Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Travelling

Haven't really been posting on this weblog for some time due to my frequent travels. Now I am back, will start to make new postings. So stay tuned.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Capital Punishment for Rape

Excerpts from The Malay Ideals (2002)

If serious crimes were meted out with stricter and harsher punishments, we are confident that their numbers would reduce dramatically. In Malaysia, serious sexual offences such as rape is strikingly on the increase. In 1985 there were 522 reported cases of rape and by 1996 it had more than doubled to 1071.[1], [2] A later study announced that 2.4 cases were reported daily in 1993 and the figure had risen to 4.1 in 1998. For every reported case there were 10 others unreported. i.e. every 1.7 hours, a person is raped in Malaysia.[3] Perpetrators of such heinous crime are even willing to kill their victims[4] to avoid identification and indictment.[5] Since June 1995 up until June 2001, 70 teens had been raped and killed.[6] School children within school compounds have been targeted.[7] Young children are not safe either.[8] Even the elderly are not protected from such terrible ordeal. Rape is even committed by university students[9] and police officers.[10] Incest is also increasing. Fathers rape their own children, brothers rape their own sisters. These rapists feel no remorse for their action.[11]

Under the Penal Code Section 376, offenders for rape can be sentenced to a minimum of 5 years of imprisonment and a maximum of 20 years. They are also liable to be fined or whipped up to 6 strokes of the rattan. The law also stipulates under section 289 of the Criminal Procedure Code that an offender above the age of 50 years be exempted from being caned in consideration of his physical condition.[12] The punishment for rape does not seem to deter criminals. The incidence of rape has not reduced in number. Regrettably it is on the increase.[13]

The fear of being discovered or detained is a big factor for a perpetrator to abandon his intention of a criminal act. If the criminal thinks that he will never be identified and get caught ¾ or very unlikely that he will ever be ¾ he will commit the act. If he thinks otherwise, he would not proceed. In other words, the perception of how effective the authority is at discovering the act, identifying the criminal, apprehending and detaining him, is a key factor that determines whether the crime is acted upon. The fear of being apprehended is a deterrent in itself.

The harshest punishment should also be imposed because this too is a source of deterrent in itself. It is in our opinion that in the case of rape, the assailant if found guilty and convicted, ought to receive the capital punishment. The logic for advocating this punishment is taken from the Shari'ah in accordance with hadiths advocating it for adulterers.[14] Although some may argue that the punishment of death to adulterers is not mentioned in the Qur'an and may even contradict the Holy Book[15] ¾ if we took the prescription of the hadith as true for the sake of argument, we shall see the relevance for advocating the death penalty for rape. It is known that in the case of adultery, according to stringent Islamic law as mentioned above, the act is punishable by death.[16] A person who willingly submits to having extramarital sexual relationship and dishonouring the marriage is condemned to capital punishment. In rape, the victim is neither willing and is forced against her own wish. Her life was also under threat. In most cases, the victim will suffer emotional and psychological disturbance and her sexual life will be affected considerably even if not throughout her entire life. Because of the inhumane nature of rape, the threat on the victim's life, the dire consequences it imposed upon the victim, and the nature of the enforced sexual assault, the form of punishment should be equal or more severe than the punishment for adultery. Therefore capital punishment is advocated for the case similar to rape.[17] However, statutory rape is a different matter. Statutory rape implies consented sexual intercourse of a minor with an adult. The classification of statutory rape might have to be phased out if a law that is to be more attuned to the Islamic Shari'ah is to be applied. This is because according to Islam, sex before marriage is prohibited. Statutory rape is still classified under adultery or fornication.

Even if we did not apply the death sentence upon a rapist, a harsh enough sentence such as the hundred lashes[18] ought to be instituted. In the case of incest, death sentence, is reasonable.[19] Currently incest is charged under rape but the government is amending the Penal Code in order to allow for a stiffer (minimum 6 years instead of 5 years as for rape) punishment in the case of incest and to categorise it as a separate crime to rape.[20] Incest is worse than any case of rape because the perpetrator is a part of the family where the girls and women depend upon to confer protection. But the very people they depend upon now victimise them. The psychological trauma must have been unbearable. A study have shown that in nearly half the cases of incest, the perpetrator is the victim's own natural father.[21], [22] The whole concept and nature of the family breaks down. There is no worse a sexual crime than incest. Worse still, the vast majority involve Malays.[23]

It should be noted that before the Hadd punishment can be imposed on the accused, there is a need to ensure that there is only the barest level of doubt concerning the culpability of the assailant. If possible, no doubt at all of course this is onerous to achieve. Nevertheless, Islam requires that four witnesses are brought to dispel any doubt because to impose such a punitive measure requires that the burden of proof lies at the higher level of "certainty". If there is any element of doubt beyond the barest minimum, then a less harsh a punishment should be instituted in place of the Hadd punishment.

In the case of fornication, even if the culpability of a fornicator is never doubted, at times it is better to be merciful. The Holy Prophet, in the few instances that such cases were brought to his attention by the perpetrators themselves, he (the Prophet) would prefer not to hear their case at all. It could be inferred from this treatment that the Prophet had wished the perpetrators to repent, and to cover their own shame. He time again, turned them away when they came to him for judgment. However upon their unrelenting insistence, the Prophet passed on the Hadd punishment.[24] During the time of the Prophet, not a single case of adultery or fornication was established by the use of four witnesses. All were based on confessions.

In the case of rape, a lesser form of punishment may be necessary because there is hardly a case whereby the victim can bring in four witnesses to testify to the crime. In the case of rape, this requirement is almost an impossibility ¾ even so in the cases of fornication. These acts are virtually never acted upon in full view of the public. If however there are other means of ascertaining the crime to the higher requirement of "certainty" or does not create doubt beyond the "barest minimum of doubt" such evidence as a medical examination that verifies the presence of the assailant's semen in the coital passage coupled with the evidence of forced entry (in rape) then the Hadd punishment may be instituted in place of a confession on the part of the criminal or the presence of four witnesses. Circumstantial evidence should be allowed and so is forensics.[25] However, if the criminal act can only be ascertained to the level of "beyond reasonable doubt" and not to the higher level of "certainty", then, a hundred lashes seem desirable as a punishment for the crime of rape as a deterrent under Ta'azir.[26]

