make a stand now on hudud, Musa Hitam tells Umno

The Malaysian Insider
21 March 2015

Umno should make a stand now on PAS’s hudud and not pretend to be surprised with the Islamist party’s push for the implementation of the Islamic criminal law in Kelantan, says Tun Musa Hitam.

The former deputy prime minister said hudud is not suitable for a country like Malaysia, expressing his disappointment over Umno’s slow response on the issue.

“I am disappointed that Umno appeared to be shocked (by PAS’s move) and until now have yet to decide on its stance. I have been worried about this for some time,” he said in a statement from Cordoba, Spain.

“Umno must take a firm stance. This national issue has a very long implication to the country, both domestically and internationally,”

He said as Umno could not afford to be seen as trying to outdo PAS on this issue.

“Don’t try to be more PAS than PAS themselves. Umno should not be trying to out-PAS PAS!”, he said. Continue reading “Make a stand now on hudud, Musa Hitam tells Umno”

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The caliphate cracks

Economist
Mar 21st 2015

The war against Islamic State

Though Islamic State is still spreading terror, its weaknesses are becoming apparent

WHEN the jihadists of Islamic State (IS) seized Mosul and the Iraqi army fled last June, they became the world’s most dangerous terrorist organisation. Sweeping out of Syria and north-western Iraq, they stormed southward, and came close to taking Baghdad. They murdered male prisoners in gory videos and enslaved female ones. Groups from Nigeria to Libya and Afghanistan pledged allegiance to them. Devotees attacked innocent civilians in Western cities; this week at least 19 people were killed in an assault on tourists in Tunisia (though the culprits are unknown). The IS threat has pushed together unlikely allies: in Iraq America provides the air power while Iran musters the ground forces.

As our briefing explains (see article), IS differs from jihadist groups that have gone before, including its parent, al-Qaeda. It is uniquely brutal in its treatment of foes and uniquely competent as a propagandist. But what most sets it apart is its claim to have restored the Islamic caliphate. The revival of a single state to rule over all Muslims, dating to Islam’s earliest days and abolished in 1924 by modern Turkey after the fall of the Ottoman empire, was meant to eradicate decades of supposed humiliation by outsiders and Arab rulers who presided over the decline of flourishing Arab societies. Continue reading “The caliphate cracks”

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Formulating the 11MP: Challenges for Multiracial Malaysia & the Indian Community

1. First of all, I would like to congratulate the organizers for having this forum at a very opportune juncture in our history. Our country faces new challenges as we approach the year 2020 and we will pay close attention to the upcoming 11th Malaysia Plan that is supposed to take us to the status of a developed country in 5 years’ time. But at the same time, we need to remind ourselves that the problems of poverty and inequality are still very much present in our midst despite the many self-congratulatory statistics that are being used by the government to highlight our many so called ‘achievements’.

2. The gap between not just the ‘haves’ but the ‘have-a-lot’ and the ‘have-nots’ could not have been in starker display in our country in the past three months. While low income families have been struggling to cope with the increase in the price of petrol, electricity and other basic necessities, billions have been squandered by politically connected individuals on expensive champagne in Las Vegas, penthouses and mansions in New York and Beverly Hills, round the world shopping trips and partying with Hollywood celebrities. While some shopkeepers, especially from the older generation, have been forced to close their business because they cannot cope with the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), our First Lady of Malaysia hopes that the GST won’t increase the price of her RM1200 hair-dye house call. While the average Malaysian is worried about the increase in the toll charges, taxi and bus fares, the Prime Minister’s Office goes out to spend almost half a billion ringgit on a new plane! Continue reading “Formulating the 11MP: Challenges for Multiracial Malaysia & the Indian Community”

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Will Umno cave in to PAS’ hudud?

By P Ramasamy
Malaysiakini
Mar 21, 2015

ADUN SPEAKS Whether the BN component parties have reached a consensus or not to support PAS’ private member’s hudud bill later in Parliament remains to be seen.

Prime Minister Najib Razak might have said that hudud law might contravene the constitution, but then in politics, with shifting alliances and double-deals, anything is possible.

Just like the way PAS has backstabbed DAP and PKR, even though hudud was not within the framework of Pakatan’s common policy.

