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

    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

  • Malaysia Court Upholds Jailing Of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim

    Malaysia Court Upholds Jailing Of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim

    Anwar Ibrahim, the former leader of the Malaysian opposition, has lost a final appeal to have his prison sentence for sodomy overturned and will serve out the remaining 16 months of his sentence in jail.

    Significantly the ruling means Anwar will not be allowed to contest the next election in 2018, which the opposition saw as their best chance to unseat prime minister Najib Razak and end his ruling party’s six decades in power.

    A five-member panel of judges ruled unanimously that there was no merit in Anwar’s application for a review of his 2014 conviction, his final legal option for an acquittal.

    “We will not proceed to examine the applicant’s review application,” the court said.

    Hundreds of demonstrators had gathered outside the Palace of Justice to show support for Anwar and police erected steel barricades around the court complex.

    Anwar was led into the dock by more than a dozen prison guards. His wife, daughters and grandchildren were present. After the ruling he told reporters: “It is not the end of the road.”

    Having led a coalition of opposition parties in 2013 to their largest ever electoral gains, Anwar, 69, is seen as the greatest threat to the ruling United Malays National Organisation (Umno).

    He served as deputy prime minister and finance minister in the 1990s for Umno under former leader Mahathir Mohamad but they fell out and he was removed from his post and jailed for several years amid outcry from human rights groups.

    In 2013 he returned to politics to run a campaign against corruption and nepotism against Najib that won the popular vote but lost the election by number of legislators elected. Its was Umno’s worst ever election performance.

    But Anwar returned to prison in 2015 after his longstanding conviction — for allegedly sodomising a former aide — was upheld. His supporters say the case is a politically motivated attempt to end his career.

    This summer Anwar rejoined his old enemy Mahathir to try to unseat Najib, who in 2015 was thrown into a multi-billion dollar corruption scandal involving the debt-laden state fund 1MDB. Najib denies taking any money for personal gain.

    The historic partnership between Anwar and Mahathir brought members of the opposition and Umno against Najib for the first time.

    However under Malaysian law a person is banned from political activities for five years after the end of their sentence, closing the possibility of Anwar leading any campaign as he did in 2013.

    The Free Anwar Now campaign released a statement ahead of the verdict saying the case had “been plagued with many anomalies and inconsistencies, questionable DNA evidence and tampering of critical evidence”.

    “Anwar Ibrahim, who turns 70 next year, is surely not a hardened criminal that deserves the harshness of a prison sentence. He endures physical discomfort and mental anguish daily.”

    Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division, said the decision was a “real tragedy for justice” in Malaysia.

    “More than anything this outcome shows that the Malaysian courts were no match for prime minister Najib Razak’s political vendetta against Anwar,” he said.

    “With this final decision running roughshod over Anwar’s rights and sending him back to prison, Najib and the ruling Umno party have just fired the starting gun on the expected 2018 election by permanently sidelining the political opposition’s most capable leader.”

    Writing in the Guardian on Tuesday, Anwar said his “political imprisonment” meant Malaysia needed “unyielding international encouragement and pressure”.

    “The past 20 years … have seen our country go from bad to worse politically and economically, driven by compromised democratic institutions and years of systematic abuse by the ruling elite to maintain their grip on power.”

     

    Source: www.theguardian.com

  • Malaysia DPM Dismisses Culprit Of Hoax Letter As Jealous Of UMNO Unity

    Malaysia DPM Dismisses Culprit Of Hoax Letter As Jealous Of UMNO Unity

    KAJANG: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has dismissed concerns over a viral fake letter of him asking Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to step down.

    Zahid said he strongly believes the letter is defamatory.

    “(The culprit) knows (about my and Najib’s) official and personal relationship, going back to when Najib was the Umno Youth chief and the Youth and Sports Minister.

    “They see my good relationship with the Prime Minister, they are jealous of our unity, so they try to make us clash,” he said at a press conference after closing the Indian Progressive Front’s (IPF) 26th general assembly here today.

    The hoax letter also includes a list of new Cabinet members under Zahid’s administration once he takes over the number one post.

    Zahid said it is clear that the person who penned the fake letter committed three major offences, namely, forging his signature, using official government material, and spreading lies.

    “The letterhead used is not original, and the posts mentioned were also not according to protocol or present guidelines,” he said.

    Zahid, who is also Home Minister, said he has been informed that police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) are probing the case, with over 20 police reports received so far.

    On his advice to grassroots members who may have been influenced by the letter, Zahid said they should show the detractors how close of a bond they have.

    “There have been many political bullets fired at us. We need to deflect all these lies thrown at us.

    “What is important for us is to show how close the relationship is among leaders and members from all component parties,” he added.

     

    Source: www.malaysiandigest.com

  • Malaysia PM Najib Razak: Hudud Is About Empowering Sharia Courts

    Malaysia PM Najib Razak: Hudud Is About Empowering Sharia Courts

    KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s prime minister has expressed support for strict Islamic laws as he seeks to consolidate support of ethnic Malay Muslims at a party meeting this week, as frustration over graft and the economy cloud prospects for the next election.

    Prime Minister Najib Razak has battled calls to resign over the last 18 months, as a scandal at his pet project, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), drew the anger of the public, opponents and members of his own United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) ruling party.

