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Tag: Malays

  • Here’s What Lee Kuan Yew Did When WW2 Hit Singapore 75 Years Ago

    Here’s What Lee Kuan Yew Did When WW2 Hit Singapore 75 Years Ago

    February 15 is the day when the British surrender to the invading Japanese forces in Singapore, and this year marks the 75th anniversary of one of the darkest period in our island nation’s history — the Japanese Occupation (1942 to 1945).

    Many of S’pore’s past leaders, such as Lee Kuan Yew and David Marshall, were young men during that period. They experienced the hardships, felt the hunger brought on during that period, and lived through the uncertainties with some narrow escapes.

    Following our previous story on what these founding fathers did at the outbreak of war,  let’s now take a look at some of their experiences during the Occupation.

    1. Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first prime minister (1959 to 1990): He had a lucky break as he escaped theSook Ching massacre.

    Lee was 18 years old when the Japanese Occupation of Singapore began.

    Source: NAS

     

    Recording his Japanese Occupation experience in his memoirs, The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew, Lee wrote that a few days into the Occupation, the Japanese carried out the Sook Ching operation to cleanse the local Chinese population of anti-Japanese elements. He reported to Jalan Besar stadium together with his family friend and helper, Koh Teong Koo, for registration and screening. He narrowly escaped being one of the many Chinese rounded to be massacred in the operation.

    “Soon after the Japanese soldiers left my house, word went around that all Chinese had to go to a registration centre at the Jalan Besar stadium for examination. I saw my neighbour and his family leave and decided it would be wiser for me to go also, for if I were later caught at home the Japanese military police, the Kempeitai, would punish me. So I headed for Jalan Besar with Teong Koo.

    As it turned out, his cubicle in his coolie-keng, the dormitory he shared with other rickshaw pullers, was within the perimeter enclosed by barbed wire. Tens of thousands of Chinese families were packed into this small area. All exit points were manned by the Kempeitai. There were several civilians with them, locals or Taiwanese. I was told later that many of them were hooded, though I do not remember noticing any.

    “After spending a night in Teong Koo’s cubicle, I decided to check out through the exit point, but instead of allowing me to pass, the soldier on duty signalled me to join a group of young Chinese. I felt instinctively that this was ominous, so I asked for permission to return to the cubicle to collect my belongings.

    He gave it. I went back and lay low in Teong Koo’s cubicle for another day and a half. Then I tried the same exit again. This time, for some inexplicable reason, I got through the checkpoint. I was given a “chop” on my left upper arm and on the front of my shirt with a rubber stamp. The kanji or Chinese character jian, meaning “examined”, printed on me in indelible ink, was proof that I was cleared. I walked home with Teong Koo, greatly relieved.”

     

    Images of Sook Ching screening centres, taken at the Syonan Gallery.
    Images of Sook Ching screening centres, taken at the Syonan Gallery.

     

    Source: Extracted from http://mothership.sg

  • Hubungan Neelofa, Fattah Amin Retak, Ada Orang Ketiga

    Hubungan Neelofa, Fattah Amin Retak, Ada Orang Ketiga

    Bagi peminat drama Suri Hati Mr Pilot yang teringin melihat gandingan pasangan sejoli, Neelofa dan Fattah Amin, kekal ke jinjang pelamin, harapan anda mungkin berkecai sudah.

    Hubungan pelakon Malaysia terkenal, Neelofa dan Fattah Amin dilaporkan retak akibat kehadiran orang ketiga.

    Fattah Amin dikatakan bercinta dengan wanita lain – aktres kacukan, lapor mStar Online hari ini (20 Dis).

    Ini tentunya satu kejutan kepada para peminat mereka. Baru minggu lalu, media Malaysia melaporkan Fattah Amin mengakui sudah berjumpa dengan keluarga Neelofa untuk meminta restu agar mereka dapat berkawan dengan lebih rapat. Bahkan ramai peminat yang meluahkan rasa gembira atas berita itu hingga pasangan itu digelar “Lofattah.”

