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Tag: Malaysia

  • 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

  • Woman Signed-Off As “Babi” In Traffic Summons Arrested, To Be Charged In Court

    Woman Signed-Off As “Babi” In Traffic Summons Arrested, To Be Charged In Court

    PETALING JAYA: A woman has been arrested for writing the word “babi” (pig) on a summons issued to her by a Johor Bahru traffic policeman.

    According to Johor Bahru Selatan police chief ACP Sulaiman Salleh, the incident took place at 8.50pm yesterday when the 53-year-old woman parked her Mercedes-Benz in Jalan Tun Abdul Razak.

    A traffic policeman saw that the car was obstructing traffic and told the woman to park elsewhere, but she refused to budge.

    He then issued her a summons for obstructing traffic, ignoring traffic signs and for parking her car along a double line.

    “Instead, the suspect wrote the word ‘babi’ when she signed her name (on the summons) and shouted at the officer, saying her name was ‘babi’,” said Sulaiman when contacted by FMT.

    “We believe she did that with the intention of insulting the officer.”

    The officer, with the help of a surveillance unit, arrested her on the spot.

    “She is currently in police custody and will be charged in the Johor Bahru Sessions Court at 9am tomorrow. If found guilty, she can be fined up to RM100 for insulting a policeman.”

    He advised the public not to insult or use inappropriate words against policemen carrying out their duties to maintain public order.

    Last month, a married couple was found guilty of harassing a female Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) enforcement officer for issuing them a parking ticket.

    They were jailed two weeks and fined RM3,000 each but have appealed against the sentence.

     

    Source: www.freemalaysiatoday.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

  • Lebih Baik Pegawai Agama Periksa Kebersihan Tandas Masjid, Daripada Tangkap Khalwat

    Lebih Baik Pegawai Agama Periksa Kebersihan Tandas Masjid, Daripada Tangkap Khalwat

    Masyarakat Islam di Malaysia perlu mencabar undang-undang yang membenarkan pegawai agama melakukan serbuan terhadap pasangan berkhalwat, kata mantan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.

    Datuk Zaid berkata demikian dalam tulisan blognya ketika mengulas kejadian Selasa lalu (6 Dis) di mana seorang anggota polis maut selepas terjun dari sebuah pangsapuri di Cheras ketika cuba mengelak tangkapan pegawai Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (Jais).

    Menurut Free Malaysia Today (FMT), pada hari yang sama di Puchong, seorang lagi anggota polis cedera ketika cuba mengelak serbuan Jais.

    “Walaupun hubungan seks haram tidak digalakkan, terjun dari tingkap sehingga mengakibatkan kecederaan tubuh badan bukan respon yang rasional,” kata Datuk Zaid seperti ditukil FMT.

    Beliau juga berkata daripada menangkap dan menghukum orang Islam yang berkhalwat, adalah lebih baik jika pegawai pengkuatkuasa agama di negara itu membuat kerja yang lebih memanfaatkan, seperti menangani masalah kebersihan tandas di masjid.

    “Pegawai agama lebih baik guna kakitangan dan wang mereka memeriksa tandas di masjid. Pastikan tandas bersih, dan graduan sekolah agama boleh cari kerja lain.

    “Daripada menangkap pasangan ghairah dan mengakibatkan kehilangan nyawa, lakukanlah sesuatu yang baik dan berguna untuk masyarakat,” kata Datuk Zaid.

    Akur bahawa tindakan ekstrim untuk mengelak ditangkap khalwat itu akibat rasa malu atas kesalahan itu, Datuk Zaid berkata “orang Melayu perlu sedar bila mereka patut berasa malu”.

    “Melayu perlu malu bila mereka mengangkat kepimpinan korup,” katanya seperti ditukil FMT.

    Datuk Zaid menambah: “Mereka juga manusia biasa seperti orang lain, dan melakukan dosa kecil di sana sini. Tetapi perlukah semua dosa dianggap jenayah di negara ini?”