    A new opposition party led by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and a former deputy prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, who Najib sacked for questioning his handling of 1MDB, is threatening to split the majority Malay vote that has handed UMNO victory in every election since independence in 1957.

    Ahead of the annual party meeting, Najib said it was the responsibility of Muslims to support a plan by the rival Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party to push for the adoption of hudud, the Islamic penal code, that sets out punishments such as amputation and stoning.

    “We want to develop Islam,” Najib said in an interview with pro-government broadcaster TV3.

    “Non-Muslims must understand that this is not about hudud but about empowering the sharia courts.”

    With rising prices and poor economic prospects for next year, Najib is expected to bank on ethnic and religious sentiment to woo majority Malay voters. An election is due by 2018.

    Najib said his policy speech at this year’s UMNO meeting would focus on the interests of Malays and Islam.

    “This is my speech as UMNO president, so my main audience are UMNO members and the Malays and bumiputera,” he said, using a term that roughly translates as sons of the soil, and includes Malays but not members of the ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.

    “It doesn’t mean we don’t care at all about the others, but this is an UMNO assembly,” he said.

    Najib faced the biggest challenge to his leadership last year after reports that hundreds of millions of dollars was misappropriated from state fund 1MDB, which he founded.

    He acted swiftly to preserve his position – sacking critics in his administration and closing a graft investigation.

    Nevertheless, the scandal clouds prospects for an early election that Najib could call to cement his position, with multiple international investigations going on and a suit related to the case filed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

    Adding to his troubles is the plunge of the ringgit currency after Donald Trump’s U.S. election win. It is Asia’s worst performing currency, shedding nearly 7 percent over the past two weeks.

    “Najib’s big problem is market confidence,” said James Chin, director at the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute.

    “Tycoons will move against him if the ringgit keeps going down, but more importantly, SMEs and traders will go to the wall as prices will go up 20 percent across the board,” he said, referring to small- and medium-sized enterprises.

    (Editing by Robert Birsel)

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Malaysia’s PM Najib Razak To Join Gathering Protesting Myanmar Government’s Treatment Of Rohingyas

    Malaysia’s PM Najib Razak To Join Gathering Protesting Myanmar Government’s Treatment Of Rohingyas

    Malaysia’s prime minister will be joining a gathering organized by the government to protest violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, according to his deputy.

    Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told a press conference that the Dec. 4 gathering would later determine Malaysia’s diplomatic ties with Myanmar’s government if it decides to continue military operations in troubled Rakhine State — home to around 1.2 million Rohingya.

    “The gathering would be attended by Prime Minister Najib Razak and other political leaders. To-date, PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang has confirmed his participation,” he said late Saturday, referring to the Malaysian Islamic Party.

    Hamidi also urged other major opposition political parties, namely the People’s Justice Party and the National Honest Party, to join the gathering.

    “We put aside our political differences and as Muslims we gather to express our concern for our fellow Muslims in Myanmar,” he underlined.

    The announcement came after thousands of people protesting violence against Rohingya joined demonstrations Friday in the capitals of Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

    Over the past six weeks, rights groups have expressed concern over reports of killings, rapes, arbitrary arrests and other violations in villages predominantly inhabited by Rohingya in Rakhine amid military operations launched after fatal attacks on police outposts last month.

    Myanmar has said that since Oct. 9, at least 86 people — 17 soldiers and 69 alleged “attackers” (among them two women) — have been killed, and property destroyed in the area.

    Rohingya groups, however, claim that the number killed in one weekend alone earlier this month could be as high as 150 civilians.

    Humanitarian outfits have called for independent investigations into the initial attacks, the ongoing operations and reported rapes and rights abuses in Rakhine, as with the area placed under military lockdown, rights groups and international reporters have been unable to enter.

    Hamidi said Malaysia remains firm on the principle that it cannot interfere in the affairs of other countries, but said that on humanitarian grounds, it must express its concern to Myanmar authorities.

    “We are not belittling other countries, but we have demonstrated our deep concerns over the Rohingya issues because as fellow Muslims we can feel their sufferings,” he stressed.

    The deputy premier also said the gathering would discuss, and state the country’s stance, on calls for the withdrawal of the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Myanmar’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, currently the country’s state counselor-cum-foreign minister.

    “If someone who is given the award can no longer maintain peace, it [the conferment] can still be questioned,” Hamidi underlined.

    Meanwhile, Malaysia’s government is also due to send a protest note to the Myanmar government to demand their concern regarding persecution faced by the stateless Rohingya community.

    “A cabinet meeting has decided to send a protest note to the Myanmar Embassy in Kuala Lumpur,” Hamidi added.

    A law passed in Myanmar in 1982 denied Rohingya — many of whom have lived in Myanmar for generations — citizenship, making them stateless.

    The law denies the Rohingya rights to Myanmar nationality, removes their freedom of movement, access to education and services, and allows arbitrary confiscation of property.

    Myanmar nationalists have since taken to referring to the Rohingya — which the United Nations calls one of the most persecuted people in the world — as Bengali, which suggests they are not Myanmar nationals but interlopers from neighboring Bangladesh.

     

    Source: www.worldbulletin.net