Tag: Barisan Nasional

Malaysia Right-Wing Group, Perkasa, Sends Protest Letter To K Shanmugam For Claiming That Singapore Malays Better Off Than Malaysian Malays

PETALING JAYA: Malay right-wing group Perkasa wants Wisma Putra to send a letter of protest to Singapore for comments attributed to a senior minister comparing Singapore Malays with Malaysian Malays.

Singapore Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam had been reported as saying that Singapore Malays are better off in terms of education standing, skills and wealth than those of similar ethicnicity in Malaysia or Indonesia.

Perkasa deputy chairman Sirajuddin Salleh said the statement made by Shanmugam was uncalled for.

“I am concerned about the statement. It is not diplomatic and is an insult to the King and the government of Malaysia,” he told FMT when asked to comment on Shanmugam’s statement.

Sirajuddin said Malaysia and Singapore were close neighbours and there should be greater diplomacy between both countries.

“I hope Wisma Putra will issue a strong protest letter. To me, the remark is not good. I will not touch on the content because it is very subjective.

“It is just like if he comes to my house and says something that is not nice. Whether he is right or not, that is subjective, but in this case, it is not very nice,” Sirajuddin said.

Earlier Channel News Asia quoted Shanmugam as saying that “with a stable, strong political system, with a strong government, with a guarantee for the minorities … with this framework, we can become the community that Muslim societies in other countries look towards and say, this is the example.”

Shanmugam had also suggested that Malay, Indian and Chinese PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians) from Singapore were better off than those of the same race, respectively, in Malaysia.

However, the minister had cautioned that while Singapore was doing better compared with many parts of the world, “within Singapore there is still a gap” and they were no longer just competing with Malaysia or Indonesia, but instead competing with the world.

He said the proportion of Malay Primary 1 students who go on to post-secondary education had doubled from 45% in 1995 to 93% in 2015. Those who eventually receive polytechnic diplomas, professional qualifications or university degrees have “gone up over a five-year period to 21%.”

Shanmugam added that the proportion of Malays working as PMETs increased to 28% in 2010 and their median real monthly income per capita had doubled since 1990.

Nearly 90% of Malay households in Singapore own their own homes, according to Shanmugam.

However, he singled out three challenges facing the Malay-Muslim community in the country – radicalisation, loss of jobs and the over-representation of Malays being caught for crimes and drug abuse.

Citing a Pew Research Centre study which showed that 10% of Malaysian Malays had a favourable opinion of Islamic State (IS), and that nearly one-quarter were not prepared to come out and say that IS is wrong, Shanmugam said that Singapore Malays must not get to that level.

“A key part of that depends on you, the leaders of the Malay community, and whether you can make sure that the right religious values are put forth. We have to work hard at this because the influences are on the internet,” Shanmugam reportedly told a seminar organised by the Association of Muslim Professionals in Singapore.

On drug abuse, Shanmugam had said 53% of those arrested for drug abuse last year were Malays. This is an increase from 10 years ago when the proportion of Malays arrested for the same was 32%.

Singapore Malays better off, claims minister

Source: www.msn.com

April 5, 2017
How PAS Bit The Bullet Once Again

The Party Islam Se-Malaysia, or PAS, will never learn the lesson particularly the political ones as history seems to be repeating itself for the Islamists.

Their leader Hadi Awang thought he had a well laid plan, in which his would be the hero of Islam in Malaysia with a personal bill to amend the criminal laws in Malaysia consistent with upgrading it to Shariah or Hudud Islamic laws.

He had this planned for years, while he was the deputy leader of the Islamic party and he also thought he was even more brilliant than the former spiritual leader of the party, Nik Aziz Nik Mat who warned the Islamists not to enter in any political alliances with the United Malays National Organisation or Umno.

But Hadi did not wait too long after the passing of Nik Aziz in 2015 to show his true colours and to push his luck on the national scene, with the Hudud in one hand and the idea of a pact with the Umno in the other.

All seemed to be well for Hadi – until the fatal Wednesday this week – when Prime Minister Najib Razak made an incredible (but expected by The Independent) on the bill called the RUU355.

The PAS had campaigned for the bill with the thought that it will be voted before the next General Elections and that would seal the alliance it was nurturing with the Umno.

