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Jordan Preacher Lashes Out Against Islamic State Militants Over Death Of Jordanian Pilot

AMMAN — A prominent jihadi preacher lashed out today (Feb 6) against Islamic State militants for burning to death a Jordanian pilot, saying this is “not acceptable in any religion”.

Mr Abu Mohammed Maqdesi, considered a spiritual mentor for many al Qaeda militants, spoke a day after being released from more than three months in detention in Jordan.

His release and harsh criticism of the Islamic State group come at a time when the Jordanian government is trying to win broad popular backing for intensified airstrikes against the militants in response to the killing of the pilot.

Earlier this week, Islamic State militants released a video showing the pilot, Lt. Muath Kaseasbeh, being burned to death in a cage.

In an interview with the Jordanian TV station Roya, Maqdesi said that such an act “is not acceptable by any religion and by anyone”.

The cleric indicated that he had been involved in back-channel talks to arrange a possible prisoner swap to win the release of the pilot, who was captured after his plane crashed over Syria in December. Jordan offered last week to swap an al Qaeda prisoner for the pilot, but said after the release of the video that it became clear that the pilot had already been killed in early January.

Maqdesi said he believed the militants were never serious about arranging a swap.

“During my communication, they lied and they were evasive,” he said. “They acted like they were interested (in a swap), but in fact they were not interested.”

He also criticised IS for declaring a caliphate last year in the areas under its control in Syria and Iraq. Maqdesi said a caliphate, or state run according to Islamic law, is meant to bring Muslims together, but that the militants have been a divisive force.

A decade ago, Maqdesi was considered a mentor of the al Qaeda branch in Iraq, a precursor to the Islamic State group. However, the cleric fell out with his protégés over their methods, including attacks on fellow Muslims.

Jordan arrested the cleric in October, after he criticised Jordan’s participation in a US-led military coalition against Islamic State. Jordan, which borders Syria and Iraq, joined the coalition in September.

In the wake of the killing of the pilot, Jordan said it would intensify its attacks. Yesterday, dozens of fighter jets struck Islamic State weapons depots and training areas, the military said.

Source: www.todayonline.com

February 7, 2015
Thaipusam Incident – My Side Of The Story

Dear everyone,

For the past three days, there had been various reports, news & articles with regards to the 3 men arrested for the incident that happened at Thaipusam 2015. I am one of the 3 men who were arrested at the incident. This post would be my part of the story, not to justify what I have done, but to let the public know my point of view.

My cousin brother was one of the kavadi bearers in Thaipusam. The first time we were approached was at the Perumal temple by the temple officials. They ordered the “Urumi group” boys who were playing the “Thavil(indian traditional instrument)” to stop playing the music. We seeked their cooperation and understanding to allow the boys to play the thavil while he was piercing the 108 spikes, this was so that he can be distracted from the pain. My brother was carrying a traditional kavadi which weighed roughly about 100kg, therefore he needed to be distracted from the pain as well as the piercings. However, the temple officials were adamant about not letting the urumi boys play while he was piercing. When we asked why they could not let the boys play, they replied that these were regulations set by the SPF, and that they were merely following SPF’s orders. We then abided to their rules and regulations and asked the Urumi boys to stop the music.

