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Tag: Muslims

  • Aung San Suu Kyi Asks US Not To Use ‘Rohingya’

    Aung San Suu Kyi Asks US Not To Use ‘Rohingya’

    Myanmar recognizes 135 ethnic groups within its borders. But the people who constitute No. 136? They are the-people-who-must-not-be-named.

    Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar’s first democratically elected government since 1962, embraced that view last week when she advised the US ambassador against using the term “Rohingya” to describe the persecuted Muslim population that has lived in Myanmar for generations.

    Her government, like the previous military-led one, will not call the Rohingya people by that name because it does not recognize them as citizens, said her spokesman, Mr U Kyaw Zay Ya, a Foreign Ministry official.

    “We won’t use the term Rohingya because Rohingya are not recognized as among the 135 official ethnic groups,” said Kyaw Zay Ya, who was at the meeting. “Our position is that using the controversial term does not support the national reconciliation process and solving problems.”

    The stance does not bode well for the Rohingya or for rights activists who had hoped that Ms Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, would reverse discriminatory policies that have marginalized the Rohingya and prompted many to flee.

    “She is not saying anything about the Rohingya people in Myanmar and their rights to religion and education and health care,” said Aung Win, a Rohingya community leader in Rakhine state. “As a Nobel Peace Prize winner, why is she so silent?”

    The US Embassy confirmed that the newly arrived ambassador, Scot A Marciel, had met with Ms Suu Kyi but would not comment on their discussions.

    Her position on the name has taken on great significance as her party, the National League for Democracy, establishes the country’s first nonmilitary government in decades. Barred by the military-drafted constitution from serving as president, she holds the posts of state counselor and foreign minister, among others, but she is the country’s de facto leader. The new government took over in March.

    The Rohingya in Myanmar, Muslims in a primarily Buddhist land, are denied basic rights, including citizenship, freedom of worship, education, marriage and freedom of travel. More than 100,000 who were driven from their homes by violence in 2012 are in resettlement camps. Many fled on dangerous sea voyages.

    Many nationalist Buddhists reject the name Rohingya and call them Bengalis, implying that they are interlopers from Bangladesh, a position also taken by the former military government.

    The US Embassy recently drew criticism for using the word Rohingya in a statement expressing condolences for the deaths of at least 20 people whose boat capsized on April 19 off the coast of Rakhine.

    Nationalist Buddhists challenged the new Myanmar government to protest the Americans’ use of the word and staged a demonstration outside the United States Embassy in Yangon.

    At an April 28 news conference, Marciel responded by saying that it was standard practice around the world to let communities decide for themselves what to be called.

    “And normally, when that happens, we would call them what they want to be called,” he said. “It’s not a political decision; it’s just a normal practice.”

    Suu Kyi’s decision to raise the issue with Marciel the next day was an apparent concession to the extremists and was welcomed by the nationalist Association for the Protection of Race and Religion, also known as Ma Ba Tha.

    “We don’t want that word because they are not our nationality,” said Thaw Bar Ka, a leader of the group. “And now I read the news that the Foreign Ministry agrees with us. It’s really good. At first, I thought the new government would be useless on this issue.”

    Rights advocates expressed disappointment that Ms Suu Kyi was not willing to go against popular opinion and support a dispossessed people.

    “It’s dismaying that the new NLD-led government is continuing this wrongheaded effort to police the language of Yangon-based diplomats about the Rohingya,” said Mr Phil Robertson, deputy director for Asia at Human Rights Watch.

    Mr Kyaw Zay Ya said Suu Kyi had not ordered the Americans to stop using the word or threatened consequences if they did.

     

    Source: TODAY Online

  • Kebakaran Besar Musnahkan Kem Pelarian Muslim Rohingya

    Kebakaran Besar Musnahkan Kem Pelarian Muslim Rohingya

    Satu kebakaran besar memusnahkan sebuah kem pelarian Muslim Rohingya di wilayah Rakhine, Myanmar. Ia menjejas sekitar 450 keluarga Muslim Rohingya yang tinggal di kem tersebut.