Footnotes:
[1] Statistics from The Royal Malaysian Police, Sourced out from 'Shame, Secrecy and Silence : Study of Rape in Penang', Coordinated and Edited by Rohana Ariffin; Penang : The Women's Crisis Centre, Penang 1997 p 9.
[2] In the year 2000, the number of rape cases had increased to 1,210 (3.3 cases per day) and by 2001, the figure stood at 1,354 (3.7 cases per day) ¾ The Star 4 February 2002 "Cops : One murder, three rape cases reported daily".
[3] The Star 8 December 1999 "Rape Cases on the Rise, Says Study".
[4] e.g. the case of Noor Suzaily Mukhtar, a lady engineer who was raped, sodomised and murdered on a bus on October 7th 2000. School girls Farra Deeba Rustam and Nurul Hanis Kamil, also met the same fate on February 13th and July 3rd 2001 respectively.
[5] Reported number of rape victims in 1995: Malays (645), Chinese (139), Indians (97) Others (124) 'Table 3 : Rape Victim at National Level According to Race (1995)' The Royal Malaysian Police; Sourced out from 'Shame, Secrecy and Silence : Study of Rape in Penang' p 11.
[6] The Star 17 August 2001 "70 Teens Raped and Killed Since 1995".
[7] Even school children are not safe from rape, rape within school compounds Sunday Star 12 February 1995 "Rape Report Leaves Parents Very Worried".
[8] Young girls are lured, kidnapped, gulled and forced into prostitution.
[9] New Straits Times 13 April 2001 "Nine Students Held Over Gang-Rape" and The Star 27 April 2001 "USM Undergrad Charged with Raping Schoolgirl".
[10] The Star 28 March 2002 "Three More Cops Held for Rape".
[11] There is no longer the fear of God in the human heart. There is no longer taqwa (God consciousness). Faith, is deficient. Thus such crimes are prevalent.
[12] 'Shame, Secrecy and Silence : Study of Rape in Penang' p 114.
[13] Ibid. p 9.
[14] "Sahih Muslim Hadith (Abridged)" "Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) said to Ma'iz ibn Malik: Is it true what has reached me about you? He said: What has reached you about me? He said: It has reached me that you have committed (adultery) with the slave girl of so and so? He said: Yes. He (the narrator) said: He testified four times. He (the Prophet) then made pronouncement about him and he was stoned (to death)."
[15] Holy Qur'an 24:2 "The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication flog each of them with a hundred stripes: let not compassion move you in their case in a matter prescribed by Allah if ye believe in Allah and the Last Day: and let a party of the Believers witness their punishment."
[16] Abdur Rahman I. Doi "Shari'ah: The Islamic Law" London : Ta Ha Publishers 1984 pp 244-246.
[17] Some advocate crucifixion as punishment. Mingguan Malaysia 27 June 1997 "Perogol Dihukum Mati" (Rapist Punished by Death) "Rape falls under the category of Hudud or highway robbery and punishable by execution or crucifixion, of the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides or exile from the land: Crucifixion is considered correct".
[18] See note above (24:2).
[19] The Royal Malaysian Police suggested the death penalty be imposed upon those who commit incest on victims below 12 years old "Perogol Dihukum Mati" (Rapist Punished by Death) op. cit.
[20] Utusan Malaysia, 26 July 2001 "Kanun Keseksaan Dipinda" (Penal Code Amended).
[21] "A study reported 48.8 per cent of incest are committed by natural fathers, 24.4 per cent step fathers" Mingguan Malaysia 27 July 1997 "Cadangan Polis Memang Wajar" (Police Suggestion is Fitting).
[22] Another study of reported cases of incest showed that in 1995 there had been (173 cases) of which incest committed by natural father was (62 cases) or [35.8 per cent], 1996 (200) (father - 65) [32.5 per cent], 1997 January-April (56) (father - 20) [35.7 per cent]. The study classified incest as rape by natural fathers, uncles, natural brothers, grandfathers, close relatives, step fathers, step brothers, brothers-in-law and distant relatives Mingguan Malaysia 27 July 1997 "Jumlah Kes Merogol Keluarga Semakin Meningkat" (Total Rape Cases on the Increase).
[23] "Cadangan Polis Memang Wajar" (Police Suggestion is Fitting) op. cit.
[24] "Sahih Muslim Hadith (Abridged)" "A person belonging to the clan of Aslam, who was called Ma'iz ibn Malik, came to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) and said: I have committed an immoral crime (adultery), so inflict punishment upon me. Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) turned him away again and again. He then asked his people (about the state of his mind). They said: We do not know of any ailment of his except that he has committed some crime and he thinks that he will not be able to relieve himself of its burden unless the Hadd is imposed upon him. He (Ma'iz) came back to Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) who commanded us to stone him. We took him to the Baqi' al-Gharqad (the graveyard of Medina). We neither tied him nor dug any ditch for him. We attacked him with bones, clods and pebbles. He ran away and we ran after him until he reached the stony ground (al-Harrah) and stopped there and we stoned him with the heavy stones of the Harrah until he became motionless (he died). He (the Holy Prophet) then addressed (us) in the evening saying: Whenever we set forth on an expedition in the cause of Allah, some of those connected with us shrieked (under the pressure of sexual lust) like the bleating of a billy-goat. It is essential that if a person having committed such a deed is brought to me, I should punish him. He neither begged forgiveness for him nor cursed him."
[25] Holy Qur'an 12:26 He said: "It was she that sought to seduce me from my (true) self." And one of her household saw (this) and bore witness (thus) "If it be that his shirt is rent from the front then is her tale true and he is a liar!
[26] See note above on Islamic Jurisprudence for an explanation on Ta'azir.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Human Trafficking & the Sex Trade

This problem has been there in Malaysia for ages and there isvery little being done. Indeed the authorities and government are not serious. They raid a place and the place itself springs up again the very next day. The perpetrators go scot free, and these enslaved workers get detained for having no legal documents.



I dont think the US is wrong in their statement that Malaysia is one of the worst countries involved in human trafficking. Only we are in self denial.



The government would justify, especially in the case of the sex trade that the trade cannot be rooted out, and may even provide justification to have these forced sex workers/slave in this Muslim country! Call it social responsibility and providing much needed services!



I call on the government to shut up and buck up! I bet in 1 year's time, after all this fiasco is over, after the war of words have subsided, there would be more people being trafficked into Malaysia and the sex trade will flourish to an even the government would still be doing nothing meaningful to stop the trade. Mark my word.

Today is Friday

6:162 Say: Lo! my worship and my sacrifice and my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the Worlds.

Since it is a Friday, a holy day for Muslims, what better ways to blog about the above verse from the Holy Quran.

A beautiful verse above succintly describes how the life of a Muslim ought to be. At least, this is what Muslims must aspire to be: to worship, sacrifice, to live and die for the sake of the Almighty God.

In other words, the Almighty God must dominate our thinking, remembering Him, choosing the correct path to take when confronted in any situation, choosing the path that we know what God would want us to do.

If we only applied this simple principle, to live and die for Almighty God, I bet this world would indeed transform for the better.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

KL Downpour : A Surprise Visit

It rained for four hours on 11.06.2007, reminiscing the downpour recorded on an exact date in 2003, a revisitation.

And the result?....flash floods that even prompted the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to make a surprise visit to the DBKL (Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur) the day after, requesting explanations and making recommendations and demands. This is the sort of leadership that Malaysia requires, far from the half-hearted response seen during the previous massive floods late last year that hit southern Malaysia in which we saw the PM seemingly prioritising his end of year holidays than that of the fate of the rakyat.

This is a good sign that AAB is on his toes, perhaps a result of his new marriage. The Premier seems to have acquired a new burst of energy and enthusiasm in his work. Let's just hope that this is a start to a better leadership which I must say is rather lacking for the past few years since Tun Mahathir Mohamed stepped down.

Every Single Individual Malay Is Ultimately Responsible

Excerpts taken from The Malay Ideals (2002)

To strive for excellence must be every Malay's single obsession and priority. This is the only way to improve themselves collectively. This is because every human organisation ¾ be it political, economic, scientific, cultural, religious, and others ¾ including the community and the nation are made up of single individuals. To strengthen an organisation, one has to invigorate the individuals that make up the organisation. If the individuals that make up these organisations are weak, the organisation itself will be weak. If the individuals are rich for example, the nation will become prosperous, and so forth. If individuals are superior, then the community will be superior also. Bearing this in mind, it is obvious and expedient that every individual Malay has to vie for superiority. Mediocrity will not improve the fate of a people substantively. Each Malay person, man or woman therefore has to strive and struggle in impelling himself or herself to the limit. Each person must be the cog in the wheel helping to support the wheel of Malay progress through sheer individual strength. If the cogs are weak, the wheel will be in ruin. If Malay individuals are weak, the Malay community will be frail. Also, Malay individuals must not be satisfied with his or her achievements. They must continuously improve. They must be intent on achieving perfection and to better perfection even.[1] There is little use in having a few leaders, corporate individuals, or intellectuals striving very hard when the rest of society is not concerned. Leaders will not be able to make much change if the masses refuse change. Every individual Malay must be motivated and dynamic before the Malay community as a whole can become strong. Every individual must be productive before the Malay society can produce results. The Malay mindset has to covet greatness through struggle, toil, strenuous efforts, persistence and fortitude. They must strive hard, in all their efforts and undertakings. This must be made the Jihad (striving) of the Malays the new mindset of the Malay salient feature. This, has to be their unwavering belief and commitment. Only through this mechanism can they become truly successful.
[1] Perfection here implies excellence. Perfection is only relative to one's given knowledge and skills. With increased knowledge and skills, excellence can be pushed further into a greater state of perfection.