We then left the Perumal temple, and started the holy procession in a very solemn manner. The urumi group we hired did not play any music as they were sent off by the higher officials and were not allowed to follow my brother’s kavadi. However, as we approached Kitchener Road, the urumi group boys joined us again. They were playing music for us and followed us till Desker Road. At Desker Road, the urumi boys were then pulled aside again, aggressively this time, by the temple officials . My cousin brother who observed the situation went in to mediate as those urumi boys were engaged and paid by us. He questioned those who pulled the boys away on why they were being pulled away, and that these boys were engaged by us. He argued with them asking why weren’t we allowed to play the Urumi & Thavil which are traditional indian instruments. It was emphasized in the media that we were the one playing the instruments at the procession. However, the truth is, we paid and hired a urumi group to play music for my brother’s kavadi. There were about 15 to 20 temple officials and blue uniformed (unable to identify whether they were police or certis cisco in the chaotic situation) men who were involved in the argument. Suddenly, there were a group of guys (about 20-30 guys) who barged in and started manhandling us, trying to push us away from the urumi group. I noticed that my cousin brother was manhandled, being pulled by his tshirt to and fro to a corner, and i also saw his wife was running behind him, trying to pull the husband away from them. A group of men were pushing me and trying to bring me to the ground violently. At the point of time, I noticed my sister-in-law being pushed to the ground, that was when I got agitated and aggravated and I rushed towards my sister in law. From my point of view, the person who pushed my sister in law was wearing a white tshirt. I broke free from the group of men, and I punched him, thats when10 men pinned me down on the road aggressively, suffocating me. They kneed and backheeled me on my face, and said “you dare to punch a police officer”. That was when I realised this group of men were police officers. We were then brought back to the station.

It was stated in all the reports and media news that “3 men were arrested and they smelled strongly of alcohol”. I would like to clarify this statement because this is not the truth at all. I do not consume alcohol AT ALL. There were tonnes of other people at that chaotic situation, & the alcohol smell could have came from anyone at all. So it was wrong for them to have accused us of being drunk and creating nuisance. How could media like “Channel NewsAsia, Vasantham Tamil News, Straits times etc” publish in their news that I was drunk and creating nuisance. Under what basis or what proof did they release this news? Was the conclusion that we were drunk based on the report giving by the SPF?

Secondly, how can a policeman (whose identity was later revealed) push a woman down to the ground? Isn’t it a violent act against a woman (under the woman’s charter)?Why is it that in all the media, this action of the police force was not justified? In my point of view, this is not the behaviour of a police officer, but it is more of a rowdy act. My nephew and niece who witnessed the whole incident were traumatised and could not stop crying. In that chaotic situation, it did not hit my mind that it was a police officer who behaved such.

Also in the statement provided by Minister S ISWARAN in the article “S ISWARAN: PLEASE DON’T OVERREACT ABOUT THE THAIPUSAM INCIDENT posted on 5 Feb 2015 in “The Real Singapore”, “He acknowledged that three people were arrested at the Thaipusam procession on Tuesday for playing drums.” My question to you is Sir, How could you have acknowledge a statement which was not true? We were not drummers or we were not playing the instruments. All instruments were played by the Urumi group we hired.

Thirdly, the root cause to all this chaos was the playing of traditional indian instruments, such as Urumi and Thavil. Being the organizers of Thaipusam, the Hindu Endowment Board should stand up for the Indians and justify the playing of indian traditional instruments for a holy procession. I voiced out to the officials that if Lion Dance are allowed for chinese events and kompangs are allowed for malay events, why aren’t Indians allowed to play our traditional instruments. I did not mean it as a racial remark, but just as a comparison. But I was labelled a racist, giving racist remarks, which is again a false accusation.

In summary, this is my point of view. I am not here to justify my actions, but just to create awareness amongst the public who had been giving different stories everyday. It is NOT TRUE that I was drunk during this chaos as mentioned in all the official news reports. In my opinion, I feel Hindu Endowment Board is not deemed fit to represent us, Indians. They do not know what are our needs, and I believe they could have handled the situation better, and giving us proper explanations when we questioned them, and not pushing the blame to the police and the Govt.

It is heartwarming to see people from the public coming forward to give their opinion and feedback about the whole situation. I believe they are entitled to their freedom of the speech and should not be questioned or interrogated by any of the higher officials

Thank you for taking the time to read through this post.

Regards,
Mohan.

Note: This post first appeared on Mohan’s Facebook under the moniker of King Chola Hercules.

