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Malaysia Sparks Anger After Banning Book Published In Singapore About Moderate Islam

Activists and authors in Muslim-majority Malaysia reacted with outrage Tuesday (Aug 2) after authorities banned a book aimed at promoting moderate Islam, as concerns mount about growing conservatism.

The book, Breaking The Silence: Voices Of Moderation — Islam In A Constitutional Democracy, is a collection of essays whose publication was organised by a group of prominent Muslim Malaysians pushing a more tolerant form of Islam.

The ban, signed by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, said that printing or possessing the book was “likely to be prejudicial to public order” and “likely to alarm public opinion”.

Anyone breaching the ban on the book — which was published in neighbouring Singapore — can be jailed for up to three years.

Malaysia routinely bans books, movies and songs that may contain sensitive material regarding religion or sex, but critics say the government has been clamping down harder in recent times.

The book was the brainchild of a group of high-ranking former civil servants and diplomats known as the “G25” — for the number of its founding members — which was formed to push back against intolerance, and some of the essays were written by its members.

Mr Chandra Muzaffar, one of the authors featured in the collection, said the ban showed the government’s “authoritarian approach to Islam”.

“It’s a collection of essays which is intended to show that extremists and bigoted thinking on matters pertaining to the practice of Islam in the country should be combated in an intellectual manner,” he told AFP.

Ms Marina Mahathir, a rights activist and daughter of former long-serving premier Mahathir Mohamad, said the ban — signed last week — was aimed at silencing government critics.

“It is about silencing anybody who has a different view,” she said.

Critics say the government clampdown on anything deemed un-Islamic has accelerated in recent times as Prime Minister Najib Razak’s party seeks to appeal to its Muslim Malay base amid speculation elections could be called in the coming months.

In July the hit song Despacito was banned on state TV and radio due to its racy lyrics after pressure from an Islamic political party.

More than 60 per cent of Malaysia’s population of over 30 million are Muslim, but the country is also home to significant religious minorities.

Source: http://www.todayonline.com/

August 2, 2017
‘Saya Bukan Aliff Aziz, Berhenti Ganggu Saya’ – Mohd Faris

SUSULAN kontroversi hangat penyanyi kelahiran Singapura, Aliff Aziz, bukan jejaka bernama Alif sahaja terkena tempias malahan orang yang tiada kena mengena dengan nama tersebut pun turut ada yang menjadi mangsa.

Apa yang terjadi kali ini?

Hal ini bermula apabila terdapat satu status di laman Twitter milik Aliff yang bertulis “Jangan nak kecam sangat, siapa tak puas hati kol aku 0111192**** , bangsa* Haters”.

Berikutan itu, seorang ahli perniagaan, Mohd Faris Mohd Ali telah menerima lebih daripada 7,000 mesej di aplikasi Whatsapp, 400 panggilan telefon dan hampir 100 khidmat pesanan ringkas (SMS) memaki hamun, menghina serta tidak kurang yang mencabarnya untuk bergaduh.

Nombor telefon miliknya telah disalah guna oleh orang tidak bertanggungjawab dan menjadi tular kononnya ia adalah milik penyanyi kelahiran Singapura itu.

“Saya bukan Aliff Aziz, tolong berhenti hubungi nombor telefon saya.
Saya mula terima gangguan pada 5 pagi semalam dan tak tahu apa-apa sehinggalah tunang saya beritahu yang nombor saya sudah disebarkan.
“Ada yang memasukkan saya dalam kumpulan Whatsapp dan ada juga yang saya sudah jelaskan yang tertera dalam Twitter itu bukan nombor Aliff.

Bagaimanapun, sehingga sekarang saya masih diganggu tanpa henti walaupun saya sudah kongsi di Facebook dan buat laporan polis,” katanya dipetik sebuah portal online.

Faris mengatakan bahawa dia telah membuat laporan di Balai Polis Sepang dan juga Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia (SKMM).

Selain itu, dia juga berkemungkinan akan mematikan talian tersebut sekiranya gangguan masih berterusan.

Dalam pada itu, Aliff pula dalam satu kenyataan media mengatakan dia tidak tahu menahu dan menafikan ada kena mengena dengan penyebaran nombor berkenaan.

“Saya akui itu akaun saya tetapi akaun itu sudah digodam oleh individu tidak bertanggungjawab. Saya tidak tahu mengenai twit (status) itu. “Saya hanya sedar bila dah tular dan keluar di Twitter. Akaun itu digodam oleh orang lain dan lagipun saya sudah lama tidak aktif di Twitter,” ujar Aliff.