Friday, June 08, 2007

Well Wishes




We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on his marriage to Jeanne Danker Abdullah this Saturday. May this union bring into the 1st family a positive balance of opinions that may have influenced the PM's various views on Malaysian Politics.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

11th Hour

At 4pm, a day before the murder trial took place, the AG found it fit to change the prosecution team.

Is this to ensure that the prosecution will be more effective?
Is this to ensure that the prosecution will ultimately fumble?


I've never seen a single case change defence lawyers and prosecutors at this rate in history. This should go down in the Malaysia's book of records or perhaps the Guiness world book of records.

For goodness' sake, can't we just go on with the trial without manipulating who is ultimately to be found guilty and who is to be allowed free? For goodness' sake, someone's life has already been stolen, and you people ought to be thankful that it is not your life that was stolen. Imagine if it was indeed you who were being blown to pieces. Who will look after your dependents? How has this aggravated the lives of many who depend on the deceased, the young ones, the elderly. Have the murderers and plotters ever thought of this? It is not just the life of the deceased that was taken, it is also the lives of those around her that was taken away for good. You would not want this to happen to you or your loved ones and you find it fit to do it onto others? How misguided you have become. And you think you will be safe and go unpunished?

Indeed humanity has lost its soul. I pity those who think they can get away with murder. They might be safe in this world, but they will never escape punishment. And they think they can live forever? No, indeed they will realise that time is relative. And that a hundred years on earth is but a blink of an eye. They will not escape punishment. Never.

Strive Hard We Must

94:0 In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
94:1 Have We not expanded thee thy breast?-
94:2 And removed from thee thy burden
94:3 The which did gall thy back?-
94:4 And raised high the esteem (in which) thou (art held)?
94:5 So, verily, with every difficulty, there is relief:
94:6 Verily, with every difficulty there is relief.
94:7 Therefore, when thou art free (from thine immediate task), still labour hard,
94:8 And to thy Lord turn (all) thy attention.


As far as I know, there is not a verse that is repeated in this manner in the entire Quran; one right after the other. This is to emphasise the importance of facing whatever hardships may come our way and that relief is often close by.

Indeed, with every difficulty and hardship, there is relief although we might not realise it. There is always something to gain from the hardships we face if we manage to wade through it somehow.

This is also an injunction for us to be patient. An injunction for us to remain steadfast and to continue to strive hard although we might be free from any occupation.

This surah (chapter) is also telling us to never rest on our laurels. That we must continue to improve ourselves every single day. And of course we must always have the thought that God is ever watchful of our every action because this will keep us in check.

If this simple commandment is implemented wholeheartedly by every single Muslim, rest assured that they will always be masters instead of slaves.

Before a Muslim nation can attain greatness, individual Muslims must attain individual greatness. If the vast majority of Muslims are of sterling quality, the Muslim nation will assuredly be great. Thus to be a great Muslim nation starts at the level of every single individual. The responsibily rests on our own personal and individual person. No one else will be responsible.

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Proton Lost More

The Star 1.06.2007:

PETALING JAYA: Proton Holdings Bhd failed to meet its key performance indicators (KPIs) for the fiscal year ended March 31 (FY07) as revenue dropped 37% to RM4.9bil from RM7.8bil in FY06.

It posted a whopping net loss of RM591.4mil against a profit of RM46.7mil previously. Loss per share stood at 107.7 sen compared with earnings per share of 8.4 sen in FY06.


Proton has almost depleted its cash reserves of RM3 billion after the new management took over since end of 2005.

When the new management took over, I was sceptical. I thought the government made a wrong move by appointing new people into executive positions at proton when the previous management did not do too badly, having accumulated cash reserves of more than RM 3 billion.

At the back of my mind, I had an inkling that the Proton's financial results that were to come thereafter would show it to be in a worse rather than better condition but of course I couldn't say for sure. The reasons for the shake up at Proton previously was not that of mismanagement, but it seemed more of a political appointment in order to get rid of a certain individual who had a mind of his own, who would stand up and speak out, whatever the costs.
After the old CEO was dropped out, the sale of Augusta too effect at a sobering Euro 1 although the motorbike itself was chosen to be the best motorbike in the world for that particular year. The reason given was to streamline operation and concentrate on its core business as well as cut losses. Proton wanted to go into collaboration with other car makers, one after another, with deadlines extended but without much success, until now. It then expressed desire to pay off RM150,000 for each vendor that was to close shop as compensation (I didn't know it was so lucrative to close a non-viable business until Proton showed that it can be so).

I had a feeling that Proton was to be in worse hands after the management shook out. Not because its CEO seemed overconfident or even sounding arrogant.

And today, I was proven right. It is about time that the government acknowledges its mistakes and right its wrong.

Reduce the Price of Cars

The inflated prices of cars (Cars are ironically more expensive in Malaysia than in more wealthy nations such as Japan, UK, Korea, France or the US) is leeching out money from the average household.

For a nation which is still developing, we require more capital to push start Small Medium Industries and Entreprises which is a key area in generating new economic opportunities. Without much capital, such endeavour would be placed on the backburner.

The inflated price of cars bleeds the household of capital accumulation opportunity. Instead of having more money to keep as possible capital, more is being paid to their bankers and of course to the government. Less money is available for spending.

Many individuals spend on their cars to settle their loan. Car instalments can take up 30% of their small salaries compared to those of the West which is far less than this figure. In some cases, it is higher than this.

In taxing too high on cars and imposing various duties and other levies, the price of cars in Malaysia has inflated to an unreasonable figure, and as a result, the people have to spend years (7 years etc) slugging it out just to pay up. Instead of having more money to have better living conditions, now they have to cut on their food, clothing, family outings, education and other more important tasks. This does not happen in Western countries.

If we reduce the price of cars, we would have more money for savings and have enough to accumulate capital for perhaps entrepenurial pursuits, which will push start small medium industries.



Moreover, with the reduction in the price of cars, there will be less accidents on the road that will rob one individual's life potential loss of earning of RM30,000,000 (average lifetime worth of a single individual) and not to mention the cost of disability and the effects on the families involved. More individuals will be able to afford a car as opposed to a motorcycle (The vast majority of road traffic accidents which result in fatalities are bikers).

It is not reasonable to continue paying for your car up to 7 years. The more likely figure would be below 3 years. More money should be channeled into other more essential spending rather than that of a car and it should not take up a vast portion of your income.



With greater disposable income as a result of paying less for your car, there will be more economic activity. There will be increased velocity of money, and as a result, increasing income for businesses and as a corollary to this, increased government expenditure. But more importantly, more money can be channel into more purposeful spending that benefit the household itself rather than enriching the banks through mortgage and remortgage.

No! reducing the price of cars will not make our country poorer. Instead, it will generate more economic opportunities.

Lina Joy

Lina Joy's application to have the name Islam removed from her Identity Card was turned down. This is the correct decision given the laws that pertain to Muslims as well as those who wish to renounce Islam because in this particular matter referral to the Syariah Court is required. And the Syariah Court is no less inferior to the Civil Court:

Federal Constitution 121 [Judicial Power of the Federation] (1) There shall be two High Courts of co-ordinate jurisdiction and status, namely * (a) one in the States of Malaya, which shall be known as the High Court in Malaya, and shall have its principal registry in Kuala Lumpur; and (b) one in the States of Sabah and Sarawak, which shall be known as the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak and shall have its principal registry at such place in the States of Sabah and Sarawak as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may determine;(c) repealed ; and such inferior courts as may be provided by federal law; and the High Courts and inferior courts shall have such jurisdiction and powers as may be conferred by or under federal law. (1A) The courts referred to in Clause (1) shall have no jurisdiction in respect of any matter within the jurisdiction of the Shari'ah courts.