    “Ada memang ada (jumpa keluarga). Perkara macam ini kita tidak tahu lagi. Jodoh itu di tangan Allah, kita boleh merancang sahaja,” kata Fattah Amin ketika ditemui Malay Mail Online di Anugerah Melodi 2016, pada 10 Dis.

    NEELOFA AKUI KECEWA

    Bercakap kepada mStar Online, Neelofa, 27 tahun, mengakui kecewa selepas mendapat tahu tentang berita Fattah Amin mempunyai hubungan cinta dengan wanita lain kerana mengetahuinya dengan cara “tidak elok”.

    Namun, Neelofa berkata beliau tidak ingin mengulas panjang kerana tidak mahu memburukkan lagi keadaan.

    “Tidak adil kalau saya ulas perkara ini tanpa Fattah atau orang ketiga itu di sini dan tidak mahu ia akan jadi salah faham dan memburukkan lagi keadaan.

    “Saya baru tahu cerita ini cuma saya kesal cara saya mengetahui berita dakwaan ini dengan cara yang tidak elok,” ujarnya kepada mStar Online ketika ditemui dalam satu sidang media hari ini sempena pelantikannya sebagai duta Kad Muslimah Bank Rakyat.

    Neelofa, yang juga pengasas Naelofar Hijab, memberitahu mStar Online, beliau kini ingin fokus kepada kerjayanya justeru tidak mahu terlalu memikirkan tentang perkara tersebut.

    HUBUNGAN KINI “RUMIT”

    Beliau juga berkata hubungannya dengan Fattah Amin kini agak rumit untuk dijelaskan.

    Namun, Neelofa menegaskan beliau boleh bersikap profesional sekiranya digandingan dengan Fattah Amin sekali lagi dalam drama lain.

    “Kami mulai rapat sejak berlakon bersama dan selesa berkawan dengan dia sepanjang kami berlakon bersama.

    “Peminat pula suka dan mahukan saya dan Fattah betul-betul mempunyai hubungan istimewa. Ia bukan sesuatu yang mudah kerana saya perlu memikirkan banyak pihak jika ingin memberi kenyataan tentang hubungan kami.

    “Bagaimanapun apa yang saya boleh katakan hubungan kami sekarang ialah complicated,” ujar Neelofa kepada mStar Online.

    Source: Berita MediaCorp

  • British Embassy Questioned Whether Malaysian PM Cleared Of Corruption

    British Embassy Questioned Whether Malaysian PM Cleared Of Corruption

    The British embassy in Kuala Lumpur has questioned a claim by the Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak, that his country’s anti-graft agency had cleared him of corruption, according to a diplomatic cable seen by the Guardian.

    Malaysia’s anti-corruption commission (MACC) said in August last year that its investigation had found that nearly US$700m had been deposited into Najib’s personal bank account from unnamed “donors”.

    It did not elaborate on the donor or why they transferred funds to Najib’s private accounts but said the money was not from the debt-laden state fund 1MDB, which had been the focus of the scandal.

    Five days later, Najib told members of his ruling party that the MACC had cleared him of corruption allegations.

    But a diplomatic telegram sent to London from the British High Commission in the Malaysian capital suggested the embassy queried that claim.

    “Najib announced the MACC had exonerated him of corruption and the funds in his bank account were a donation from the Middle East and not from 1MDB,” it said.

    “There has been no official MACC statement to this effect.”

    Opponents of Najib, who denies taking money for personal gain, say the funds may have originated from 1MDB but were laundered internationally. Malaysia’s attorney general said in January 2016 that the money was a gift from the Saudi Arabian government.

    The UK has been criticised for not speaking out more firmly against one of the world’s biggest financial scandals. Former British prime minister David Cameron was chided for meeting Najib shortly after the story broke last July.