Source: www.facebook.com/pages/The-Alternative-View

February 7, 2015
Roy Ngerng: $29,000 Already Paid To Lee Hsien Loong’s Lawyers From Drew & Napier

Hello everyone,

I just left Drew & Napier’s office a while ago.

I got to their office at 5pm today and sat there for nearly 3 hours.

The court had asked me to pay $29,000 to the lawyers of the Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, from Drew & Napier, for the summary judgment last year, for his lawyers’ costs.

However, no one from Drew & Napier wanted to see me just now for nearly 3 hours. I sat at their waiting area for 3 hours while Drew & Napier would only speak to me via their receptionist. I even had to write down my queries on a piece of paper so that the receptionist could convey the message.

When I made a call to an Angela Cheng from Drew & Napier, she hanged up my call halfway and did not want to speak to me.

Later, I found out that the prime minister’s press secretary, Ms Chang Li Lin, once again issued a statement for him.

She said that, “under the lawyers’ professional rules, a lawyer cannot, without the consent of the opposite party’s lawyer, deal directly with the opposite party”.

So, Drew & Napier refused to accept my payment and Ms Chang went ahead to say that Drew & Napier can file an application in court “to compel payment and for costs”.

“If that order is granted and payment is still not made, Mr Lee will avail himself of his legal remedies,” she also said.

The prime minister wants to apply to the court to make me pay for most costs, if I don’t make the payment. But I was actually sitting in Drew & Napier’s office for 3 hours, waiting to make payment.

I was initially unable to contact my lawyer earlier as he had a court case to attend to. Eventually, I managed to contact him and he was able to inform Drew & Napier to collect the payment of $29,000 from me.

You can see the receipt below.

Please note that this $29,000 is not what I have to pay to the prime minister in damages. This is only for his lawyers’ costs for the summary judgment.

There will still be another hearing in June to determine how much I would have to pay the prime minister in damages. The prime minister has filed for the defamation suit in the high court, which oversees cases of more than $250,000, so this is the least that the prime minister wants me to pay to him.

I am appalled that the prime minister’s press secretary has once again issued a statement on his behalf. The prime minister is not allowed to sue me in his position as a prime minister. As such, he is not allowed to use state resources, such as his press secretary, to release statements or act on his behalf.

The payment to the prime minister’s lawyers has now been made. I will have to pay even more when the hearing on the damages is heard in June.

On Wednesday, the CPF Advisory Panel released their recommendations. But I have explained yesterday that nothing has changed about the CPF. Singaporeans’ CPF will still be trapped inside and Singaporeans will still not be able to earn more in our CPF. The PAP businessmen will not help Singaporeans. The PAP businessmen will not protect Singaporeans.

What happened today has caused much distress. But it’s settled. If you want your CPF to be returned to you, the only way you will get it back if you stand up and fight for it.

Source: http://thehearttruths.com

February 7, 2015
Did Yaacob Ibrahim Delegation Obtain Increased Quota Of Haj Participants From Singapore?

In a Facebook post on Friday evening, Minister for Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim said that he had met with Saudi Arabia’s Hajj Minister, Dr Bandar Bin Mohamed Al-Hajjar, on Thursday to discuss arrangements for the upcoming pilgrimage in September.

Readers who had seen Yaacob’s post, however, were left confused on whether there would any increase in the Hajj quota this year. Although the minister mentioned that both he and Dr Bandar “agreed that the safety, welfare and security of the Hajj pilgrims must be given utmost priority”, he did not mention whether Dr Bandar had ever agreed to any increase in the Hajj quota.

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

February 7, 2015
K Shanmugam: Hindus Are Not Discriminated Against In Singapore

In the wake of an incident on Tuesday (Feb 3) in which three men were arrested during Thaipusam for disorderly behaviour and a skirmish with police, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law K Shanmugam has said attacks on police officers are “unacceptable”.

He also explained why musical instruments cannot be played during Thaipusam, and said Hindus are not discriminated against in Singapore.