Article 11 (of the Federal Constitution) [Freedom of Religion] "(1) Every person has the right to profess and practise his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it.(2) No person shall be compelled to pay and tax the proceeds of which are specially allocated in whole or in part for the purposes of a religion other than his own.(3) Every religious group has the right (a) to manage its own religious affairs;(b) to establish and maintain institutions for religious or charitable purposes; and (c) to acquire and own property and hold and administer it in accordance with law.(4) State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam.(5) This Article does not authorise any act contrary to any general law relating to public order, public health or morality."

Since Lina Joy was a Muslim before she renounced Islam, she would still be subject to the law of the Syariah because in Syariah Law, there is provision for cases involving apostasy. One must respect the rule of law and go through the due process of law in any given situation. Had this not been the case, lawlessness would prevail. The argument that says the Syariah does apply in her case because she renouced Islam and therefore no longer is she subject to the Syariah Law is similar to an individual getting tangled up with the law suddenly announces that he or she has renounced the citizenship of Malaysia and therefore is no longer subject to the Law of the country because she no longer believes in Malaysia. Or a more appropriate comparison would be someone born in Malaysia and is automatically bound by the laws of the land without choice. You did not choose to be born in Malaysia you might argue, but this argument is futile. This is similar to a Muslim as regards to the Syariah Law, so she is still bound by Syariah Law.

I however feel that we should not keep Muslims who wish to leave the flock. Their leaving Islam will not weaken the Muslim community, on the contrary, it will strengthen it. Why would the Muslim community wish to keep those who no longer want to remain in the community. Indeed we should councel them because there are many attempts by missionaries to influence Muslims to convert to other religions (because this region and the Malays are said to be the last frontier of missionary activities). But in the event in which after councelling has been given, if they wish to leave (for whatever reason), it is best to let them go because a weak Muslim will render the Muslim weaker. It is better to have Muslims who are strong than Muslim who are weak and non-believing. For every 1 Muslim who wish to leave Islam, there are 10 non-Muslims who wish to enter into Islam. This is a natural process of weeding out what is unwanted and seedling new and stronger seeds.

109:1-6 Say: O disbelievers! I worship not that which ye worship; Nor worship ye that which I worship. And I shall not worship that which ye worship. Nor will ye worship that which I worship. Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion.

2:256 There is no compulsion in religion. The right direction is henceforth distinct from error. And he who rejecteth false deities and believeth in Allah hath grasped a firm handhold which will never break. Allah is Hearer, Knower.

Monday, May 28, 2007

NST: 28.05.2007 Women's Dressing: Drastic change of mindset needed

"It is a fallacy that "provocative" dressing leads to sexual crimes. And yet this fallacy persists, not just in the minds of some men, but also in the minds of some women."-NST

This statement needs to be qualified first before it is being dished out as a matter of fact.We ought to conduct a study between "provocative" dressing and sexual related crimes. Perhaps the best way to do this ought to be conducted by sociologists, comparing Asian countries that still maintain a degree of moral dress codes with that of the open dress codes of Western countries.

Looking at previous statistics, studies and reports, it seems that sexual crimes against women in Western countries far exceed those of Asian countries. Although this is not a direct cause and effect, it does seem to point to a certain direction and we may speculate with a high degree of probability what the outcome of the studies mightt be had it really been undertaken.

We may also ask some questions. If dressing provocatively is not reason for fear of increasing sexual crimes, then why do we not allow topless bars, nude shows, and playboy magazines (we will not mention pornographic films) and the like to operate in this country?

Will the presence of such increase rape in the country? From the argument of those who oppose the linkage between proper clothing attire and crime such as rape, we would suggest that their answer would be a resounding "No". But of course we know that this is not true.

In Thailand a few years ago, there was a trend for young women/ school going teenagers to wear a top without bra, because this would be more attractive as one would be able to take a peak at the jutting nipple. This mode of dressing was subsequently banned because it was deemed immoral.

Would we allow women in Malaysia to dress in the same manner? Perhaps we should allow it because some say that there is no relation between dressing and sexual crimes.

I remember not too long ago when people were shocked to see the natal cleft of a women through the exposed part of the back of her jeans. Now, it can be witnessed everywhere since there is a new trend of donning low cut jeans. Nobody screams anymore but if this "indecent exposure" is not indecency, I dont know what is.

And if men see this as sexually stimulating, who are we to blame?..those wearing them or those looking at them?

We may then pose another question, if everybody starts to dress in this manner, even if the men wanted to avoid looking at what attracts them the most, could they really have avoided it, when they are surrounded by these 'attractive' ladies? And in the course of one's daily goingabouts, if images of these women constantly bombard the brain of virile men, and as a result, increase their baseline/resting sexual arousal, and with that, tip them over the scale....then who are we to blame?

Is this not sexual harrasment of the visual kind, I may ask? We have no choice but to look at them although we wish it would be otherwise. As a matter of fact, we would be happier going about without having to be caught staring down someone's backside or bossoms. If it does not incite sexual cravings in virile young men, the least harm it does is distract someone from their work and attention.

But mind you we know that most women care for attention. Well, who doesn't, its human nature. Exposing some parts of their anatomy is one way of gaining attention because women know what attracts men. And women like attention, as do men.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

NST:26.05.2007 A TRAIL OF BROKEN DREAMS: Debts brought Ganesh here



R. Ganesh did not live to experience the life of comfort he had hoped for. Eight months after coming to Malaysia, the Indian national was dead. The cards seem to be overwhelmingly stacked against foreign workers in terms of poor working conditions, laws that do not adequately protect and employers who just do not care.

Where have we lost our sense of humanity? Are humans to be used and abused? We don't do these sort of things to animals, let alone another human beings. But, we have subhumans living amongst humans who exploit other fellow human beings recklessly.

Privatisation Move: China's Bursting, Loss of Confidence with the Malaysian Economy & Temasek

There has been talk that the various privatisation moves by publicly owned companies is a prelude to sharp sell of in the Market due to the impending burst of China's economy and the stock exchange.

It is also possible that privatisation moves show that these companies no longer have confidence in the Malaysian economy and the would rather list their shares overseas.

However, there is another talk in town that such move is a prelude to a takeover by the Singapore's investment arm Temasek, especially Maxis'.

We cannot verify if this is indeed what is happenning, however it might be plausible given the history of Temasek and its efforts to gain strategic control of the region.

It is known that Temasek did purchase Thailand's communication company Shin Corp but with dreadful repercussions due to Thailand's very nationalistic stance against foreign domination. Temasek has learnt its lessons well and a similar move would cause similar reactions in Malaysia. The only way that it might be done is taking the entity private (to reduce antagonism from the public) and buy up a significant share of the private company using nominees to hide its name.

In Thailand, subsequent investigations revealed that " Thai nominees owned 24.1% of all shares on the Thai stock exchange, and up to 36% of all shares in the technology sector." (wikipedia) In Malaysia, we do not know how much nominees own publicly listed companies and what percentage of this represents foreign interests. However, if this scenario is representative of the situation in Malaysia, we ought to be gravely concerned, and perhaps instruct similar investigations of Malaysia's public listed companies.

Slowly, our companies are bought over by foreigners and they hold all the strings. In the end, we work to enrich foreigners and our fate is in the hands of others.

Sick of Despicable Malays

I also sickened by the behaviour and attitude of Malays.

If you look at the youngsters, many are headed for doom. They imbibe alcohol, take drugs, practise free sex, dabble in anti-God movements, rape and molest yet their own race..Malay girls, waste time trying to be circus performers & stunt men (Mat Rempits with their acrobatic motorcycle acts) etc etc (the list is too long).

Truly, these are not Muslims. Muslims do not conduct themselves in this manner. They are just Malays losing their religion.

In a country in which the Malays are inferior to the other races, you would have thought that they would try their level best to be the best they can. Alas, this is not the case with the Malays.

If they are bent on destroying themselves, then let it be. We Muslims do not need these sorts of Malays. Perhaps their gravitation towards the drug culture is an evolutionary process over time to weed out intellectually inferior Malays and leave the better ones to survive.