Even if the private member’s bill does not get the support of the BN component parties including Umno, fact remains that PAS has already successfully passed the amendments at the Kelantan state assembly with the support of 12 Umno members and one from PKR. How PKR is going to deal with this “sore thumb” remains to be seen. Continue reading “Will Umno cave in to PAS’ hudud?”

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Take action against those who make threats online

– Syerleena Abdul Rashid
The Malaysian Insider
21 March 2015

“I want to meet her too… I haven’t punched anyone in a long time… Who cares if anyone calls me a cuckold for hitting a woman… she should die.”

Above is one of the many comments targeted at Aisyah Tajuddin. I have one simple question to ask: does this comment enrage you? If it doesn’t, then you are misogynistic, which simply means you hate women. If you don’t understand what misogyny is and find the video anti-Islamic without even viewing the entire video, then that simply means you suffer from a deficit of intellectualism and that, my friend, can lead to destructive consequences.

The BFM video that sparked a mass hysteria of misplaced vitriol showcased the ugliness of the Malay/Muslim siege mentality. The video has since been taken down but the after-effects that continue to linger will forever haunt the rest of us. The numerous hate-filled threats on social media solidify the fact that online misogyny is equally disturbing and must be taken seriously. What makes these comments worse is the anonymity cyberspace provides for these cyber-bigots to troll around ruthlessly. Continue reading “Take action against those who make threats online”

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MCA’s hudud stand – the mouse that squeaked

By Koon Yew Yin
Malaysiakini
Mar 21, 2015

COMMENT Why is it that politicians in Malaysia finally talk some sense when they become ex-politicians? I am referring to Dr Chua Soi Lek, former MCA president, who since his departure from the leadership position, has been talking more sense than before.

In fact, so much so that some Malaysians may even reconsider their negative opinion on him. His latest public skewering of MCA is well worth disseminating.

According to Chua, MCA should not be pointing fingers at the DAP but should prevent UMNO from supporting PAS’ parliamentary hudud bill. In his statement, he pointed out that “if Umno MPs support PAS’ private bill in Parliament, MCA cannot continue to ignore the elephant in the room and blame others for supporting PAS hudud in Kelantan.”

Further, he noted that “to continue issuing statements condemning DAP is an exercise of futility. The Malaysian community expects more from MCA and it is time for MCA leadership to rise to the occasion.” Continue reading “MCA’s hudud stand – the mouse that squeaked”

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Why I will never support hudud in Malaysia

Azrul Mohd Khalib
Malay Mail Online
Thursday March 19, 2015

MARCH 19 ― The tabling of the Shariah Criminal Code Enactment II 1993 (Amendment 2015) in the Kelantan State Assembly and any move to amend the Federal Constitution to allow for the implementation of hudud at the State and Federal levels needs to be opposed by all right thinking Malaysians.

Personally, I will never support the imposition of hudud in this country. These are my four reasons:

Hudud is not needed in Malaysia. The law should be and is more than just about punishing others. It is about the deliverance of justice.

The penal laws at the centre of hudud were written during a time when harsh measures were necessary to impose peace, order and stability amidst a period of lawlessness, conflict and turmoil. They were guidelines for civilised behaviour formulated when and where there were few laws and men. Hudud was necessary there and at that time. Today, in our country, hudud law is neither necessary nor required.

We already have civil and criminal laws which provide for separate sets of laws and punishments. One of the primary tenets of Islam is about the deliverance of justice. The discourse surrounding the adoption and implementation of hudud in this country has barely made justice a mention, much less a priority. It has, however been very much about politics, punishing other people and posturing to “out-Islam” each other. Continue reading “Why I will never support hudud in Malaysia”

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Mastermind of UMNO’s “UG”conspiracy achieved an unexpected coup within a year when the Kelantan hudud enactment question completely drowned out all issues currently haunting UMNO and Najib

The mastermind of UMNO’s “UG” (Unity Government between UMNO and PAS) conspiracy achieved an unexpected coup within a year when the Kelantan hudud enactment question completely drowned out all the issues currently haunting UMNO and the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak – the 1MDB scandal; Anwar Ibrahim’s five-year jailing; Mongolian Altantunya Shaariibuu’s 2006 murder and conviction of two former police commandos Azila Hadri and Sirul Azhar with motives neither established nor pursued; the new jet for PM; the lavish spending on wedding of Najib’s daughter and above all, Najib’s survival as Prime Minister and UMNO President.

