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  • Video Of A Beheading Carried Out By ISIS Militants Aired At UMNO General Assembly

    Video Of A Beheading Carried Out By ISIS Militants Aired At UMNO General Assembly

    KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Delegates at Malaysia’s Umno general assembly in Kuala Lumpur watched in pin-drop silence as a short video clip of a beheading by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants was aired.

    The clip, lasting about a minute, was shown during the winding-up speech by Umno vice-president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

    The video showed several men, believed to be ISIS militants, walking with their captives in a desert landscape.

    Several people in the audience were heard gasping as the militants grabbed knives and placed them against the neck of the captives, who were made to kneel in front of them, before the clip abruptly ended.

    Earlier, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid, who is also Home Minister, said he would be leading the committee to draw up new anti-terrorism laws against such a threat.

    He also said that he did not mind being labelled a hardcore Malay or an Islamic fundamentalist – all in the name of race and religion.

    Despite this, he said his respect towards other religions remained strong and he would never reject those of other races living under the Malaysian sun.

    “It is all right if people perceive me as hardcore because that means I am hardcore for the Malays and if I am known as a fundamentalist, I am so in the name of religion.”

    Umno vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein said the Bar Council was not the country’s sole authority that had the right to speak on legal matters.

    Datuk Seri Hishammuddin, who is the party’s legal bureau chairman, said its newly-formed unit called Bonafide Friends of Umno had engaged legal practitioners and found that many lawyers agreed with the party on issues such as the Sedition Act.

    The Bar has been pressing for the repeal of the Act, calling it draconian.

    “The right to speak on legal matters is not the exclusive right of the Bar Council. It is the right of all Malaysians,” he said.

    Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said between June 2013 and September this year, the party registered 5,939 new voters, MCA (256), MIC (266) and Gerakan (373).

    “However, this pales in comparison with that of Opposition parties with PAS registering 1,775 new voters, PKR (2,103) and DAP (9,309).

    “The Umno president has ordered me to team up with all coalition components for a national movement to register new voters,” he said.

    Mr Mohd Shafie highlighted a lack of coordination between religious institutions on Islamic affairs, especially on judgments made by the civil and syariah courts.

    “There has to be a stricter enforcement, which would not allow any party to take advantage.

    “For instance, the National Fatwa Council and state religious councils should work together,” he said.

    He referred to verses in the Quran, which called on Muslims to uphold their faith while at the same time respect other religions.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Lions Crash Out Of Suzuki Cup

    Lions Crash Out Of Suzuki Cup

    Defending champions Singapore are out of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup 2014 after a 3-1 loss to Malaysia at the National Stadium on Saturday (Nov 29).

    Both sides played out to a cagey first half, but Safee Sali put the Tigers ahead in the 61st minute after Hariss Harun fluffed clearance allowed the Malaysian striker slams the ball home from an angle.

    The Lions poured forward in search for an equaliser after that, and were rewarded in the 83rd minute.

    Safuwan Baharudin’s free kick is spilled by the Malaysian goalkeeper, and Khairul Amri was on hand to tap home.

    But the Lions’ joy was shortlived, as the referee pointed to the spot after Amri Yahyah went down in the penalty box in the dying stages.

    Safiq put the spot kick away to put the Malaysians 2-1 up.

    Indra Putra put the final nail in the coffin, passing the ball into an empty goal after Singapore goalkeeper Hassan Sunny went up to the opposing penalty box in search of a goal for a corner as the Lions threw caution to the wind.

    The riot police were called in after the match, initially to deal with the the boisterous Malaysian fans, and later to handle the situation in front of the tunnel, where irate Singapore fans threw bottles at the referee.

    They were upset at the match officials for making several dubious calls against the Lions throughout the match.

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • Bernd Stange: Penalty Hearthbreaking But Team Lack Backbone

    Bernd Stange: Penalty Hearthbreaking But Team Lack Backbone

    SINGAPORE: Lions coach Bernd Stange had called Omani referee Ahmed Abu Bakar Said Al Kaf’s decision to award Malaysia a penalty in the 90th minute a “heart-breaker”.