Friday, May 25, 2007

Western Fear of Increasing Muslim Citizens

There is a fear in the Western world that the increasing number of Muslims in their own countries will in the future cause extreme dissent amongst its citizens and may bring about a clash of civilisation in their own backyard.

There are some who advocate extreme policies of curtailing the freedom of religion in the West because they foresee that Islam is hell bent on destroying their very own political and secular system.

There are some who wish that the influx of Muslims and the increasing growth rate of Muslims in Western countries ought to be reversed.

The increasing number of Muslims and their inevitable increase in political and economic influence can no longer be reversed.

Part of the reason why there is an influx of muslims into the western world is due to past colonisation of Muslim lands. Western states colonised and plundered Muslim lands for hundreds of years and thereafter felt obliged to admit these when the various Muslim nations faced persecution and wars (cf seperation of India/Pakistan..persecution and civil war in North Africa etc)

THis is perhaps a classic case of past misdeeds coming to haunt the West.

And since there is no way of reversing the scenario, the West will just have to learn to adapt with the Muslims increasing in numbers and mixing with the population.

I foresee Muslims will over time, slowly gain the acceptance of non-Muslims, provided the Muslims themselves abandon zealous religious extremism.

This can be attained, provided of course justice could be served in Iraq, Palestine and other Muslim countries trampled by the West for the West's self interests.

This choice is left to the political masters of the West. They hold the key to assuage the increasing disattisfaction of Muslims in the West. There must be an about-turn in Western policies on the Middle east and Muslims countries if they were to avoid the scenario of Muslims in the West becoming more hostile to their own governments.

If this is effected into place, then I foresee Muslims and Non-Muslims living amicably in Western countries and integrating freely in the future.

AFP 24.05.2007 : Manchester United dump Malaysia match

An invitation to Manchester United to play in Malaysia should not have been extented to the club in the first place whilst FAM is still bound by a contract with AFC.

This goes to show that the FAM and government either does not read agreements or that they do not wish to honour agreements.

Precisely due to this, we have created a problem which is unnecessary. Had they looked into the matter earlier, we would have spared this unnecessary trouble and needless time wasting and not to mention creating a tense relationship between AFC and FAM and the government.

This could have been avoided but instead a problem is created. For what purpose? For nothing..if you ask me. What a waste of time, resources as well as energy.

This is not a mark of good governance.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

The Star:23.05.2007: Women asked to be raped

It is human nature and more specifically that of men that they are attracted to sexy women or sexily dressed women.

Otherwise, why would you have topless bars and nude bars and porn movies?

And of course some men cannot control their desires (due to their mental fault) and the begin to harass women.

So, sexily dressed women do attract the attention of men and may have a cause in the increase in sexually related crimes on women. Having said that, men ought to be able to control their actions. Women dressing sexily is a separate issue from men raping women. However, dressing does play a major role in causing men to be more sexually alert and consequently may play a role in criminal acts.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

The Reluctant Politician



This book traces the life of the late Tun Dr.Ismail. For some, especially devout Muslims, there are certain aspects in the book which is rather distasteful which ought to be left out in this sort of biography. I shall not mention what these are ( I will leave it to the reader), and I too think that these aspects do not need mentioning because it might taint the image of this powerful political figure and it does not add anything to the book.

The jist of the book is to portray events surrounding the Tun's political ascendency and decisions that he made and his arguments as regards to various aspects of the formation of a new independent county and policies.

From these events we would learn a great deal just about what the man stood for and his principles.

I am most impressed by his unwavering sense of fairness and justice and his distaste for individuals lacking competence and discipline. I believe these qualities are missing in many politicians these days. His attitude reminds me of headmasters of previous years who were strict and feared by students; who stand by their unwavering sense of duty and discipline. These qualities are seriously lacking in today's world and we ought to urgently bring these back.

If we have more leaders such as the late Tun Dr.Ismail, our country would definitely be ahead of many Asian countries.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Knowledge & A Sense of Shame

Bernama 13.052007: Dr M denies he is now supporting the opposition
Earlier, in his address at the function, Dr Mahathir said the rise of a people depended on two factors, the first an untiring quest for knowledge and the second a sense of shame when having done something wrong.


If I may add, we should also have a sense of shame when having done our job poorly.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

12.05.2007: Keep Maybank's bumi rule, say Malay lawyers

Chinese businesses have been employing their own kind for years on end. If this is not discrimination, then, what is? Using the reason of Mandarin or Chinese dialects as having an advantage in business is no longer a valid reason in this day and age because even Chinese in CHina is fast taking up English.

If Maybank wishes to implement their policy of favouring a company that has at least 50% bumiputera stake (Bumiputera population in Malaysia is roughly 65%), it can do so, but do not declare it openly.

No reputable Chinese owned companies will make it an open policy to favour Chinese but of course the tacit understanding is such. So, do the same if Maybank wishes to do so.

I am sure it is not as difficult to find a lawyer's firm that fit the requirement as well as being an efficient law firm to boot.

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Apostasy

Excerpts take from The Malay Ideals (GBC 2002)

The issue of apostasy and its punishment is one of these areas prone to controversy. In Islam, every individual is given the right to choose his own religion. There is a hadith narrated by Bukhari conveying the story of a certain Christian who came into Islam and later reverted back to Christianity. He was never sentenced to any form of punishment for renouncing Islam.

During the time of the Prophet, the death sentence was pronounced on those who had come under the fold of Islam for espionage  to find weaknesses in the nascent Muslim community and to feed information back to the enemies of Islam  and for those after their conversion out of Islam pronounced war on the Muslim community. Islam for these individuals was a front to be accepted into the community and once they were in, they embarked upon their illicit intelligence work. Thus, when the Prophet pronounced the death penalty upon these apostates, it was pronounced on the basis of treason.

Furthermore, in a climate of constant warfare and bouts of hostility that erupted between the people of Medina and the people of Mecca, conversion out of Islam and vice versa by an individual is synonymous with a change in allegiance. Defection in religion was tantamount to a declaration of war against the respective parties. During this formative stage of Islam's political ascendancy, there was a need to prevent these sorts of events that could rattle Islam's social and power base * apostasy being the greatest threat. The threat of the death sentence for those who renounced Islam would nip the problem in the bud. Treason anywhere in the world is still to this day meted out with capital punishment. The purpose of which is none other than deterrence and for compromising national security. But to many Muslims who are proponents of the death sentence, the change of religion out of Islam for the mere reason of disbelief is considered to merit the death penalty also. They usually quote the hadith "Whoever changed his religion, then kill him." If taken literally, this also means that had someone accepted Islam and renounced his former religion, he would also be killed, which of course makes no sense. It only makes sense if high treason is involved. It is also significant that out of the ayahs (verses) that mention apostasy in the Holy Qur'an, none mentioned punishment for apostates in this world. They gave assurance that the apostates will be punished in the hereafter.

The freedom of religion is guaranteed in Islam otherwise it would be unfair to expect everybody who was born a Muslim not to have the freedom given to those who were born outside Islam and to chose a religion of their own. Every human being either born a Muslim or otherwise has the right to his choice of religion. This is only just. However, having said this, in the case of Malaysia, where there is a delicate balance of the differing ethnic groups, conversion out of Islam may merit special attention. It is of course arguable that reneging Islam, can be interpreted as amounting to a threat of national security since the definition of a Malay person is inextricably linked to a profession of Islam as his faith. Furthermore, conversion out of Islam is highly inflammatory to the sensitivity of Muslims in the country especially when Muslims regard themselves of having been marginalised in many areas of human endeavour. Desertion of Islam is seen as the final blow to their self-esteem and a threat. In such a setting of delicate balance where mass conversions will inevitably engender religious dissension, the death punishment, or other less intrusive laws may be appropriate to act as a deterrence if national security is at stake.

Monday, April 30, 2007

BN has won in Ijok

So it seems that for now, Malaysia deserves BN..at least in the case of Ijok. This is a reflection of the people.

