Category: Politik

Pegawai Myanmar: Komen PM Najib Di Rapat Rohingya “Tidak Benar”

Kehadiran Perdana Menteri Malaysia Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak di rapat pro-Rohingya di Kuala Lumpur sudah mencetuskan bantahan di Myanmar.

Ucapan PM Najib di rapat itu tentang perlunya menentang “pembunuhan kaum” Muslim Rohingya di Myanmar, tidak membantu keadaan, kata seorang pegawai Myanmar kepada Mediacorp.

“Apa yang beliau katakan di Malaysia itu tidak benar. Kami sedang cuba menghuraikannya bersama para penyokong antarabangsa. Tapi ini pilihan kami, negara lain tidak boleh membuat keputusan tentang negara kami,” kata Nyan Win, anggota sekretariat Liga Nasional bagi Demokrasi.

“PM NAJIB GUNA ISU ITU UNTUK TAMBAT SOKONGAN”

U Zaw Htay, timbalan ketua pengarah Pejabat Presiden, memberitahu The Myanmar Times bahawa pemerintah Myanmar akan mengeluarkan kenyataan rasmi bagi membantah penyertaan PM Najib dalam bantahan di Kuala Lumpur itu.

Beliau juga memberitahu akhbar itu bahawa tindakan PM Najib itu boleh mencetuskan ekstremisme agama, dan menambah PM Najib menggunakan isu itu untuk menarik sokongan warga Malaysia.

Beliau mengeluarkan komen-komen itu setelah para penduduk Myanmar mengadakan tunjuk perasaan membantah PM Najib setelah beliau menyeru negara-negara asing supaya campur tangan dalam menghentikan “pembunuhan kaum” Muslim Rohingya.

Sekitar 150 orang, dipimpin para sami Buddha dari Persatuan Sami Kebangsaan Myanmar, berhimpun semalam (4 Dis) di Pagoda Sule di bandar Yangon, sambil mengibarkan panji-panji.

Malaysia kian lantang bersuara tentang cara Myanmar menangani keganasan dan dakwaan pencabulan kuasa di wilayah Rakhine, yang memaksa ratusan orang Rohingya melarikan diri merentasi sempadan ke Bangladesh.

PM Najib dalam ucapannya di satu rapat di Kuala Lumpur berkata “Dunia tidak boleh hanya berdiam diri dan menyaksikan pembunuhan kaum berlaku.” Beliau menambah bahawa beliau akan meminta Indonesia turut mengadakan rapat sebagai menunjukkan perpaduan dengan orang Rohingya, dan berkata beliau mahu lebih ramai rakyat Malaysia keluar dan membantah tindakan Myanmar.

Kementerian Ehwal Luar Malaysia menyifatkan keganasan di Myanmar itu sebagai “pembersihan kaum” kelmarin. PM Najib pula meminta Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB), Mahkamah Jenayah Antarabangsa dan Pertubuhan Persidangan Islam (OIC) supaya campur tangan.

KOFI ANNAN: CARI HURAIAN YANG AMAN

Mantan ketua PBB, Kofi Annan mengunjungi wilayah Rakhine di Myanmar pada Jumaat lalu dan kelmarin sebagai Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Penasihat Wilayah Rakhine.

Saluran televisyen Myanmar menunjukkan Encik Annan bertemu dengan beberapa kumpulan masyarakat, termasuk kumpulan Buddha dan Muslim Rohingya.

Suruhanjaya itu termasuk Muslim Rohingya serta masyarakat Rakhine yang beragama Buddha. Ia fokus terhadap mengelak konflik, bantuan, perdamaian, hak asasi manusia dan pembangunan, menurut pemerintah Myanmar.

Tentera dan pemerintah Myanmar menafikan dakwaan oleh para penduduk dan kumpulan-kumpulan hak asasi bahawa para askarnya merogol wanita Rphingya, membakar rumah-rumah dan membunuh orang awam semasa operasi ketenteraannya.

Di satu sidang media, Encik Annan menggesa semua pihak supaya mencari huraian kepada “isu-isu mereka secara aman.”