Hadi Awang took full responsibility within the party and among its followers, saying publicly he believed the Umno had veered towards Islam and with this change, the PAS was even more willing to be an ally with the ruling Malay nationalist party.

His tactic was to get the Hudud read in Parliament this year, and even if did not get to be voted before the elections, it would certainly be the case after his party would win at least 40 Parliamentary seats and four or five states in Malaysia.

This after plotting with the Umno to play the ‘third force’ at national level, forgetting that a third force has always failed in realising anything but a trashing of the opposition forces and big win for the Umno-cum-Barisan Nasional (BN) in any elections in this country.

Now, licking his deep wounds, Hadi must be planning to reverse the situation in his favour amid calls within and outside the PAS for him to quit after failing to get the RUU355 amended.

But Hadi is adamant. PAS leaders who supports the Spiritual leader of the party are now saying the Islamists have gained from the setback from Najib, instead.

The Islamists are now saying even if Najib has abandoned the project – in order to salvage a breaking apart BN – Hadi’s motion still stands and if it is put to vote soon the party would have won in its battle for the Hudud.

Dismissing the political implications of the Najib rejection of the RUU355 is a fine consolation for the Islamists, but it is widely seen as a slap in their faces in the public eye.

The only real thing that matters now, is how the Islamists will take to the streets and ask people to vote for them individually with the hope that the Umno would not sabotage them in the course of the next General Elections?

Would they be so proud to say that a defeat in the next elections would have taught the PAS lessons and that they did not lose after all?

Source: www.theindependent.sg

March 31, 2017
Former Malaysian Minister: Muslims Must Speak Out Against Unilateral Child Conversion

Former minister Zaid Ibrahim today appealed to Muslims, urging them to speak up in kindness and fairness against unilateral child conversion.

“I don’t know if I’m going to heaven, but those who have no heart will go nowhere. How can anyone condone a unilateral child conversion?

“It’s not too late for good Muslims to speak up. We need to have capacity for kindness and being fair to others, even if not a Muslim.”

The lawyer turned politician declared on Twitter that “we have lost our soul” if Malaysia did not prohibit the conversion of a child to Islam by one parent at the expense of the other.

“Is being a Muslim more important than being human?”

He asked whether the pain of a mother deprived of her child had no bearing in Islam.

To resolve interfaith custody conflicts between Muslim and non-Muslim parents, a bill to amend Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 (Act 164) was tabled in Parliament last November.

It was to be debated at the present sitting of the Dewan Rakyat but has been pushed back to No 8 in the order of proceedings.

Once passed, the amendment allows only the civil courts to rule in matters pertaining to civil marriages, even if one spouse converts to Islam.

However, Muslim legal experts have argued that the bill is “null and void” as it contradicts Islamic jurisprudence, which states that when a parent converts to Islam, his or her child (if the child has not yet reached puberty) automatically becomes a Muslim, too.

Former chief justice Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim said any law which contradicts Islamic jurisprudence, derived from the Quran and Sunnah, was null and void.

On these grounds, Haniff Khatri Abdulla, who is legal aide to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has challenged the validity of the bill that seeks to end unilateral child conversions.

“In Islam, there is jurisprudence dealing with issues that arise when a person converts to Islam.

“These include disputes over what happens to the convert’s previous union, to the child from that union, the religion of that child, the matrimonial and custodial rights.

“On that basis, any amendment to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 (Act 164) which does not comply with Islamic jurisprudence, in that situation, would be null and void. That’s what I’ve been arguing for the last 12, 13 years,” Haniff Khatri said.

Zaid, however, has expressed empathy for those embroiled in custody battles for their children, who along with their spouses, had converted to Islam.

Among the better-publicised cases is that of kindergarten teacher M Indira Gandhi, who challenged the conversion of her three children after a protracted court battle for custody.

Source: www.freemalaysiatoday.com

March 29, 2017
Malaysian Celebrity Criticises Racist Stereotyping Question In Moral Examination

A primary school was today criticised by a celebrity over its decision to typecast the country’s ethnicities in a moral examination question.

In a post on the Instagram photo-sharing service, actress Sarah Lian shared a picture of a moral test paper apparently from a national school in Petaling Jaya that asked students to associate names to different houses of worship.

