Rilek1Corner

Tag: malaysians

  • Malaysia Likely To Price VEP At RM20

    Malaysia Likely To Price VEP At RM20

    The prospect of having to pay more than double what they are currently forking out to drive across the Causeway has jolted Singaporean motorists into saying they will drastically reduce the frequency of their trips up north.

    Although the RM20 (S$7.55) Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) fee that Malaysia plans to charge for foreign-registered vehicles entering the country from around the middle of next year is less than half the RM50 figure bandied about previously, drivers say cost savings from shopping in Malaysia — already slashed as a result of toll hikes imposed by both countries since Oct 1— will be negligible with the latest VEP charge.

    Malaysian daily New Straits Times, quoting the country’s Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi, reported last Saturday that the details of the VEP fee implementation for foreign vehicles, including the installation of charging devices, are being worked out. Once completed, the fee will be levied at the Causeway and the Second Link, said the minister, adding that Malaysia is also mulling over the implementation of the fee for vehicles entering from Thailand and Brunei.

    The charges for Singaporean drivers crossing the Causeway recently increased by more than five times from RM2.90 to RM16.50, after higher toll rates kicked in on Aug 1 at the Johor Baru Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex.

    Two months later, Singapore raised the toll charges at the Woodlands Checkpoint to S$6.50.

    With the new VEP fee imposed by Malaysia, Singaporean drivers would have to pay more than S$20 for a round trip to Johor.

    Freelance videographer Edwin Cheng, 32, who drives to Johor at least once a week to buy groceries and pump petrol, said he was shocked and disappointed by the third round of hikes.

    “I used to be able to save up to 40 per cent for a full tank of petrol and up to 20 per cent for groceries in Johor. Now, it would make no difference if I pumped petrol and did my grocery shopping in Singapore,” he said.

    Mr Cheng added that he would cut back on trips to Johor once the new VEP fee kicks in and would also stay there for longer periods so he can do more things.

    Student relations officer Rosnah Hussain, 30, shared the same sentiment. Before the toll hikes, she would drive to Johor at least thrice a week to buy groceries, go for massages and pump petrol.

    Ms Rosnah added: “After the (toll) hikes, I go (to Johor) only once every two weeks. Once the VEP fee is imposed, I don’t think I will go so often, it is too expensive.”

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Religious Fundamentalism In Malaysia Edging Muslims Out Of The Country

    Religious Fundamentalism In Malaysia Edging Muslims Out Of The Country

    It was 3am when a 30-year-old female Malay financial researcher was woken up by her flatmate in a middle class suburb in Kuala Lumpur early this year.

    Six to seven men from the Selangor State Islamic Department (Jais) had entered her apartment in a “morality” raid.

    An anonymous phone call to the religious department alleging a man was seen entering her flat was all it took for the religious officials to descend on her home.

    “The men were not accompanied by any woman. They searched all our bedrooms, closets and even looked under the bed as they thought a man could be hiding there,” said the researcher who spoke on condition of anonymity.

    The incident left her angry and helpless and helped compel her to make plans to leave Malaysia in two years.

    The researcher is one of an increasing number of Malay Muslims aspiring to leave this country of 30 million.

    In the past, it was the country’s ethnic Chinese and Indians who left Malaysia in large numbers for better opportunities that would be based on meritocracy and not race.

    The World Bank estimated in 2011 there were 1 million Malaysians who migrated overseas and the real number could be much larger.

    As the majority in the country who enjoys special privileges in education and employment under decades-old affirmative action programmes, it makes their aspiration to migrate more compelling and highlights the growing extremism creeping into modern and moderate Malaysia.

    “I don’t feel safe in this country anymore,” the researcher said. “It’s like you are guilty until proven innocent. Anyone can make a phone call to accuse another person out of malice or vengeance and, without proof or investigation, the religious authorities will come to your place.”

    The researcher, who has been living in the apartment for two years, shares the flat with three other women.

    “They found cigarette butts on the balcony and said that showed a man was in the house. We told them all of us in the flat smoke,” she said. “Then they saw two pairs of boxer shorts which belonged to me and said that must belong to a man. I told them they were mine.”

    Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim said Malays would soon join the Chinese in emigrating from Malaysia to escape the growing religious fundamentalism and authoritarianism where a Muslim can be easily persecuted for anything that is perceived as “insulting Islam”.

    “The rising extremism affects Muslims more than anyone else in the country. This fear of extremism drives Malays out of the country,” Zaid said.

    “We (Muslims) are having more and more laws. In the state of Kelantan, a person can be arrested and jailed if he fails to attend Friday prayers three times in a row,” said Zaid, adding that a lot of moral issues have been criminalised.

    “Before, they (religious authorities) tell you gambling is sinful. Now you can be arrested for buying a four-digit lottery.”

    Under the constitution, if a person is born Malay, speaks the Malay language and practises the Malay culture, he or she must be Muslim.

    The country’s religious authorities’ power has grown significantly in recent years with an expanded government budget for their departments where they answer to no one, he said.

    “The politicians do not rein them in as they do not want to lose votes,” Zaid said.

    “Malaysia has become a Saudi Arabia but with the Twin Towers,” he added referring to the iconic Petronas Towers in the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

    “The only difference is, the women here are allowed to drive.”

     

    Source: www.scmp.com

  • Soldier And Firefighter Among Latest Malaysian IS Recruits

    Soldier And Firefighter Among Latest Malaysian IS Recruits

    KUALA LUMPUR: A SOLDIER and a firefighter are among the latest Malaysian recruits to join the Islamic State (IS) movement in Syria.

    Sources revealed that the soldier, who was supposed to attend an 11-month course at the Sungai Besi Army Music Training Centre from April 7, had gone missing on Oct 14.