PBB menyatakan sekitar 30,000 orang kehilangan tempat tinggal akibat keganasan itu.

Pemerintah Myanmar tidak mengiktiraf orang Rohingya sebagai rakyatnya. Keganasan yang berlaku di Rakhine baru-baru ini adalah pertumpahan darah kedua paling dahsyat di Myanmar sejak rusuhan kaum pada 2012 meragut ratusan nyawa.

Akibat ditindas dan dibelenggu kemiskinan, ribuan orang Rohingya melarikan diri dari Myanmar menyusuli keganasan antara penganut Buddha dan Islam di sana empat tahun lalu.

Ramai daripada mereka diseludup atau diperdagang ke negara-negara jiran, kebanyakannya ke Thailand dan Malaysia.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

December 6, 2016
Jokowi Treason Arrests Questioned

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s commitment to freedom of speech has come under scrutiny following the arrest of several antigovernment figures last week over alleged treason.

Jokowi won praise for his bold move to take part in mass prayers last Friday with thousands of Muslims who demanded the imprisonment of blasphemy suspect and incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama.

Hours earlier, the police had arrested 11 people accused of attempting to mobilize a movement to overthrow the government by utilizing the large-scale rally.

On Saturday, the National Police released eight of the suspects, including activist Ratna Sarumpaet and musician-turned-politician Ahmad Dhani.

Former anti-Soeharto activist Sri Bintang Pamungkas, 71, and two siblings, Jamran and Rizal, remain in detention.

Another suspect, Alvin Indra, was only announced by the police in a press conference on Saturday.

Most of the suspects were charged under articles 107, 110 and 87 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on treason and conspiracy to commit treason.

Sri Bintang was also charged under the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law for hate speech.

In a video uploaded to YouTube, he was seen encouraging dozens of people to demand that the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) overthrow Jokowi.

“If [we all] unite, let’s go together and demand the MPR revoke Jokowi’s mandate as president,” Sri Bintang said in the video.

Jamran and Rizal were also charged with the 2008 law as the police claimed they had actively spread hate speech and provocation on the internet ahead of the Dec. 2 rally.

National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli denied that the arrests were arbitrary or aimed at silencing government critics.

“There is a clear line of distinction between delivering criticism and attempting to conspire and provoke people to commit treason,” Boy said on Saturday.

“[In this case] treason was [the action of those] who used their freedom to spread provocative ideas that could create a reaction, mislead people and drive public opinion,” he added.

He claimed the police had solid grounds to name them suspects, based on evidence including a “handwritten document and electronic evidence that recorded a conversation among the suspects”.

One of the suspects, activist Firza Husein, is the chairwoman of the Cendana Friend Solidarity Movement (SSC), an organization that reveres former president Soeharto.

Cyberlaw expert Megi Margiyono urged the authorities to be prudent and cautious in handling the cases, citing people’s freedom of expression, which is protected under the 1945 Constitution and international laws, including the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“Don’t make the public negatively assume that this is an attempt [by the authorities] to silence those who strongly criticize the government,” he told The Jakarta Post.

Similarly, Asep Komarudin of the Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers) viewed the arrests as a threat to freedom of expression.

“It’s bad for the public image of the President and the government. Government intelligence should have waited for them to take concrete action before arresting them,” he told the Post.

Asep said treason charges in the Criminal Code had been loosely used by the government in the past to silence government critics.

Under the New Order regime, Indonesia saw numerous activists who opposed Soeharto charged with treason. Since the Reform Era, treason has been mostly reserved for Papuan activists and terror suspects.

Constitutional expert Refly Harun, however, said it was “right” for the police to make the arrests as a preventive action.

“However, the authorities should ensure they uphold the rule of law and have strong evidence,” he said.

Boy suggested that labor activists may have also planned to use the rally to launch a treason plot.

“We are now investigating whether [labor activists] also had a treason plot,” he said.