I often see people in their cars, be it a BMW, Merc or a proton, throwing rubbish out the window. And it is done by all the major races in Malaysia. We may think that we are clean and hates filth but the fact of the matter is that we are not, we only think we are clean but the truth is otherwise.

This is the same with the government, we may think that we deserve a better government but we constantly vote the same people in. So, we get the government we deserve.

If the government does not do a good job, then we cannot blame them because we voted them in. So we might as well sit back and enjoy while we still can.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

NST 28.04.07: Spectre of phantom voters reappears

NST wrote:

"The opposition charges that such electoral fraud is allegedly carried out with help from the Election Commission, an agency under the Prime Minister's Department.

Election Commission officials have repeatedly rubbished such accusations but to no avail.

[]...There is also an eight-year-old listed as a voter. "


SPR has till now not answered on the inclusion of a 8 year old (more accurately a 7 year old) on this list.

You be the judge!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Rempit Culture in UMNO Youth

The rempits will remain rempits. Perhaps they will change. But to change a person's character is no easy feat. In most cases, they will remain unchanged.

Perhaps UMNO have always thought of itself as being above the law. Even if they are still subject to the same law, many feel they can manipulate the system to their advantage and escape punishment.

Getting the rempits into UMNO is the next step. Now they can use this unruly individuals to do their dirty work. Instead of fighting them, join them. They have always thought that they were above the law. THus this is its natural progression, to get the unruly who have always thought of themselves above the law to join a party whose members feel they are above the law.

To attact more mat rempits under the fold of UMNO, some of them are sent off to the north pole for a parachute jump funded by the public.(a money totally wasted just for personal publicity of the event organiser- UMNO youth!) When more rempits join UMNO, they will perhaps during election time terrorise those who do not wish to vote for UMNO or BN.

Nothing has changed. Society has become less and less rational and more morally degraded.

What else is new?

SPR : Please Provide a Satisfactory Answer



http://spr.gov.my/

IC 990518610029 implies that the person was born on 18 May 1999 and this makes the person to be a 7 year old. A little to young don't you think to be eligible to vote in Ijok? http://daftarj.spr.gov.my/prayakecil_ijok.asp

Is this what is being purported by the opposition parties as one of those "phantom voters"?

Please provide satisfactory answer and not just another stupid excuse which will even insult the intelligence of a 7 year old.

Should the SPR be tasked by the court of law for this blatant trangression of democracy?

If Malaysia Develops More Efficient and Cost Effective Parallel Businesses to Singapore's

Malaysia is developing parallel businesses to Singapore and over the long term it would be more cost effective to operate in Malaysia rather than Singapore.

Singapore would have to diversify and depend less on businesses that Malaysia is aggressively diversifying into.

Singapore would direct more of its busineesess into high end products and knowledge based economy but this too will eventually be caught up by Malaysia if Malaysia is as aggressive as during Tun Mahathir's time.

Eventually, in 50 years' time, Singapore would have no option but to beg into joining Malaysia.

That day will be a glorious day for Malaysia!

If Malaysia Cuts it Links with Singapore

If Malaysia cuts all trade with Singapore, Singapore would sink in a matter of months.

Eventhough Singapore trades with other contries excluding Malaysia and its dependence on other sources of income excluding trade, these are in small proportions.

The vast majority of Singapore businesses is highly dependent on Malaysia.
So, if I were a Singaporean Minister, I would try to be a little humble and not to be too confident in their own abilities because they need Malaysia perhaps more than Malaysia needs them.

Bernama 26.04.07: Najib reveals reason for Khalid's animosity towards BN govt

I thought Dato Najib said that BN would not launch a personal attacks on the character of individuals but to concentrate on what BN would do for Ijok?

It seems right this minute Dato Najib is the one personally attacking Tan Sri Khalid.I wonder if PKR personally attack the BN candidate? I have not heard anything of this nature from Tan Sri Khalid.

So, it is obvious that there is double talk and we cannot take statements at face value.

We may hear Najib's side of the story, but until you hear it from the horse's mouth, then all judgment concerning the integrity of individuals should be suspended.

Afterall can we really verify that Dato Najib is cleaner than the person he attacks. So do he actually have the moral standing to attack Khalid?

I would suspend my judgment.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

NST 24.04.07 : BN frets over weak Malay backing in Ijok polls

The roads into palm oil estates are freshly-tarred, there are more street lights and many women have received new sewing machines.


Apparently this had not occurred in 15 years. All those while, Ijok was under BN.

It is sad that the attention that should've been given for the past did not take place. It took an unfortunate demise of Ijok's BN local lawmaker for change to occur.

We may just ask the question, had this not taken place (the unfortunate demise of the said individual representing BN), would there be more street lights, donations to mosques, freshly tarred roads, new sewing machines etc etc.

If BN won this time around, could we expect that money would be pouring in or the opposite is truer? We all know what the obvious answer is. So let the voters decide for themselves.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Meritocracy

Excerpts taken from The Malay Ideals (2002) ; Chapter 8 : Wealth and Poverty

Other than this, the culture of meritocracy has to be introduced after the targets of the NEP have been achieved. The NEP in education has indirectly made the Malay students more complacent in the academic area because they know that they will be favoured when it comes to job selection and opportunity in government service. Therefore there is no need to strive hard for a good degree and this eventually makes many of them second-class workers in terms of quality and professionalism. The culture of mediocrity does not guarantee that the best brains get to develop their potential. Students may be dismissed because the places for them may have been taken by less able candidates. Therefore, even if a person were capable, he would not get anywhere had he not been able to educate himself through other means. Thus, his potential and the country's potential progress has been jeopardised by limiting the number of the most able candidates into higher education.

The Malay Ideals : Excerpts from Chapter 6 : Education

We believe the best way to solve the problem of integration of the ethnic communities perpetuated within the education system is paradoxically, to encourage the different races to enrol into the Vernacular Schools. For instance, the Malay parents ought to be fostered to enrol their children into Chinese schools. It may be ironic but it is a way of making sure that the composition of races in the classroom itself reflect the reality of this multiracial country and by having them in one classroom, it would help them relate to one another and aid in the process of integration and discourage racial bigotry. In line with this vision, a quota system might be introduced and established which requires say at least 30 per cent of the school children in Chinese schools to be Malays and Indians  vice versa with Indian schools. This will seek to further represent more of the ethic make up of the nation under one roof  in classroom setting. This proportion will be increased stage by stage until it reflects the true composition of the people of Malaysia. To encourage and to place a quota system in assuring students of different ethnic backgrounds enrol into the Vernacular Schools would also be fruitful in another aspect  they allow the Malays and others to learn an additional language. Furthermore, Chinese schools are well known for their methodical approach to education and are highly competitive and tax the minds of the young, which in turn would train these youngsters to become more resilient and tough. Teachers here are also said to be more serious in their work especially with subjects such as Mathematics and the Sciences.

It is probable that this idea would not go down well with a lot of parents if it were to made law to enrol their children into Chinese schools. Therefore what is needed is mere government promotion and encouragement. Special inducements and incentives may attract a larger pool of non-Chinese students. The government needs to educate the races of the benefit of attending these schools. When the ethnic Chinese or Indians see that the Malays are interested in enrolling into their schools and learning their languages, they will open up and the Malays would no longer be accused of a people whose only motive is to impose their "Malay-ness" onto others. Prejudice thereby would mitigate. If the move to encourage enrolment into the Vernacular Schools is a success, and if there is a need, more Vernacular Schools could be set up if these schools can no longer manage the escalating number of students.

There is of course the possibility that a great majority of the parents would harbour fear in enrolling their children into Vernacular Schools and would resist the move to do so. To circumvent this problem, the government has to correspondingly and concurrently make it compulsory for all students in all streams of schools to learn a third language. People will begin to see that there is no longer real difference between these schools and the national schools * the only difference would be in the name of the schools and the third language learnt as a subject rather than as the medium of instruction. As a matter of fact it would probably be better to end up in Vernacular Schools during the primary years because students will be exposed to their 'third' language even more and they will be adept to it. This would encourage Malay parents for instance to enrol their children into these schools. Classrooms in the Vernacular Schools would then have a racial mix similar to the National Schools.