Aliff juga memohon agar orang yang tidak bertanggungjawab tersebut segera memulangkan semula akaun miliknya itu.

Semalam, telah berlangsung sidang media Aliff dan isterinya, Bella Astillah tentang kontroversi yang telah melanda rumah tangga mereka.

Sidang media itu telah diadakan di Crystal Hall, Roff Garden, Bukit Jelutong bermula kira-kira jam 2.45 petang dan berakhir pada 4.20 petang.

Source: http://carianpanas.blogspot.sg

August 2, 2017
Mahathir Hits Back At Dig About His Indian Roots

Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad has been trading barbs with Prime Minister Najib Razak over the last two years over the scandal involving state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), with Datuk Seri Najib defending his record and mounting counter attacks.

In the past week, however, the attacks against Tun Dr Mahathir have also come from Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, as the government tries to weaken the standing of the 92-year-old politician among Malay voters.

Dr Mahathir was a feared strongman during his 22 years as prime minister until 2003, but it is now open season for him as he leads the opposition alliance into the next election.

Dr Mahathir still has some influence among older Malays, as his leadership brought economic prosperity to Malaysia and lifted many Malay families from poverty.

Mr Najib has attacked Dr Mahathir in recent weeks by reminding the public that many scandals happened during the Mahathir era, including the foreign-exchange losses incurred by the central bank in the 1980s, which ran into billions of dollars, local media has reported.

Mr Najib also claimed that the MRT system should have been built long ago to boost public transport, but Dr Mahathir instead threw billions of dollars away setting up a national car industry through Proton.

Datuk Seri Zahid joined the attacks last weekend when he took a dig at Dr Mahathir’s ancestry, saying the veteran politician’s identity card (IC) showed he was Indian because his name was stated as Mahathir a/l Iskandar Kutty. The “a/l” refers to “anak lelaki”, or “son of”, a naming convention used by Malaysians of Indian descent. Malay men on their ICs carry “bin”, which refers to “son of”, in the patronymic style used in Malaysia.

Mr Zahid also read out the full IC number of Dr Mahathir, which alarmed some observers as this was supposed to be confidential information.

The former PM called Mr Zahid, who is also Home Minister, a “big liar” as there was no such IC.

“This is good enough to show that Zahid is a big liar. A big liar because he cannot show the blue-coloured identity card,” Dr Mahathir said on Monday, in a video on the Facebook page of his party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia. “I can still remember the first identity card I received. I was still in university at the time.”

Dr Mahathir’s daughter Marina Mahathir said Iskandar was the name of her father’s grandfather.

While not denying her Indian heritage, she said the late Iskandar had married into a prominent Malay family.

Mr Zahid’s deputy at the Home Ministry, Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed, defended his boss yesterday, saying the IC is a public record and there was nothing wrong in sharing that information with the public.

Dr Mahathir, in the same video, made his own explosive claim about Mr Zahid. The Deputy PM – not long after he was elevated to the position by Mr Najib – had asked him for support to become the next prime minister, said Dr Mahathir.

“Zahid should remember, when he became the DPM, he came to see me to try and seek my sympathy, my support,” Dr Mahathir said in the video. “I told Zahid the truth. Even if Najib were to resign, which is impossible, Zahid must still wait for Umno to decide who should replace Najib.”

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/

August 2, 2017
LTA: Cabbies, Private-Hire Drivers Cannot Do Courier Jobs

Taxi drivers and private-hire drivers are not allowed to be couriers or deliverymen for goods if there is no passenger on board, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said yesterday.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, an LTA spokesman said: “Under our regulations, taxis and private-hire cars are meant to carry passengers for hire and reward, and cannot be used solely for the conveyance of goods.

“However, passengers who hire a taxi or a private-hire car are allowed to carry goods with them.”

LTA was unable to comment immediately on the penalties for infringement, or if anyone has been taken to task yet.

ComfortDelGro, the biggest taxi company here, confirmed its drivers have taken jobs from delivery companies such as Amazon Prime, but maintained that the goods are always accompanied by a passenger.

Drivers, however, said this was not always the case.

Cabby Henry Tay, 48, said: “Previously, there was a fear that what we delivered would be contraband or drugs. But now, with an established company like Amazon, we feel it is quite safe.

“The taxi business is getting slow, so cabbies need to do something to supplement their earnings.”