_________________________________

8 treason suspects

• Rachmawati Soekarnoputri: The daughter of Indonesia’s first president Sukarno often takes a different stance to her sister, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri. In 2002, Rachmawati founded the Pioneers’ Party before joining the NasDem Party, which is led by media mogul and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s confidant Surya Paloh.

• Firza Husain: Jakarta Police investigators arrested the activist at the Sari Pan Pacific Hotel in Central Jakarta. She reportedly has a close relationship with the once-powerful “Cendana” family, which refers to the family of Indonesia’s second president Soeharto.

• Kivlan Zen: The 69-year-old retired two-star Army general was known as a staunch supporter of Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto during the 2014 presidential election. Since his retirement from the Army, Kivlan has often been involved in political activities.

• Sri Bintang Pamungkas: Sri Bintang, 71, is best known for his political activities during the authoritarian regime of Soeharto, when he was once jailed for treason. In 1996, he founded the United Democratic Indonesia Party, which garnered a mere 0.13 percent of votes during the 1999 general election.

• Ratna Sarumpaet: The actress-turned-activist has frequently made headlines for her fierce criticism of Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s policies. The mother of actress Atiqah Hasiholan is also known to be vocal on social media.

• Adityawarman Thaha: The retired Army general is a renowned counterterrorism expert. As chairman of the Indonesian Muslim Students’ Family Association between 2011 and 2015, Adityawarman is also known for his close relationship with conservative Muslim groups. He was Prabowo’s supporter in the 2014 presidential race.

• Eko Suryo Santjojo: Eko was the secretary-general of Rachmawati’s Pioneers’ Party. Eko has a master’s degree in law and is a member of the rector’s council of the Rachmawati-led Bung Karno University (UBK) in Jakarta.

• Alvin Indra: Little is known about Alvin, whose status as a suspect in the alleged treason plot was only revealed on Saturday. Circulating rumors have suggested he is a labor activist.

Source: The Jakarta Post

December 6, 2016
Pakistan Has A Drinking Problem

Pakistan was recently mesmerized by a bottle of Scotch whisky. On Oct. 30, as hundreds of supporters of the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (P.T.I.) were making their way to the capital Islamabad, with the declared intent of shutting down the city, the police searched the car of a P.T.I. politician and discovered a bottle of Johnny Walker Double Black.

Most Pakistanis had not seen a bottle of whisky in the news in a long time. Although there’s no ban on showing alcohol in the media, the subject rarely comes up in TV news. But this one bottle of whisky, waved around by a policeman, was broadcast on a loop. It became an emblem of the opposition’s immorality.

The politician claimed it contained honey. Yet later that evening, on a current affairs TV show, he put a sobering question to the other guests, “Which one of you doesn’t drink?” Complete silence.

If they said yes, they’d be implicating themselves. If they said no, nobody would believe them. For Muslims in Pakistan, drinking alcohol is prohibited and talking about it is taboo. Drinking and denying it is the oldest cocktail in the country.

It wasn’t always like this. The country was founded in 1947 by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who was known to indulge in the occasional drink. Alcohol shops and bars were banned in 1977 by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a person who had publicly proclaimed, “Yes, I do drink alcohol, but at least I don’t drink the blood of the poor.”

That year, facing protests over an allegedly rigged election that his party had won, Mr. Bhutto decided to declare prohibition. He probably believed that he and his comrades would continue to enjoy their Scotch in private. He was hanged two years later.

Since those days, Pakistan’s rich have continued to enjoy their liquor at home and members’ clubs, but the less privileged have been persecuted and flogged, and are at risk of being imprisoned, for possessing and consuming alcohol.

It’s true that most people in Pakistan don’t drink because they are Muslim. But many more don’t drink because they are Muslim and poor. Nobody abstains from drinking because it’s prohibited by law.

When alcohol was banned by Mr. Bhutto, an exception was made for non-Muslims. They would be issued licenses and allotted a quota. Non-Muslim visiting foreigners would be able to order a drink in their hotel rooms, but the hotels would make them fill out a form saying they needed the alcohol for medicinal purposes.