When these measures are successful, the subsequent step of total abolishment of Vernacular Schools (by their replacement with the National Schools) in the Malaysian education system would be possible. Nevertheless, its abolishment is crucial if the nation were to create better integration and the moulding of a Bangsa Malaysia (Malaysian Race). When this is possible, fully residential schools which are almost exclusively opened to the Bumiputera communities have to be phased out gradually by opening their doors to the other races outside the Bumiputera races. Their ethnic composition are reminiscent of the Vernacular Schools, thus, maintaining their exclusivity and promoting ethnocentrism.

Friday, April 13, 2007

NST:13.04.2007 : Caring for parents: No urgent need for law

THE government is not ready to introduce legislation compelling children to provide for their parents the way Singapore has done.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said family bonding in Malay- sian society was still strong and there was no need for a similar legislation.

"However, if there is evidence that more children were sending their parents to care centres, then the government will not hesitate to introduce legislation to protect senior citizens," she said while replying to points raised during the debate on the Care Centres (Amendment) Act 2006.


Must we wait until the situation gets serious before we do something about it?

Looking at the probability of things, the situation will get worse not better with time. Therefore we should introduce legislation NOW before the problem spirals out of control. Take preventive measures NOW. Don't do as we always do : when the problem gets out of control, only then we scramble to take action when many have already sufferred!

The Star 13.04.2007 PM: We’re making strides in fight against corruption

Action speaks louder than words Mr Prime Minister.

It is no use telling the people that the government is making strides in this area when the case of Johari Baharum which was supposed to be announced at the end of October 2006 never came.

Five UMNO members have filed a complaint with the UMNO disciplinary committee on 29th September 2006 that money was used during the Kubang Pasu Divisional meeting held on 9th September 2006. A decision was forthcoming within two weeks, but it never did. Until now.

If you want to tackle corruption, do it within your party first and foremost.

You can fool the people some of the time but you cannot fool the people all of the time.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

The Sun 03.04.07: Govt denies RM3m allocations for Umno division chiefs

Lim had asked why there was a RM3 million allocation for every Umno division (parliamentary constituency) which was meant to enrich the respective Umno heads.

He also asked why the RM600 million was allocated without parliamentary approval.

The RM600 allocation was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on the eve of last November’s Umno annual general meeting and the RM600 million was disbursed by the Finance Ministry on Dec 22.

Awang Adek said the allocations were channeled to the Implementation Coordination Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department and disbursed to the federal development departments and state development offices.


The way the issue was explained shows that the government does not care for anyone and does not give a damn what we think. They trespess in broad daylight and walk the earth with arrogance.

We will have to show them the way out! We do not need arrogant politicians running the country as if this is their sovereign right!

Time to change!

The Star 03.04.07: MP worries about crime rate

Indeed...this is a clear indicator of dwindling economy contrary to the government official lines.

We know for certain that during properous times, crime rate is kept at a manageable level.

Improve on the economy and you will see crime rate dwindle. It is as easy as that.

However...we are quite skeptical of this outcome because we can see clearly the government does not know how to manage the economy. All they do is run headlines in the newspaper saying that the economy has never had it so good.

Who are they trying to fool?

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Iskandar Development Region in Johor

Iskandar Development Region in Johor is doomed right from the word go if there is no scenic or straight bridge replacing the causeway.

The current traffic flow and the bottleneck on the causeway will never allow for the kind of volume needed to sustain a large development centre such as the IDR.

We do not understand the mentality of the current governement in mooting for the IDR when such basic concept as traffic flow is not understood. As far as we are concerned, this project will be a total failure down the line, unless the causeway is replaced by a full bridge.

The causeway aside, other factors do not look promising either. The floods that hit Johor recently will leave a lasting effect on the minds of us and Singaporeans who might have an inkling of investing in the region. The floods might be a yearly event from now on (though we hope this is not the case) as climate change may have been effected due to global warning and other events.

The IDR is also a threat to our soverignity. We should never allow other nationals to trespass into our borders as if it is an international land. We should not allow foreigners to rein free without documents, buy up properties as if they were the lawful citizens of Malaysia. Even if it is for the sake of better economy we simply do not sacrifice our soverign right over our own land which we fought hard to keep..with blood and tears.

We should only look at what happens to Palestine when Jews came all over the world in the in late 19th Century and early 20th Century. Eventually they lay claim over the area and the Palestinians are dispossessed.

We have to be careful about Singapore because they have the siege mentality of Israel.

We should learn from history. Do not forsake our land for a piece of gold which we still have yet to possess. In the future it is our children who will suffer and fight for the mistakes we made in the past...due to our own ignorance.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Poetry in Motion

I have added a new weblog http://poetry-asrulzamani.blogspot.com/ that carries the various poems I have written in the past and is currently writing.

New poems are written and edited continuously until the final form is completed. The processes and the changes can be seen from time to time.

Completed poems will be marked as "Written by Asrul Zamani".

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Bernama 25.02.07 : No such thing as a moderate Muslim - Dr M

He (Tun Mahathir) said that if the negative perception of Islam continued, it would adversely affect efforts to spread the religion as "no one would be interested to join a religion whose followers are seen as losers".

"People will only be attracted when there is a successful track record...as such only when Muslims become successful in all spheres or better than others in them can we successfully carry out effective missionary activities," he said.


Excerpts taken from The Malay Ideals (2002)

During the middle ages, people flocked towards Islam because the Muslims were 'the culturally superior', the most advanced of all societies in the world. They held the highest seats in the most distinguished universities. The best universities were in the Muslim states. Europeans and people all across the known world wanted to come to Baghdad and Cordova to seek knowledge. They were impressed with the Islamic Culture and its peoples. Of the Christians of Cordova for example, many * and most of them enlightened * were content to follow the Muslims' examples faithfully. They took "delight in the poems and romances of the Arabs". "The young Christians who were most conspicuous for their talents had no knowledge of any literature or language save Arabic; they read and study with avidity of Arabic books; they amassed whole libraries of them at a vast cost." The Christians of Cordova, as a whole adapted themselves readily to Islamic Civilisation. Under Arab rule, Jewish culture also blossomed and rose to prominence. The non-Muslims' obsession with Muslim Culture and Civilisation meant they regarded the Muslim Civilisation highly and many Christians and Jews converted to Islam as a result. Islam became the preferred faith by virtue of its civilisational achievements. The masses craved to be Muslims because Muslim society were the most civil of societies. The Church in Europe then was still burning academics at the stake imputing that they were practicing knowledge bestowed by the Devil.

Nevertheless, a few centuries later, Muslim dominance of the world had to come to and end. Europe and the West resurfaced from the abyss by utilising Muslim knowledge and by breaking loose from the crippling shackles of the Church and truncating its power. Industrialisation eventually took place and the West built rich and powerful nation states. In the process, the West conquered most Muslim lands and kept their people under subjugation. By the 20th century the Americans were in a clear lead and kept a tight reign on world economics. This was ironically assisted by the rise of Nazism in Europe which led to an influx of intellectuals from the continent. By the middle and end of the century, they became the most powerful force on earth. Thus the American century and civilisation was born. By this time, the Muslims have been in a pit of backwardness. Their once all-domineering influence is no longer extant. In fact, they became one of the most backward peoples on earth by this stage.

The world is still currently under the American fold of civilisation. From Latin America to the Far East, there is no other civilisation that has managed to be most impressive than the American civilisation - in almost every aspect of life. This is exceedingly true with the impressionable young. It is the psychology of humanity that they look up to the successful and the powerful as their idols. It is a veritable truth that prevails throughout the ages. And the last century happened to belong to America more than any other, and still is. What is undertaken by the so called "civilised" society is emulated and copied reverently by other nations and thought to be infallible * even though it could be a completely blunder.