    Investigations showed that the soldier had applied for an international passport on July 31 at Terengganu Immigration Department before leaving the country on Oct 25 via Bangkok on a 6.05am flight.

    The 27-year-old corporal attached to the 7th battalion Royal Malay Regiment had allegedly taken a flight from Kota Baru, Kelantan, to Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 the day before.

    The New Straits Times learnt that the corporal, who goes by the name Al-Azhar Malize, is with other Malaysians who have established themselves as senior IS fighters.

    What made him stand out among other Malaysians fighting in Syria is that he is always seen in pictures on Syrian battlefields clad in Malaysian military fatigues.

    Investigations also revealed that his brother, a soldier at the Seberang Takir, Terengganu camp, received a WhatsApp message from him saying he had left to join IS in Syria.

    Sources told the NST that ongoing probes were centred on how he was recruited and who his contacts were.

    “The military’s Defence Staff Intelligence Division is monitoring the status of the corporal and identifying parties who are bent on recruiting more fighters, including military personnel, to join IS,” the sources said.

    Sources said they were establishing the background of the fireman said to be posted at the Shah Alam fire station.

    Meanwhile, the NST was made aware of a Malaysian family of six, including two toddlers, that had made its way to Syria recently.

    “Like other families that have left their home countries in pursuit of martyrdom in Syria, the man will be sent out to the battlefields. The woman will be given specific tasks, and the children will be taken care of,” the sources said.

     

    Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com

  • Troubling Trend Of Civil Servants Supporting IS’ Cause In Malaysia

    Troubling Trend Of Civil Servants Supporting IS’ Cause In Malaysia

    PETALING JAYA, Dec 3 — Two more civil servants who were channeling funds to the Islamic State (IS) have been arrested as police express worry over militant sympathisers in the civil service.

    Police are working to establish the extent of IS influence among civil servants as so far six government officers had joined, planned or had sent money to the extremist outfit which controls chunks of territories in both Iraq and Syria.

    A police source said in six months, four civil servants were arrested in the Klang Valley and Kedah, and there is a possibility of others in the service being involved.

    “We are now investigating the extent of involvement of civil servants in IS activities in the country and abroad,” the source said.

    “There is a possibility those detained had influenced others, including their colleagues, to join their cause and this is a worrying trend.”

    Investigators are establishing if these suspects had recruited others from their departments.

    The source said intelligence and operations personnel are working to determine the seriousness of the matter.

    The latest arrest came when the Bukit Aman’s Counter-Terrorism Unit conducted an operation in Kuala Lumpur and Kedah on Nov 27 and 28.

    Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said police picked up three men in separate locations.

    “Two of them, aged 23 and 28, work at a government agency in Kuala Lumpur. They are suspected to have channeled funds to new recruits who are planning to travel to Syria to fight alongside IS.”

    Investigations revealed the third suspect, aged 36, joined IS last year and had spent four months in Syria before returning to Malaysia on April 8.

    He said the trio were being detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma).

    In October, police made a major breakthrough following the arrest of three men who played a key role in the recruitment of more than 20 Malaysians.

    One of the recruiters was an assistant director attached to the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry.

    The 37-year-old civil servant was responsible for recruiting and making travel arrangements for those wanting to go to Syria. He was also the contact person for Malaysian fighters in Syria.

    The other recruiter fought alongside rebels in Syria last December and returned to Malaysia in April while the third was an expert in recruiting people via Facebook.

    The three recruiters are believed to have been trained by Dr Mahmud Ahmad, 36, an Islamic studies lecturer with Universiti Malaya.

    The trio’s arrest led to the arrest of 11 other supporters from various backgrounds — a 14-year-old student, a housewife, a graphic designer, a university student, factory workers and odd-job workers.

    Police had then expressed shock that the suspects came from all walks of life, suggesting that the recruitment drive was intense. Police said the recruiters would scout for targets via Facebook and brainwash them to fight coalition forces in Iraq and Syria.

    Once coaxed, the recruits would meet a 34-year-old suspect who fought in Syria.

    The trio also had connections with 36-year-old stationery shop operator Mohd Najib Hussein and Muhammad Joraimee Awang Raimee, 39, who was attached to the Selayang Municipal Council.

    Mahmud, Najib and Joraimee were previously IS recruiters but later fled the country and joined Abu Sayyaf in Southern Philippines.

     

    Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

  • Two Civil Servants Among Three Arrested In Malaysia For Suspected Links to IS

    Two Civil Servants Among Three Arrested In Malaysia For Suspected Links to IS

    KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian police said today (Dec 2) that they have detained three men, including two civil servants, suspected of being linked to the militant Islamic State group.

    The detentions bring the number of people held for suspected militant links to 43 this year.

    National police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said the three were detained Nov 27 and 28 in operations in Kuala Lumpur and in northern Kedah state.

    Mr Khalid said in a statement that a 36-year-old suspect had joined militant groups in Syria since Dec 28 last year and returned to Malaysia on April 8.

    Another two, both civil servants in their 20s, were believed to have been channelling funds to several Malaysians who want to go to Syria to join the Islamic State terror group, he said.

    The spread of the Islamic state ideology has worried Prime Minister Najib Razak, who recently warned that it can cause chaos and conflict in the country. He said the government would introduce a new anti-terrorism law next year to combat the security threat.

    No details have been given on the new law, but officials said it may include preventive measures such as detention without trial. Critics have urged the government not to revive the Internal Security Act, which allowed indefinite detention without trial. It was abolished in 2012 as part of political reforms.

    The government said they have identified 39 Malaysians fighting in Syria and Iraq, including five who had died. AP

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com