His Facebook post on Friday (Feb 6) is reproduced below:

There have been many questions on Thaipusam and the playing of musical instruments. Broadly, the questions can be grouped as follows:

Why can’t musical instruments be played to help kavadi carriers during Thaipusam? Why are Hindus being discriminated? Other groups are allowed to play music – eg lion dances, kompangs. Also we allow many groups, including Filipinos to sing and dance. So why not allow the same during Thaipusam?

These are fair questions. They arise from a misunderstanding of the rules. The truth is that Hindus are not discriminated against. In fact, they have been given a special privilege not enjoyed by others.

HINDUS – PRIVILEGED OR DISCRIMINATED AGAINST?

Most people don’t realise that in Singapore, all religious foot processions are banned. This ban was imposed in 1964, after riots.

But Hindus were given an exemption: Hindus have been allowed three religious foot processions: Thaipusam, Panguni Uthiram and Thimithi.

The Hindu religious foot processions go through major roads. No other religion is given this privilege.

When other non-Hindu religious groups apply to hold foot processions, they are usually rejected. On rare occasions when it is given, stringent conditions will be imposed including much shorter routes, unlike Thaipusam which lasts the whole day and goes through major roads.

So the first point to note: only the Hindus are allowed such large religious foot processions.

LION DANCES/KOMPANGS

What is the difference between Thaipusam (where music is not allowed during the foot procession) as opposed to kompangs/lion dances (with music being played in a public place)?

Lion dances, kompangs and other such celebrations are often held during social, community events. These are usually non-religious events. Likewise, at Hindu community events, musical instruments are also used – Nathaswaram, Melas. There are many such community celebrations: both on a national scale and in the local communities across Singapore. They are not religious foot processions. The ban on religious foot processions (as opposed to such communal/social events) is because they carry a particular sensitivity – the risk of incidents is considered to be higher.

Likewise, singing, dancing at communal get-togethers by Singaporeans, foreigners are not affected by the general ban on religious foot processions.

While there is a general ban on religious foot processions, sometimes, permission may also be granted for religious events, with some music in a public place. It is unlikely that there would be a foot procession over a long route. And sometimes, at events such as the Kew Ong Yah Festival, there will be public gatherings in the different constituencies, playing of some music, but even then, the police will generally not allow long foot processions.

What I have set out are the general rules – based on appeals, sometimes exceptions may be made, based on the specific facts. But the basic position is: as a rule, religious foot processions will not be allowed except for the three Hindu festivals.

So yes – as shown by social media, there are many events in public with music. But they are often not religious events. Sometimes, they are religious events – for which permission would have been obtained, as set out above.

So the Hindus are actually in a privileged position. There are many other religious groups which have asked to be allowed to hold foot processions. These appeals have generally been rejected.

I think even as Hindus ask for relaxation of the rules, we should know the true facts. And not misunderstand them.

With these facts, is there a case for allowing musical instruments to be played during the Thaipusam foot procession, in support of the kavadi carriers?

This is a matter than can be debated. There were incidents in the past which led to the tightening up. Whether the rules should be relaxed, and whether and under what conditions music should be allowed during the Thaipusam processions, is something HEB has to discuss with the agencies. HEB has relaxed the rules last year within the temple premises.

ATTACKS ON POLICE

Beyond the issues relating to Thaipusam, there is another serious issue which should concern all Singaporeans.

The police officers on the ground were trying to do their job and dealt with three men. One of the men assaulted the police and all three men used vulgarities at the police. The injured police officer had to be treated at the hospital.

Our police officers protect all of us. It is quite unacceptable for the police to be physically assaulted or ill-treated. We cannot allow them to be demeaned, assaulted. Right-thinking Singaporeans will find this completely unacceptable. If police officers misbehave, they should be disciplined. But gratuitous attacks on the police cannot be allowed and should not be tolerated. We as Singaporeans should come forward and say no to such attacks.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

February 7, 2015