Private-hire driver Tan Ee Hsing, 41, said he has not done any deliveries himself, but has helped direct some 200 drivers to Adecco, Amazon’s hiring agent here.

“The rates these delivery companies pay are generally higher than what drivers make from passenger fares,” he said.

Premier Taxi managing director Lim Chong Boo said: “We remind our drivers that they are not allowed to perform courier services without anyone on board.”

However, he said it was “very difficult” for the authorities to enforce regulations, given that there are about 26,000 taxis and more than 40,000 chauffeured private- hire cars here.

Prime Taxi chairman Neo Nam Heng said the courier business helps drivers optimise capacity during the off-peak hours between 10am and 4pm.

“I have encouraged all the drivers of my fleet of 1,500 taxis to take up such bookings,” he said.

Housewife C.N. Yeo, 51, said she has had purchases delivered to her home by a Comfort taxi driver.

Amazon could not respond by press time yesterday.

Lazada, which also owns online grocer RedMart, said it does not use taxis or private-hire cars for deliveries.

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com

August 2, 2017
Damanhuri Abas: Sempena Kita Melayu Dan Budaya Melayu Kita

Sempena Kita Melayu dan Budaya Melayu kita:-

1. Kepelbagaian yang sempit tidak mencerminkan kematangan bangsa dan negara dan bercanggah dengan hakikat masyarakat berbilang kaum yang telah dan segar wujud di Singapura. Keindahan warna warni dalam bangsa melayu sendiri janganlah di kelirukan dengan kejumudan persepsi fikiran kita yg cuba membenarkan definasi melayu yang terbatas.

2. Kenapa acapkali pandangan-pandangan yang bercanggah sering timbul dari Pemerintah. Dalam satu aspek seperti isu Presiden Melayu, kita disuruh bersikap inclusive menerima orang lain yang telah dimelayukan. Tapi dalam hal gaya hidup tidak pulak bersikap inclusive malahan sangat jumud and cetek pandangan.

3. Bila lagi Pemerintah nak ubah sikap dan menerima setiap lapisan cerdik pandai tanpa pengkecualian dari kumpulan mahupun individu yang prihatin dan peka terhadap kepentingan bangsa melayu. Setelah 50 tahun menentukan kepimpinan melayu yang Pemerintah suka, apakah hasil yang boleh dibanggakan.

4. Hari ini tidak ada kekuatan dan mercu tanda sosial yg seharusnya sudah pun wujud yang kita orang Melayu boleh banggakan. Orang India ada Little India, orang asing filipina ada Little Manila, kita tidak ada apa yang setanding padahal jumlah kita lebih ramai dibandingkan golongan minoriti tersebut. Di mana silapnya.

5. Sikap curiga pemerintah terhadap golongan yang di luar jangkawan kuasa mereka harus dihapuskan. Ia bertentangan langsung dengan budaya melayu yang meraikan kepelbagaian, mementingkan gotong royong dan kesatuan tak kira siapa yang ingin menyumbang.

6. Kita mempunyai hak istimewa dalam perlembagaan negara yang menjamin status melayu sebagai pribumi. Adakah status ini setelah 50 tahun merdeka menguntungkan atau sebaliknya. Sudah tiba masanya untuk kita mengkaji dan membincang secara terbuka dan jujur demi mendapat jawapan yg tepat supaya bangsa ini boleh benar-benar berdikari dan mustahil bangsa ini tidak mampu menandingi pencapaian bangsa-bangsa lain jika diberi peluang yang sama.

7. Banyak isu yg lebih penting yg kita ketepikan dalam menyemarakkan sejarah kebudayaan bangsa melayu di bumi Temasek ini. Janganlah kita mempersendakan kemampuan bangsa kita sendiri dengan kejumudan minda kecil kepimpinan mereka dalam merumitkan sesuatu yang sudah menjadi perkara lumrah.

8. Kita bertanggungjawab bersama untuk menyemaikan sifat kebanggaan kepada bangsa melayu kita dalam jiwa setiap anak muda kita. Sebenarnya terlalu lama anak-anak muda kita dikecewakan daripada merasai naluri murni yg terpendam dalam jiwa mereka. Mereka rindukan jatidiri melayu Singapura yang boleh dibanggakan. Menjadi kesilapan besar jika orang melayu yang bangga dengan sejarah dan budaya bangsa mereka dianggap tidak setia kepada negara. Ini bukanlah keindahan kepelbagaian bangsa yang termaktub dalam perlembagaan negara.

Source: Damanhuri Bin Abas

August 2, 2017