    In the post-match conference on Saturday night (Nov 29), Stange said: “From my view, it didn’t look like a penalty. I have to see the replay. It’s not my job to judge, it’s the referee’s.” He added that the players and him were “feeling empty” after the match.

    Hafiz Sujad was adjudged to have fouled a Malaysian player in the box at the stroke of full-time, and Safiq Rahman converted the resultant penalty. Striker Indra Putra put the gloss on the victory when he slid home the third goal into an empty net after Singapore goalkeeper Hassan Sunny failed to rush back in time from a free-kick at the other end of the field.

    Singapore striker Khairul Amri had earlier equalised, after Safee Sali put the Tigers ahead at the hour mark.

    The coach said “injury time stopped our dreams” and “we are all disappointed”. “Tomorrow we will open the newspaper and only see 3-1,” he said.

    Angry fans had thrown bottles on the pitch, in protest of the referee’s decision. The referees had to be escorted into the tunnel by riot police.

    “We feel very, very sorry for our fantastic fans,” Stange said. “But it’s a young team, and we have a bright future ahead. Six to eight players can still play in next year’s SEA Games and we’re looking forward to it.”

    That said, the coach admitted the team “lacked a little backbone” – something Singapore had two to three years ago, and these are areas the team have to improve on.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Activists Dismay At Preservation of Sedition Act 1948 In Malaysia

    Activists Dismay At Preservation of Sedition Act 1948 In Malaysia

    Tasked to draft a replacement to the Sedition Act 1948, two members of the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) today expressed surprise and dismay over Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s shock announcement that the controversial law will stay.

    Noting that the announcement was made during the on-going Umno General Assembly today, NUCC member Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa also questioned the intent in breaking the pledge that has been made thrice publicly.

    “I think this is, unfortunately, just to please the Umno delegates who are now having their yearly meeting,” the Parit Buntar MP said.

    “If the intention was to please them, that is most unfortunate, because we are looking at the issue of Sedition Act from a substantive point, because standard of proof for this act is very low and does not address racial and religious incitement.”

    The NUCC has been pushing for the law to be eliminated, contending that its ambit is too broad as it criminalises speech with an undefined “seditious tendency” and without need to prove intent.

    Sharing his dismay was social activist Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, who expressed surprise that the Act will not be replaced by the National Harmony Bills proposed by the NUCC.

    As part of his administration’s raft of reforms, Najib had in 2012 pledged to do away with the Sedition Act and replace it with laws on national harmony. This was repeated twice more, most recently on September 5.

    The NUCC was formed November 30 last year to establish a National Unity Blueprint and was tasked with, among others, to propose new legislation to replace the Sedition Act.

    It later proposed three draft bills to replace the Sedition Act: The Racial, Religious and Hate Crimes bill, which outlaws hate speech; the National Harmony and Reconciliation Bill, which prohibits discrimination; and the National Harmony and Reconciliation Commission Bill, which details the functions of the commission that will inquire into complaints of discrimination.

    Confusion over the drafts led to vicious attacks against the NUCC and the Bar Council that was roped in to help prepare the legislation, forcing Putrajaya to repeatedly deny that the proposals were the intended replacements for the Sedition Act.

    Putrajaya later also began to convey that the repeal of the Act was not certain, hinting that it may be retained if the replacements are inferior.

    At the 65th Umno General Assembly today, Najib removed all doubts when he declared that the Sedition Act 1948 will remain, after consultation with party leaders, NGOs and grassroots members.

    He also announced that the Act will be strengthened with two extra provisions: One prohibiting insults against all religions, and the other prohibiting talks of Sabah and Sarawak seceding from Malaysia.

    “I assumed he had thought long and hard before he said he would abolish it, and I’m hoping he gave the same amount of thought to this reversal of that decision,” Marina told Malay Mail Online.

    “As with all laws, they mean nothing no matter what amendments are made if implementation is poor and prosecution is selective.”

    Today, Mujahid also wondered aloud about the prime minister’s given reasons for the retention of the criticised law, pointing out that the Federal Constitution contains clear provisions protecting the Malays, Islam and the Malay rulers.

    The PAS lawmaker criticised the possibility that the decision was made solely to convince Umno delegates at the convention of the party’s commitment to protect the Malay agenda.