    The British cable was released under a freedom of information request made by the Guardian but was heavily redacted to include mostly factual reporting of events in Malaysia.

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said the redactions were made as some of the information may “prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and other states if it was disclosed.

    “In this case, the release of some information within diptel [diplomatic telegram] reporting could harm our relations with Malaysia.”

    Najib sought to contain the greatest threat to his power by suspending two newspapers, removing a deputy who openly criticised him, and sacking the country’s top attorney, who had been leading the official investigation.

    The man he replaced him with closed the case and ended the MACC investigation in January by clearing Najib, to the anger of opposition figures.

    While Cameron’s staff said he had pressed Najib over claims he had stolen government money, the regional trip was intended to boost trade ties and coordinate efforts to fight ISIS.

    However, several countries are conducting publicly-declared investigations into the alleged misappropriation of billions of dollars siphoned from 1MDB, which has debts of over US$11 billion and whose advisory board Najib chaired.

    Switzerland said the sum suspected to have been stolen from 1MDB amounts to around US$4bn, some of which was transferred to accounts held in Switzerland by various former Malaysian public officials.

    And the US attorney general announced it “seeks to recover more than US$1bn laundered through the United States”, the largest corruption investigation in the country’s history.

    Najib contends the allegations are part of a opposition-led campaign to force him from office. 1MDB has also denied transferring funds to Najib.

    The US investigation details a complex network of international transactions it says were used to launder money from 1MDB into high-end real estate in New York and Los Angeles, a US$35m jet aircraft, and paintings by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet.

    Funds are also alleged to have been diverted to make the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street, a Hollywood production about a corrupt stockbroker played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

    The MACC has since announced it will cooperate with the FBI.

    “The Department of Justice will not allow the American financial system to be used as a conduit for corruption,” US attorney general Loretta Lynch said.

    The US complaint document alleged Najib’s stepson Riza Aziz bought a luxury home in Belgravia, London for £23.25m using diverted funds. It said misappropriated monies were also used to buy nearly £2m in services from a UK-based interior decorator.

    The UK is reported to have started its own investigation, although this has not been officially confirmed.

    The Guardian opened freedom of information requests into potential 1MDB investigations in the UK with the Home Office, HMRC, the Metropolitan Police, and the Serious Fraud Office during the past year.

    All have been rejected.

     

    Source: The Guardian

  • Skeletal Remains Of Larger-Than-Usual Man Found In Malacca Cave

    Skeletal Remains Of Larger-Than-Usual Man Found In Malacca Cave

    A recent discovery might provide the proof that early settlers in Malacca, including the Malay Sultanate era, were large in structure.

    Historian Mohd Fuad Khusari M Said, appointed by the Malacca government to search for new historical sites, claimed to have discovered skeletal remains of what is believed to be a larger-than-usual man in a cave in Pulau Upeh, an island off Malacca. He had discovered the bones partially exposed above ground.

    And about 1.2km outside the cave, he found two graves unusually large in dimension – measuring about 5m by 0.5m. The graves were about 15m apart.

    “I have reported the findings to the authorities because we have no right to excavate the site without permission,” said the historian who has 10 years experience in archaeological studies.

    Based on the size of the skull and the length of the bones found in the cave, Mr Fuad believes the remains could measure between 3m and 5m long. The length of the skeletal remains match the tomb of Sultan Al Ariffin Syeikh Ismail and the graves of the seven warrior brothers in Pulau Besar.

    Other findings of  “gigantic graves” in Pulau Besar included those believed to belong to religious leaders from Yemen, Saudi Arabia, India and Java, who had gone to Malacca to spread Islam during the early days of the Malacca Sultanate.

    “There was no excavation work at any of these grave sites, so the tales of giant settlers remain a myth,” he said. “But the research on this latest find could prove or disprove claims that giant-sized men roamed Malacca a long time ago.”