    Menurut Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (UN), kira-kira 50 tempat perlindungan rosak teruk, menjejas 2,000 orang. Sisa-sisa atap kayu dan atap besi yang bengkok dapat dilihat melalui asap tebal yang muncul selepas kebakaran itu berlaku.

    Kawasan perkhemahan itu dihuni oleh sekitar 100,000 anggota kaum Rohingya.

    Kebakaran itu dipercayai bermula dari sebuah dapur. Angin yang kencang menjadi punca api merebak dari rumah ke rumah, di kawasan yang kering itu.

    Seorang pegawai polis memberitahu AFP bahawa api itu dapat dipadamkan selepas ia membakar rumah 448 keluarga.

    Sekitar 140,000 penduduk, sebahagian besarnya dari golongan minoriti Rohingya, kini tinggal di kem-kem seperti itu setelah mereka melarikan diri daripada keganasan agama, melibatkan penganut muslim Rohingya dan penganut Buddha pada tahun 2012.

    Konflik tersebut memecah belahkan wilayah Rakhine dan masyarakatnya berdasarkan agama dan melemahkan ekonomi tempatan.

    Source: Berita Mediacorp

  • Zulfikar Shariff: Should Malays Accommodate Other Communities, Or Should We Assimilate?

    Zulfikar Shariff: Should Malays Accommodate Other Communities, Or Should We Assimilate?

    A few years ago, I had a discussion with an Australian expert on history and politics in the Malay world.

    He asked me what I thought about racial relations among the Chinese and the indigenous communities in Malaysia and Indonesia.

    Specifically, he asked whether the Chinese in Malaysia is happier than those in Indonesia.

    While in Malaysia, the Chinese community is able to run their own schools, media, religious institutions, political associations and parties and maintain their identity, in Indonesia they had to fully assimilate, give up their Chinese names, culture and at times even their religion.

    He argued that it appears the Chinese community that has largely assimilated and become part of Indonesian society is happier and better adjusted than those that are given their rights and ability to maintain their identity in Malaysia.

    While the claim need to be tested, it does indicate how the Malays could have demanded full assimilation for better race relations among the communities.

    Instead, they try to accommodate other communities, even if some of them may not appreciate the accommodation

     

    Source: Zulfikar Shariff

  • Myanmar Monk Builds Pagodas In Church And Muslim Areas

    Myanmar Monk Builds Pagodas In Church And Muslim Areas

    A Myanmar Christian leader appealed for calm Wednesday (Apr 27) after an influential Buddhist monk built pagodas within the compound of a church and near a mosque, in a country beset with religious tensions.

    The incursions began last month when supporters of the monk Myaing Kyee Ngu erected a religious statue and planted a Buddhist flag on the church’s grounds in the eastern state of Karen.

    They returned on Saturday to erect a pagoda, according to local Anglican Bishop Saw Stylo. The supporters have since moved on to build a pagoda near a mosque in a Muslim-majority village in the same township of Hlaingbwe, he said.

    “That is why I asked all local young people, whether they are Buddhist, Muslim or Christian, not to do anything wrong,” said Saw Stylo, who oversees Karen state, Mon state and Tanintharyi region.

    Myanmar, which was stifled for decades under military rule, has long bristled with religious tensions between majority Buddhists and minority groups.

    These surged sharply after a 2012 outbreak of violence in the western state of Rakhine between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya left scores dead. Tens of thousands of Rohingya remain trapped in bleak displacement camps.

    Buddhist nationalists have grown increasingly strident since then and their influence has been credited with swaying Aung San Suu Kyi’s party against fielding a single Muslim candidate in last year’s election, which swept her pro-democracy movement into power.

    It is not clear what is behind the recent pagoda construction in Karen state. But the office of local MP Saw Chit Khin told AFP that Buddhist authorities had already written to the monk to urge him to cease building.