    “This is the wrong perception,” said the PAS MP. “The whole idea is, Umno is afraid of its own shadow and now they are trying to drag the whole country because they feel threatened and not the people, Islam or the Malay rulers.”

    Up until the announcement today, Putrajaya has repeatedly insisted it will repeal the Sedition Act and sought to justify an accelerated use of the law against opposition politicians, activists, academics and even a journalist.

    Defenders of the Sedition Act, primarily pro-establishment conservatives including former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, contend that its removal will open the floodgates of attacks against the Bumiputera, Islam, and the Malay rulers in the absence of another pre-independence law that has since been repealed, the Internal Security Act.

     

    Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com

  • Khairy Jamaluddin: Do Not Question Special Rights Of The Malays

    Khairy Jamaluddin: Do Not Question Special Rights Of The Malays

    KUALA LUMPUR — Non-Malays should never again dispute the special rights of the Malays and the position of the rulers, United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said today (Nov 26), adding that Malays themselves never questioned vernacular schools and the citizenship of non-Malays.

    He said in his policy speech at the party’s general assembly that the Malays had “accepted and they had never questioned” the social contract they agreed upon during the formation of Malaysia. “If the Malays can accept it by not raising the matter of citizenship and acknowledging that we cannot shut down vernacular schools, why are there those among non-Malays who refuse to honour what they have previously agreed upon?

    “Why are there those who ask for the Malay special privileges to be stopped, those who dispute the position of the Malay rulers and even those who cannot speak a word of the national language?

    Mr Khairy said it was a huge sacrifice for the Malays to allow other races to be a part of the country, so non-Malays must keep their end of the bargain and not question Malay rights: “So great were the sacrifices of the Malay people, and all that we ask in return is for the non-Malays to accept several of those matters which I just brought up as the other end of the bargain.”

    Mr Khairy also defended the existence of vernacular schools, saying that they were allowed as part of the “status quo” which had “existed pre-Independence, and which will continue to exist”.

    Despite Mr Khairy’s statement, some UMNO grassroots leaders have in the past few months demanded that Chinese and Indian schools be shut down for the sake of national unity. Last Sunday, a coalition of 58 Malay-rights groups repeated the call, and even urged Putrajaya to silence “radical” education organisations like Dong Zhong with the threat of de-registration.

    Mr Khairy conceded today that there were “fringe voices” questioning the existence of vernacular schools, but stressed that the UMNO leadership has long accepted the current education system.

    DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, however, said Mr Khairy is now travelling the “dark road” of extremists like Perkasa and its president Ibrahim Ali.

    Mr Lim said UMNO was no longer the future hope for Malaysia as even Mr Khairy, whom Mr Lim described as a “sober voice” in UMNO, was playing the racial and religious card by warning non-Malays not to challenge the “special rights” of Malays.

    “He (Khairy) has taken the dark road travelled by extremists like Perkasa and Ibrahim Ali, when he used his policy speech at the UMNO Youth assembly to blame the non-Malays for questioning the status of the rulers, special position of the Malays and official status of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language.

    “Putting the blame on non-Malays is dishonest and evil politics by Khairy because it is simply false and malicious that the non-Malays questioned such rights enshrined in the Federal Constitution,” he said in a statement today.

    Mr Lim, who is also Bagan MP and Penang chief minister, said Mr Khairy should be addressing facts and figures from reports about the incomes of Malaysian households.

    The Malaysia Human Development Report 2013 revealed that 53 per cent of Malaysian households have no financial assets while one in three Malaysians have no banking or financial accounts of any kind. It also showed that rural households have the highest number of those without any financial assets (63 per cent), compared to 45 per cent of urban households.

    By ethnic group, about 57 per cent of non-Malay Bumiputeras and 55 per cent of Malays have no financial assets, with the figure for the Chinese and Indians at 45 per cent and 44 per cent respectively. Almost 90 per cent and 86 per cent of rural and urban households respectively had no savings, the report had said, citing the Household Income Survey (HIS).

    Mr Lim asked why Khairy had not addressed the report, which was sponsored by the Prime Minister’s Department, since it had a direct impact on the economic future of Malaysians, especially youths including Malays and Bumiputeras. THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com