    Looking at the modern man, heights reaching 3m or 5m may seem unthinkable. But Mr Fuad said there are records of giant races dating back to the Mayans. There was also a newspaper report in 1871 on the finding of some 200 giant skeletons in Ontario, Canada.

    “So it’s not strange to have sightings of giants in this part of the world,” he said.

    However, the size of the graves do not necessarily reflect the size of the human remains.

    Institute of Historical and Patriotism Studies of Malaysia’s chairman Mohd Jamil Mukmin said the graves could have been dug larger than usual as an honour to the dead.

    Javanese religious leaders travelling to the Port of Malacca to teach Islam to the locals and traders in the 15th century would use Pulau Upeh as a base.

    Chief minister Idris Harun, who confirmed that he had been informed of the latest finding on the island, said: “We have commissioned the historian to provide facts about undiscovered historical sites and research on the latest discovery of giant-sized remains is ongoing.”

    He added that villagers from the mainland had placed tombstones on the graves a few years ago.

    Malacca’s Barisan Nasional social service centre’s director Amir Hamzah Aziz said the story of a mysterious giant’s remains on Pulau Upeh has been circulating since the 1990s. “Many claimed to have sighted the remains there. If it’s true, we must preserve it for the future generation.”

     

    Source: The Straits Times

  • Najib Main Wayang Kulit Di Himpunan Solidariti Ummah?

    Najib Main Wayang Kulit Di Himpunan Solidariti Ummah?

    Kehadiran Datuk Seri Najib Razak ke Himpunan Solidariti Rohingya Ahad lalu menjadi tanda tanya kepada seluruh rakyat Malaysia bilamana media melaporkan Panglima Angkatan Tentera Malaysia, Jeneral Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin berada di Myanmar untuk membaiki hubungan Yangon-Kuala Lumpur berikutan perbalahan diplomatik kedua-dua negara.

    Menurut Myanmar Times, satu kenyataan telah dikeluarkan oleh Pejabat Ketua Turus Angkatan Tentera Myanmar mengesahkan pertemuan itu.

    Presiden Myanmar, U Htin Kyaw juga dilaporkan bertemu dengan Zulkifeli untuk membincangkan operasi ketenteraan yang sedang berlangsung di Maungdaw dan Buthidaung negeri.

    “Jeneral Kanan Min Aung Hlaing memberitahu rakan sejawatannya dari Malaysia bahawa tiada pelanggaran hak asasi manusia dilakukan ke atas masyarakat etnik Rohingya yang beragama Islam itu.

    Susulan itu, timbul tanda tanya dari sesetengah pihak berhubung tujuan sebenar Perdana Menteri hadir ke himpunan tersebut.

    Sebelum ini, pemerintah Myanmar mengecam keras kehadiran Najib dalam Himpunan Solidariti Rohingya di Kuala Lumpur yang dihadiri oleh ribuan orang itu.

    Myanmar mengatakan kehadiran beliau melanggar prinsip ASEAN untuk tidak mencampuri urusan dalam negara anggota.

    “Saya tidak peduli. Apakah saya, pemimpin lebih dari 30 juta rakyat, diharapkan untuk menutup mata? Berdiam diri? Saya tidak akan melakukan itu,” tegas Najib.

    Malah, beliau berkata, Malaysia akan terus memberi tekanan kepada negara-negara ASEAN untuk menyelesaikan krisis kemanusiaan.

    Pakar mengenai hal ehwal ASEAN yang berpangkalan di Bangkok, Kavi Chongkittavorn berkata, tindakan Najib itu hanya merupakan usaha untuk mendapat sokongan daripada masyarakat Islam di Malaysia dan beliau menganggap keprihatinan beliau mampu memberi kesan melalui diplomasi bijaksana.

    Malah, Penasihat kepada bekas Presiden, U Thein Sein, U Ko Ko Hlaing, menuduh Najib mengeksploitasi isu ini untuk mengalihkan perhatian awam dari dakwaan rasuah yang dilemparkan terhadapnya.

     

    Source: IslamWeb