    Images in local media showed dozens of people praying around the newly-erected white stupa.

    “We feel very worried and sensitive about it. This might be political as well as religious,” said Saw Stylo.

    “I am very interested in how the new government will bring Myanmar to a brighter future. That is why I requested everyone to stay calm in this case,” he added.

    Christian communities in ethnic minority areas have for years complained of encroachments by zealous Buddhists, particularly through the presence of the military.

    Christians and Muslims are each thought to make up over four percent of the population. But updated figures from a 2014 census in Myanmar – its first in three decades – have not yet been released amid fears that any perceived increases could further stoke animosity.

     

    Source: ChannelNewsAsia

  • Lelaki Dijel 24 Bulan Kerana Dakwa Diri Imam Mahdi

    Lelaki Dijel 24 Bulan Kerana Dakwa Diri Imam Mahdi

    Seorang lelaki mengaku bersalah membuat dakwaan palsu dengan mengisytiharkan diri sendiri sebagai Imam Mahdi.

    Dia dihukum penjara 24 bulan dan didenda RM4,900 (S$1,680) oleh Mahkamah Tinggi Syariah di Kuala Lumpur.

    Hakim Syarie, Mohd Amran Mat Zain menjatuhkan hukuman itu terhadap Mat Alimin Abdullah, 36, mengikut Seksyen 6 Akta Kesalahan Jenayah Syariah (Wilayah-Wilayah Persekutuan) 1997.

    Mahkamah turut memerintahkan Mat Alimin dipenjara enam bulan lagi sekiranya gagal membayar denda tersebut.

    Sebelum menjatuhkan hukuman, Hakim Mohd Amran berkata pegangan akidah merupakan satu daripada perkara dalam teras keimanan umat Islam, dan tidak boleh dicampur aduk dengan perkara-perkara lain yang membolehkan timbul keraguan dalam seseorang individu.

    “Mahkamah berpuas hati dengan rayuan yang dikemukakan oleh tertuduh untuk tujuan meringankan hukuman dan hujahan pendakwaan untuk pemberatan hukuman.

    “Sehubungan dengan itu, mahkamah menjatuhkan hukuman denda RM4,900 dan penjara 24 bulan,” kata hakim.

    Mat Alimin didakwa melakukan kesalahan tersebut dengan melafazkan: “Sekiranya saya benar, siapa yang mempermainkan saya, mendustai saya, saya serah kepada
    Allah, sebab orang yang bercakap pada hari ini Muhammad Al-Mahdi utusan Allah.

    “Sekiranya benar saya utusan Allah, siapa yang mempermainkan saya akan dilaknat oleh Allah. Ini janji Nabi Muhammad akhir zaman nanti akan keluar umatku namanya seperti namaku, berasal dari keturunanku, nama bapanya seperti nama bapaku dan keluar dari arah Timur.”

    Dia didakwa melakukan kesalahan tersebut di dalam bilik mesyuarat Pejabat Mufti Wilayah Persekutuan di Menara Pusat Islam, Jalan Perdana antara pukul 3.00 petang hingga 3.30 petang, semalam (26 April).

    Terdahulu dalam rayuannya, Mat Alimin yang tidak diwakili peguam, merayu kepada mahkamah agar hanya dikenakan hukuman denda yang ringan kerana perlu
    menanggung dua anaknya yang masih bersekolah dan kini hanya bekerja sendiri.

    Ketika hakim bertanya mengenai latar belakang, sejarah kesihatan dan tahap pendidikannya, tertuduh berkata dia berpendidikan Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM)
    dan tidak pernah mendapat rawatan psikiatri dari mana-mana pusat perubatan.

    Pegawai Pendakwa dari Jabatan Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (Jawi), Zainol Rashid Hasin, berhujah bahawa tertuduh dalam keadaan kesihatan yang baik dan waras ketika melakukan kesalahan dan wajar mendapat hukuman berbentuk pemenjaraan.

    Source: Berita Mediacorp