In the province of Sindh, where I live, licensed shops, usually called wine stores, have operated even since prohibition. The stores are supposed to sell only to non-Muslims, but they don’t discriminate. Owners have to pay off the police, though, and any dispute can result in the shops having to close down.

The laws can be cruel and absurd. Last summer, the local police in Karachi banned liquor stores from keeping freezers, in order to stop consumers from buying a cold beer. Apparently chilled beer was a threat to our faith and to peace, but warm beer was just warm beer.

In late October, a High Court judge ordered the closure of all these stores after accepting a petition that said alcohol is prohibited not only in Islam but in Christianity and Hinduism, too. This ban means that only those who can afford imported liquor will keep buying from a flourishing network of bootleggers.

Others will have to buy one of the many versions of moonshine brewed all over the country, which routinely blind and kill consumers. Two years ago, when liquor stores were shut in Sindh over the Eid holiday, more than 25 people died after drinking home-brew. Survivors report that if the stuff doesn’t kill you or blind you, it isn’t that bad.

Members of Parliament and law enforcers and industrialists and bureaucrats and young professionals and even some religious scholars can drink with impunity. A taxi driver trying to score a beer on the go risks a jail term or losing his eyesight to moonshine.

It’s a law-and-order issue, you see. The rich drink in their own homes and frolic or puke on their own lawns, but the assumption is that if the poor get drunk in public spaces, they’ll make a nuisance. Which is why those who can afford fine scotches can also afford to give everyone else lectures about our religious duties. It seems that those who suck the blood of poor people want to make sure it’s not tainted with cheap alcohol.

No wonder Pakistanis go to any lengths to ensure they’re not seen drinking, even when they smell like a barrel of liquor. I once had dinner with a 74-year-old grandfather who sipped from his spiked bottle of cola but worried that one of the children at the table would get their Pepsis mixed up with his.

I’ve tried to interview my neighborhood liquor-shop owner, but he has discouraged me. There are enough problems in Pakistan, why don’t you write about them? But is this Bombay Sapphire knockoff you’re selling any good? How would I know? he said, I have never had a drop. Not even for medicinal purposes.

Source: The New York Times

December 6, 2016
Kad PAssion Baru Bagi Warga Emas Dilancar

Satu kad PAssion baru khusus untuk warga emas akan diberikan secara percuma kepada semua rakyat Singapura berusia 60 tahun ke atas mulai esok (5 Dis).

Sekarang ini, kad ez-link PAssion tidak mengenakan sebarang usia minimum bagi kriteria kelayakan penggunaannya, dan ini bermakna, semua orang, termasuk warga tua, perlu membayar sehingga S$12 untuk menikmati manfaat-manfaatnya.

Namun dengan Kad Konsesi Perak PAssion yang baru itu, rakyat Singapura berusia 60 tahun dan ke atas boleh menikmati manfaat-manfaat kad itu serta mendapat faedah tambahan yang eksklusif secara percuma.

Kad itu menawarkan tambang konsesi warga emas untuk pengangkutan awam, pelbagai manfaat dan faedah membeli-belah, serta akses kepada pelbagai kursus dan kegiatan yang ditawarkan Persatuan Rakyat (PA).

Kad itu menggabungkan kad konsesi warga emas yang sedia ada dengan kad PAssion agar lebih mudah bagi warga tua terus bergiat aktif dan didampingi masyarakat, menurut kenyataan bersama oleh Kementerian Kesihatan, PA dan Kementerian Pengangkutan.

Warga Singapura yang layak, yang sekarang ini tidak mempunyai Kad Konsesi Warga Emas, akan menerima surat menjelang 31 Januari 2017 yang mempelawa mereka untuk menghantar gambar mereka supaya mereka dapat menerima kad tersebut.

Mulai esok, Kad Konsesi Perak PAssion akan dihantar secara berkumpulan kepada alamat-alamat rumah rakyat Singapura yang sekarang ini memegang kad konsesi warga emas.