The names were Devi, Hock Lee, Kamal, and Steve. Students were required to write the appropriate name under pictures of a church, a Hindu temple, a Chinese temple, and a mosque.

In the photograph, the student — a daughter of Lian’s friend — linked Devi to the church, Steve to the Hindu temple, Kamal to the Chinese temple, and Hock Lee to the mosque.

The examiner marked all four answers as wrong.

“My friend’s 7yr old daughter apparently scored badly. And you wonder who makes kids racist and stereotypical???

“Well, here’s your answer! A horrible approach to stereotyping people into names races and religions. I’m so furious at this form of racism. How archaic and racist! This is so sad! #shame,” Lian wrote on her Instagram post.

Malaysian naming conventions, particularly the patronymic system used for Malay names, are regularly used to infer a person’s religious identity.

Such assumptions have led to problems, particularly in East Malaysia, where non-Muslim natives who use “bin” and “binti” are sometimes wrongly documented as Muslims by authorities.

Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

March 29, 2017
PM Najib Razak Courts Middle-Class Muslim Votes With Welcome From “Controversial” Preacher, Mufti Menk

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia has rolled out the red carpet for controversial Islamic scholar Ismail Musa Menk, a move that analysts have suggested could be part of efforts by Prime Minister Najib Razak to burnish his Islamic credentials to appeal to middle-class Muslim voters ahead of the general election.

“(Mufti) Menk is popular among middle-class Malaysian Muslims … and if this is to be read as a political motive, then this … will boost Najib’s popularity with that group,” Dr Norshahril Saat, a Fellow at the Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute told TODAY.

The Zimbabwe-born Mufti Menk has more than 2.3 million Facebook fans and 1.3 million Twitter followers who regularly share his positive quotes on life.

However, the cleric has flirted with controversy: His strong stance against homosexuality led universities in Britain to cancel his speaking tours in 2013 and he had allegedly advised Muslims against wishing others Merry Christmas.

He was due to give a talk at a religious conference in Singapore in 2015 but his segment was cancelled for “reasons the authorities did not disclose”, according to the organiser.

Still, Mufti Menk was in Malaysia over the weekend for an Islamic conference where he was one of the keynote speakers.

Mr Najib hosted a religious talk attended by the preacher at his official residence on Monday night after meeting the latter on Friday, an encounter that the Prime Minister wrote about in his blog. Photos of them were uploaded on both Mr Najib and Mufti Menk’s social media accounts.

“Victory only comes to those who are most patient,” Mr Najib quoted the preacher in his blog, noting that those were the words that “struck me the most” in their meeting to discuss about Islam, extremism, as well as the plight and welfare of Muslims around the world.

The Prime Minister referenced the trials and tribulations faced by Prophet Muhammad and said: “This is one of the reasons why that quote by Mufti Menk struck a chord with me. That has been the way of Rasulullah SAW, and must continue to be the way forward for us Muslims.”

Malaysia’s national polls are not due until next year but Mr Najib is expected to call for snap polls this year after battling issues surrounding state firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad and overcoming efforts by former Malaysian prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to remove him.

Throughout last year, Mr Najib’s ruling party, United Malays National Organisation (Umno), increasingly played up the racial and religious cards in a bid to retain the support from the Malays and Bumiputras — a key voting bloc for his party.

Mr Asrul Hadi Abdullah, a director with political risk consultancy BowerGroupAsia, told TODAY that Mr Najib’s association with Mufti Menk is in line with Umno’s political Islam narrative to capture the Malay community’s votes, as the scholar is popular with the Malay electorate.

Mr Asrul’s views were echoed by Mr Adib Zalkapli, a political analyst at political risk advisory firm Vriens & Partners, who noted that any association with Mufti Menk is “definitely a vote winner”.

“Najib is not the first politician to employ this strategy and he won’t be the last. (Former opposition leader) Anwar Ibrahim used the same strategy by getting support from Yusuf Qaradawi when he was on trial for sodomy in 2014,” he said in reference to the renowned Islamic scholar and the head of the Qatar-based International Union for Muslim Scholars.

Anwar was convicted and jailed for sodomising a former aide, a charge he describes as a politically-motivated attempt to end his career.

Source: www.todayonline.com

March 29, 2017