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Tag: Myanmar

  • 20 People Killed in Communal Clash Between Muslims and Buddhists from Myanmar

    20 People Killed in Communal Clash Between Muslims and Buddhists from Myanmar

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    GEORGE TOWN, Sept 18 — Twenty people savagely murdered in Penang this year are believed to be victims of communal clashes between Muslims and Buddhists from Myanmar. 

    Police said the latest was the double-murder of two men in their 30s who had their throats slit and their bodies dumped in an oil palm plantation in Kampung Manggis in Bukit Mertajam on Monday.

    Police are worried religious and ethnic tensions between the two groups in Myanmar have bubbled to surface in the state with deadly consequences. Most of the victims were Buddhists.

    They have been unable to head off the violence due to communication problems with both
    communities.

    State deputy police chief Datuk A. Thaiveegan said a special task force has been set up by police to investigate the deaths.

    “We are probing if religious disputes are involved,” he said.

    The flashpoint of this violence is Seberang Prai where Rohingya Muslims from the western Rakhine state are the main suspects in the killings.

    No one has been arrested in connection with the murders which began in January, although several weapons, mainly knives have been seized.

    The reason for the killings are not immediately clear, with both groups blaming each other for the bitter tension.

    Police sources said the victims, mostly factory workers, were brutally killed and were found with their throats slit.

    A source said: “Six people were been killed in central Seberang Prai in three separate cases while the remains of two other victims were discovered in southern Seberang Prai in the last four months.

    “The remaining cases were reported in northern Seberang Prai while several other cases have also been occurred on the island.”

    The source said the victims, all men, aged between 20 and 40 were abducted from their homes and murdered elsewhere.

    Most of the victims were found without documents and their remains were identified by colleagues and friends.

    Police believe the assailants had targeted their victims through their workplace colleagues and had also obtained information on them from members of their community who have been here for years.

    Investigations have shown further conflict is at risk and police have asked employers of the victims for leads.

    On Monday, a plantation worker stumbled upon the bodies of the two men at about 8.50am. Apart from slit throats, they also suffered multiple stab wounds.

    Police believe they were murdered at another place before their bodies were dumped at the plantation.

    One of the victims was identified based on his travel document while the identity of the other is still unknown.

    Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/gruesome-myanmar-communal-murders-grip-penang#sthash.GqBY6W1Z.I4nMDZ6q.dpuf

  • Failed Policies of UMNO Are to Blame For Certain Lazy Malays

    Failed Policies of UMNO Are to Blame For Certain Lazy Malays

    IT is wrong to single out one type of people as lazy and it does nothing to improve the situation, says Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) chief executive officer Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.

    He was commenting on a speech by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who said that shamelessness and laziness are holding back Malays.

    “Being lazy is an attitude of some people. It happens everywhere and not only among Malays,” says Saifuddin.

    Instead, Saifuddin suggests that what is needed is to improve the attitude of all Malaysians, not just limiting such efforts to any one ethnic group, as well as positive encouragement.

    “We should celebrate successful people and motivate others to emulate them.

    “Continuously nagging people will not make any difference,” says the former Deputy Education Minister.

    PKR deputy information chief Sim Tze Tzin accuses Dr Mahathir of simply trying to cause provocation. He says failed policies have caused Malays to seem as though they are lazy.

    “Dr Mahathir is just trying to provoke Malay insecurity by comparing them with other people.

    “The Malays that I know, who work in Bayan Baru and Bayan Lepas factories, are among the best in the world.

    “They are hard-working and disciplined and they come from all over the country,” says Sim, who is also the MP for Bayan Baru.

    He says this showed that Malays are not lazy and could stand toe-to-toe or shoulder-to-shoulder with any people in the world.

    However, he says failed policies, including practices initiated by Dr Mahathir himself, are to blame in cases where certain Malays could be seen as lazy.

    “His policies are what has made certain Malays very lazy, such as cronies who get projects and immediately pass them out to contractors.

    “This is the policy laid out by Dr Mahathir that made some elite Malays very lazy,” says Sim.

    But, he adds, that it is not only the elites that have lost out in some way due to failed policies but also the poor.

    “Failed policies of Umno are destroying their economic prospects. Cheap labour from Indonesia or Myanmar are suppressing the low wages of Malaysians, of low-income families, the majority of whom are Malays.

    “At the end of the day, because of cheap labour, they give up.

    “Not because they are lazy, but because of the cheap wages, they cannot sustain themselves,” says Sim, adding that low pay provides a “disincentive” to work.

    “Don’t blame the Malays, blame the policies,” says Sim in conclusion.

    Source: http://www.therakyatpost.com/allsides/2014/09/15/malays-lazy-blame-failed-policies-malays/#ixzz3DRO8UjBB

    Read more: http://www.therakyatpost.com/allsides/2014/09/15/malays-lazy-blame-failed-policies-malays/#ixzz3DRNmk57x