    Source: Berita MediaCorp

  • 200 Jemaah Umrah Terkandas, Keberangkatan Tertunda 5 Kali

    200 Jemaah Umrah Terkandas, Keberangkatan Tertunda 5 Kali

    Kira-kira 200 jemaah Malaysia yang dijadual berlepas bagi mengerjakan umrah, pada Isnin (12 Dis), terkandas selepas penerbangan mereka ditangguhkan berikutan permit kebenaran mendarat masih belum diperoleh syarikat penerbangan sewa khas untuk membawa rombongan berkenaan.

    Kesemua jemaah ketika ini ditempatkan di sebuah hotel di Nilai sementara menunggu maklumat terkini berhubung jadual penerbangan baru mereka daripada sebuah agensi umrah dan syarikat penerbangan sewa khas dari Malaysia.

    Seorang jemaah Mokhtar Mohamad, 62 tahun, dari Batu Pahat, Johor, berkata beliau tiba di hotel tersebut kira-kira 2.00 petang semalam, selepas dimaklumkan penerbangan mereka yang sepatutnya berlepas pada 10.30 malam semalam, terpaksa dibatalkan.

    “Saya dimaklumkan perkara ini ketika dalam perjalanan ke KLIA…mereka arahkan kami berkumpul di hotel ini kerana penerbangan kami tidak boleh berlepas disebabkan ada masalah pendaratan.

    “Kalau nak ikutkan, penundaan ini sudah banyak kali sebab sebelum ini penerbangan kami pada 5 Dis tetapi ditunda ke 6 Dis. Kemudian, ditunda lagi ke 10 Dis sebelum ditukar pada 8 Dis…dan akhirnya pada 12 Dis selepas menerima surat rasmi sebelum saya berangkat ke KLIA semalam,” katanya.

    Sambil melahirkan rasa kecewa dengan insiden itu, beliau berkata berdasarkan pengalamannya mengerjakan umrah sebelum ini, meskipun pakej umrah diambilnya murah, ia berjalan lancar tanpa sebarang masalah.

    “Pakej saya ambil kali ini kira-kira RM6,500 (S$2,090) dan saya pergi bersama isteri dan seorang anak. Saya tidak sangka bukan isu pakej murah, tetapi isu lain pula yang timbul.

    “Sekarang saya kena tangguh lagi cuti dan sebagainya kerana kita sudah ambil cuti awal, kalau tergendala macam ini susah kami,” katanya.

    A. Husaini Rahman, 41 tahun, pula berkata beliau juga dimaklumkan bahawa pererbangannya dibatalkan ketika dalam perjalanan ke KLIA, semalam.

    “Sehari sebelum berlepas saya sudah menghubungi agensi umrah kami untuk mendapatkan kesahihan jadual penerbangan tetapi gagal diperoleh.

    “Jadi saya nekad bertolak dari Ipoh bersama isteri dan seorang anak tetapi dalam perjalanan baru kami terima maklumat bahawa penerbangan ditunda kerana masalah pendaratan,” katanya.

    Lebih menyebabkan beliau terkilan kerana syarikat yang menyediakan penerbangan berkenaan mengesan masalah itu sejak awal pada 24 November lalu, namun tiada tindakan diambil bagi mengatasi masalah tersebut.

    Sementara itu, berdasarkan penjelasan kepada rombongan itu, wakil syarikat penerbangan memaklumkan mereka diarahkan memberi maklumat tambahan berhubung manual keselamatan pada saat akhir bagi memastikan keselamatan setiap jemaah.

    “Manual keselamatan kita kena ada penambahan disebabkan beberapa insiden yang berlaku di Timur Tengah, jadi mereka mahu pastikan prosedur kita mematuhi apa dikehendaki mereka.

    “Kita telah hantar dokumen tambahan yang diminta dan sekarang kita tunggu jawapan balas mereka petang ini (13 Dis). Apa pun kita akan pastikan jemaah yang terkandas ini mendapat maklumat terkini dari semasa ke semasa,” katanya.

    Source: Berita MediaCorp