The latest bait in the UMNO UG conspiracy was unveiled only on March 27 last year when the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Islamic affairs, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, surprised even PAS leaders with his completely unanticipated overture in Parliament that the UMNO/Barisan Nasional federal government was ready to work with the PAS Kelantan state government to implement the hudud law in Kelantan.

The first fruit of the latest gambit in the UMNO UG conspiracy was the re-enactment of the 1993 Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code as the 2015 Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code with slight amendments on 19th March 2015 and the second fruit, the notification by the PAS President, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang to Parliament on March 18 to move a private member’s bill to implement hudud law in Kelantan.

As orchestrated by the deep plot of the UMNO UG conspirators, these two fruits were achieved in furtherance of their real objective to destabilise, divide and destroy Pakatan Rakyat because PAS had to break ranks not only with Pakatan Rakyat parties but also betrayed its commitments to Pakatan Rakyat, viz: Continue reading “Mastermind of UMNO’s “UG”conspiracy achieved an unexpected coup within a year when the Kelantan hudud enactment question completely drowned out all issues currently haunting UMNO and Najib”

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Why is Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, the twitter trigger-happy IGP, keeping quiet about the death and rape threats to BFM journalist Aisyah Tajuddin for questioning of hudud?

Why is the twitter trigger-happy Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, keeping quiet about the death and rape threats to BFM journalist, Aisyah Tajuddin, for questioning of hudud?

Khalid could swing into twitter action against Pakatan Rakyat leaders and NGO activists within seconds, but why he is keeping his silence for over 24 hours over the death and rape threats to Aisyab Tajuddin?

Is the IGP suffering from selective attention in the way the police authorities suffer from the sin of selective investigation and harassment of PR leaders and NGO activists (the latest victim being the 11th #Kita Lawan rally arrest of PKR Vice President and MP for Batu, Chua Tian Chang) and the Attorney-General suffer from the disease of selective prosecutions?

Surely Khalid is not going to plead ignorance about the spate of death and rape threats against Aisyab which appeared on the social media in the last 36 hours, and he should explain what he has done about it in keeping with the IGP’s self-professed high standards of police professionalism and efficiency?

In view of Khalid’s “fame| for his twitter-quick monitoring of events concerning PR leaders and NGO activists, Malaysians wonder and have a right to know what the IGP has done with regard to the death and rape threats on the social media against Aisyab Tajuddin. Continue reading “Why is Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, the twitter trigger-happy IGP, keeping quiet about the death and rape threats to BFM journalist Aisyah Tajuddin for questioning of hudud?”

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Impact of Kelantan’s hudud on all of us

By Wong Chin Huat
Malaysiakini
Mar 20, 2015

COMMENT The most common myth on the Kelantan syariah criminal code, hudud, that was passed by its state assembly yesterday and spread by its proponents – including the so-called moderates in PAS – is that it will not affect non-Muslims.

Legal apartheid between Muslims and non-Muslims will allow the proponents to accuse the non-Muslim critics of the syariah criminal system of “intervening in Muslim affairs”, “obstructing Muslims from fulfilling their religious authorities” and even “opposing Islam”.

The silence of the non-Muslims is vital in turn for the silencing of Muslim criticism.

While the world’s top Islamic scholars, such as Prof Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi and Prof Tariq Ramadhan have argued directly against the implementation of hudud punishments on grounds this will cause injustice to the powerless among the Muslims, many Muslims in Malaysia who do not want hudud however fall back instead on the presence of the non-Muslims in our country. Continue reading “Impact of Kelantan’s hudud on all of us”

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PAS’s folly – awareness and containment

By Bridget Welsh
Malaysiakini
Mar 20, 2015

COMMENT In the introduction of the Kelantan hudud bill its architect declared that those who question whether the legislation would bring in equal justice are “liars and immoral”.