Kad PAssion yang baru itu dilancarkan secara bersama oleh Menteri Kesihatan Gan Kim Yong dan Menteri di Pejabat Perdana Menteri Chan Chun Sing, serta Cik Josephine Teo, Menteri Negara Kanan Pejabat Perdana Menteri merangkap Ehwal Luar dan Pengangkutan, hari ini.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

December 6, 2016
Anwar Gagal Mulakan Tuduhan Qazaf Terhadap Bekas Pembantu

Bekas Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hari ini (5 Dis) gagal untuk memulakan prosiding pertuduhan qazaf terhadap bekas pembantu peribadinya, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, di Mahkamah Syariah.

Ini berikutan panel tiga hakim Mahkamah Rayuan Syariah yang dipengerusikan Datuk Seri Dr Md Yusup Che Teh menolak rayuan dan semakan Datuk Seri Anwar terhadap keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi Syariah pada 14 April 2010, yang menolak permohonannya bagi memulakan prosiding qazaf terhadap Encik Mohd Saiful Bukhari.

Mengikut Akta Kesalahan Jenayah Syariah (Wilayah-Wilayah Persekutuan) 1997, pertuduhan qazaf ialah membuat tuduhan terhadap seseorang yang melakukan zina tanpa membawa empat saksi lelaki, dan jika sabit kesalahan, boleh dikenakan hukuman penjara sehingga tiga tahun atau denda sehingga RM5,000 (S$1,600) atau kedua-duanya.

LIWAT TIDAK TERGOLONG DALAM TUDUHAN QAZAF

Hakim Md Yusup dalam keputusan sebulat suara bersama Hakim-hakim Datuk Yusof Musa dan Mohd Amran Mat Zain berkata mahkamah itu terikat dengan undang-undang Malaysia mengikut Akta Kesalahan Jenayah Syariah (Wilayah-Wilayah Persekutuan) 1997 bahawa liwat tidak tergolong dalam pertuduhan qazaf.

“Qazaf hanya untuk kes pertuduhan zina sahaja dan kami terikat dengan Seksyen 41 itu. Oleh itu kami tidak mempunyai pilihan lain, perlu mengikut undang-undang di negara ini bagi pertuduhan qazaf,” katanya.

Beliau juga berkata mahkamah juga tidak boleh campur tangan terhadap kuasa ketua pendakwa Syarie berhubung sesuatu pendakwaan kerana itu kuasa eksklusifnya yang tidak boleh dipaksa untuk memulakan pendakwaan.

Katanya oleh yang demikian, mahkamah itu tidak mempunyai alasan untuk campur tangan terhadap keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi Syariah tersebut seterusnya mengekalkan keputusan itu.

Beliau berkata Datuk Seri Anwar selaku perayu juga gagal mengemukakan hujahan bertulis untuk menyokong rayuannya sebaliknya hanya membangkitkannya dalam hujahan lisan.

“Rayuan perayu (Anwar) ditolak dengan kos RM5,000,” kata Md Yusup.

Pada 7 Januari 2010, Datuk Seri Anwar menfailkan permohonan bagi mendapatkan perintah untuk mengarahkan Ketua Pendakwa Syarie Wilayah Persekutuan supaya mendakwa Encik Mohd Saiful Bukhari atas tuduhan qazaf.

Beliau menamakan Ketua Pendakwa Syarie Wilayah Persekutuan, Pengarah Jabatan Agama Islam (JAWI) dan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom sebagai responden. Datuk Seri Jamil Khir hadir pada prosiding hari ini.

Datuk Seri Anwar juga hadir di mahkamah. Peguam Dr Rafie Mohd Shafie yang mewakilinya ketika ditemui berkata pihaknya akan memfailkan semakan terhadap keputusan Mahkamah Rayuan Syariah itu kepada Yang di-Pertuan Agong secepat mungkin.

Datuk Seri Anwar, 69, kini menjalani hukuman penjara lima tahun di Penjara Sungai Buloh selepas Mahkamah Persekutuan pada 10 Februari 2015 mengekalkan sabitan dan hukuman penjara yang dijatuhkan Mahkamah Rayuan selepas dia didapati bersalah meliwat Encik Mohd Saiful Bukhari.

Source: Berita MediaCorp

December 6, 2016