This unbecoming language is what one expects of a fanatic dictator, rather than a genuine democratic leader. It speaks to the decay in the political fabric of Malaysia that is coming from leaders, who have lost the plot in having a national consciousness and the broader decline taking place in democratic governance. Given the passage of the Kelantan hudud bill, what are the likely political implications that will evolve from this measure?

Some political parties will begin the politics of containment, while others will fan division and will continue to use hudud for political gains. As of now, it is important to remember that no hudud measure will take effect. They are all measures on paper.

With respect to those who favour these measures, on many levels hudud does not holistically reflect the ideas of justice embodied in Islam or any faith for that matter and brings to light serious questions about fairness and administration of the rule of law for all of Malaysia’s citizens.

The stoning, chopping and whipping urged in the enactments are now threats over the public without adequate protections; they make up the politics of fear that has been deeply engrained in the Malaysian political landscape.

No implementation does not mean that there measures are not unimportant. Quite the contrary. The people of Kelantan in particular will be hurt economically by the bill, as its leaders across the political divide failed them in thinking holistically about their development. Continue reading “PAS’s folly – awareness and containment”

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Dad pens anguish over ‘burn, rape’ daughter calls

by Prof Dr Mohamad Tajuddin Mohamad Rasdi
Malaysiakini
Mar 20, 2015

The latest incident about a BFM newsreader being threatened with death, rape and being burnt alive by those whom I assume to be Malay-Muslim netizens brings forth serious questions for this country. Is this country safe for our children to live in?

If a simple point of view is raised against such issue as hudud or even such issue as democracy and clean elections can produce outbursts of murder, rape and burning people alive, what does it say about our country, its citizens and our leadership? Where did this culture come from?

I have noticed that the ones making threats of this nature come from mostly Malays who I assume are Muslim. Where did we, as a nation go wrong in educating these Malays? What are we teaching in our secondary schools? More importantly are our public universities producing people of such culture?

I sincerely hope that those who made the threats have never stepped foot in our public universities because if not I would like to ask these vice chancellors, what kind of Malay Malaysians are you producing? Continue reading “Dad pens anguish over ‘burn, rape’ daughter calls”

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Federal Government must accelerate its post-floods relief and reconstruction to ensure that it will not take a whole year for Kelantan to fully recover from the devastation of the worst floods in living memory last year

Revisiting Kampong Manek Urai Lama with the Ketua Gabungan Impian Kelantan (GIK) and DAP MP for Seremban Anthony Loke and other GIK Committee Members including Young Syefura (Rara), Dr. Tajuddin Shaffee and Vincent Wu, and just now Kuala Krai is like returning to the Ground Zero zones of the worst floods disaster in Kelantan in living memory at the end of last year.

During the two-week parliamentary meeting, Pakatan Rakyat MPs have raised many questions and issues about the floods catastrophe in Kelantan at the end of last year.

It was not possible to avoid the 2014 floods catastrophe, but the damage could have been minimized as not to lead to the loss of 25 lives, creating a million floods victims with quarter of million flood evacuees, and causing billions of ringgit of damages if there had been better floods management preparedness and plans in all three phases of response, relief and reconstruction. Continue reading “Federal Government must accelerate its post-floods relief and reconstruction to ensure that it will not take a whole year for Kelantan to fully recover from the devastation of the worst floods in living memory last year”

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PAS’s hudud folly – it’s not chosen by all

By Bridget Welsh | 2:56PM Mar 18, 2015
Malaysiakini

The introduction of the hudud amendments today in Kelantan have yet another origin beyond democratic dynamics within the party. They are based on a calculated effort to win votes, namely to strengthen the support of PAS’s core supporters and to strengthen the position of PAS vis-à-vis the coalition partners inside Pakatan.

Ironically, the hudud measures do neither, and potentially undermine the party’s standing as a national party and within its own electoral base. In this second piece, I lay out how misguided the revitalized hudud initiative is for a political party whose stated aim is to hold national power.

Over-reacting to Umno pressure

In the defensive mode of the PAS party leadership, the party have been responding to others rather than setting its own course. The most effective actor influencing PAS has been Umno. Opting for offensive attacks, Umno has successfully convinced PAS that is it losing ground among Muslims. Continue reading “PAS’s hudud folly – it’s not chosen by all”