The same situation holds true if there had been a Muslim Civilisation. Only when an Islamic Civilisation has become a fascination to the world, would people flock towards Islam once again because by then Islam would have been perceived to be the religion of the intellectuals and the achievers as witnessed in Cordova, Spain during the reigns of the Umayyads. Muslims therefore have to rise above the quagmire of poverty, ignorance and malaise. Had they failed in this worthy cause, they would have failed in their mission to palpably Islamise Malaysians in order to facilitate adhesions between communities.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Malay Mail 21.02.07 : Hounded by 20 bikers on the NPE

The problem of wayward and not so bright Malays having suicide tendencies bordering on the schizoid and paranoid personality, pepperred with self aggrandization and mania bent on criminal tendencies. This is definitely a personality never classified before. Perhaps we should class it as Rempit Personality.

Perhaps they are just attention seeking Malays who have no aim in life, whose main motive is to enjoy and have fun while they still can. Even doing stupid stunts that may land them in hospital or 6 feet under does not deter them.

How distasteful, how ignorant they can be. How wasteful.

I have seen some at the tender age of 17, paralysed completely from the waist down. Smiling in a hospital bed. Oblivious as to what will entail in his life of being a disabled.

They have no regard for themselves and they certainly have no regards for others. There is something inherently wrong with these Mat Rempits. It is perhaps a psychological disability or perhaps, an intellectual disability.

The inability to gauge the danger that they pose on themselves, the contempt and disrespect for other's rights.

These individuals are far....far away from Islam. If you ask me, I am inclined to deduce that they are no more non Muslim than those who deny the existence of a God.
To me, they are no longer Muslims. They may be Malays, but they certainly are not Muslims.

Malays should do away with these kinds of "Muslims". We do not need them. And they certainly do not need us.

If you wish to stop their activities, confiscate their motorbikes for an indefinite term, impose corporal punishment on those caught, and halt the sale of liquor in easily obtainable outlets such as 24hr convenience shops.

These steps will greatly reduce their activities.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

The Star: 20.02.07 Terengganu State turns to ‘Mat Skoding’

Don't they have anything better to do than spy on couples?

The money would be better spent on educating young couples to become good parents and how to raise their children to become understanding Muslims.

Is it still unclear to us that Muslims are not suppossed to spy on other individuals.

Punishment for lewd acts are for those who flaunt it publicly...who has no sense of public shame!

NST : 20.02.07 Mat Rempit to jump at North Pole

How much money is needed to send them off free falling in the north pole?

Can't they free fall from their bikes instead?

Surely this will be far cheaper, perhaps even free of charge! (minus hospital bills of course)!

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Women : Empower Thyselves

A crime such as rape is commited by men upon women...in the vast majority of cases.

If someone is prone to attack, the only way to avert it is to take action to protect oneself.

If you are an individual who is being attacked, what would you do? You empower yourself to take action to protect yourself.

A woman is the victim of rape...so women must take action to protect themselves. They have to empower themselves. They can blame men for raping them, but in the end, what matters is that they should take immediate action to protect themselves because no one else can or will. Their own personal safety is directly in their own hands. So, take whatever precautions needed.

It is pointless to ask men to wear the chastity belt...because first and foremost...the will not do it. If they are to rape women, why would they wear the belt in the first place. And no one will monitor if men wear these belts or not. Whichever way it goes, it must be a voluntary practice.

There is no point in men blaming women and women blaming men for the causes of rape. At least not when a woman's personal safety is concerned.

Therefore in such circumstance, women must seek ways to protect themselves. Perhaps chastity belt is out of date...perhaps it would be better to allow them to carry a stun gun, pepper spray and other devices to thwart attempted rape. They must also look into the reasons why they could be a target of potential rape (and avoid it)...such as walking home late at night in a secluded area...being too close to male collegues (most rapes are commited by persons the women know of)....being intoxicated and taken opportunity of by men....wearing too scantily clad clothes which attract undesired attention (even at home eg rape committed by family members)....and many more. These are immediate actions that can be taken.

To change the attitudes of men will take a longer time. Meanwhile, women must act to protect their own dignity while waiting for men to change...if there is any.

Friday, February 16, 2007

NST:16.02.07 : Finance Ministry moves to curb Ali Baba partnerships

The Finance Ministry has made it compulsory for Bumiputeras awarded government contracts to sign an official declaration (akuan rasmi) not to sell the contracts to others.

This is a brilliantly naive idea which is certain to fail right from the word go.

Think about it!

This is just laughable.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Utusan Malaysia 15.02.2007: Hentikan ali baba – PM -- Ketirisan kontrak akan gagalkan usaha majukan kontraktor bumiputera

This is easy to accomplish.

Stop the awarding of contracts to UMNO linked contractors. Most are not true businessmen. They know nothing about being a contractor. All they do is become a middlemen to secure contracts. No wonder leakages occur.

But we are skeptical that this will take place because of political patronage and the culture of awarding to individuals well connected to UMNO in order to secure continued personal political support.

In other words, this scenario is likely to continue in the foreseeable future.

We do not think the leadership has the courage or the determination to change this practice.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

If Worse Comes to Worse - A Mahathir & AAB Showdown

Mahathir has been trying very hard to oust Abdullah Ahmad Badawi from the presidency of UMNO because of the obvious reasons we all know of.

However, UMNO and BN machinery is too strong and the award of contracts and other underhand tactics being the norm to secure votes, it looks like the nationwide tour by Mahathir may not be producing desired results when it matters.

The culture of UMNO makes it difficult for the non-incumbent. The incumbent holds all the power to persuade and dissuade.

If worse comes to worse, there is only one way do unseat the president. However, this requires great sacrifice from Mahathir. All of this could take place in the coming general election.

Mahathir would have to challenge AAB to a showdown - a contest in the same constituency in a neutral ground. Mahathir would of course have to leave UMNO.

We are not sure if AAB would be brave enough to accept the challenge. My guess is that he would decline it flatly, citing some other reasons other than fear of losing to Mahathir.

If Mahathir wins, then he could teoretically rejoin UMNO. AAB may still be the president of UMNO, however, he would not be able to continue as PM. He will undoubtedly remove himself from the top post because of the obvious.

If AAB wins, then Mahathir loses everything within UMNO just like Dato Onn Jaafar.

Too great a sacrifice? You be the judge.

Friday, February 09, 2007

The Doers and the Do Nothing

There are three types of people in this world..perhaps four.

First...the doer...they dont talk much...the get things done.

Second...the talker and the doer...they talk...and they get things done.

Third...the talker...they talk...but they do nothing.

The fourth...they dont talk...they dont do anything.


The current administration is the talker but the do nothing. Tun Mahathir was the talker and the doer.That is why we get things done during Mahathir's time. Now, we get nothing done. All we seem to do is form another government body, which churns out even more talk (guidelines) and do nothing of substance.

To be an effective leader...regardless of whether you say or not say...you MUST be a doer.

It is easy to talk, it is hard to do things. The current administration is doing the easy job of talking. But nothing gets done. The administration has been blaming bureucracy for the past 3 years...until today. What has been done? Nothing. Now we have another body to study and provide yet another guideline within 6 months to reduce bureucracy.

When Mahathir says something...he makes sure that the idea gets executed. It is no easy task but he gets the job done.

The majority of people are the non-doers. There are only a handful of doers. Doers are those that get the job done. This is what matters.

Paper Money

Taken from The Malay Ideals on the chapter of "Wealth and Poverty"

Ideally, all currencies in the world must have an intrinsic value. Gold for example was once the internationally acceptable, age-old currency. However it was done away with and forgotten because it was thought to be inflexible in determining money supply since its supply was limited. The function of gold as the world's standard currency was then replaced by the currency of the world's strongest economy - the US dollar - which carries no real value except the figure that is printed on it. We are of the opinion that linking currencies to a valuable and sought after commodity will allow the currencies to maintain its value, remain relatively stable and less subject to sheer speculation. Better still if this standard itself is directly used as a currency because this averts the arbitrary determination of a value of a currency based on a nominal measurement of the standard which does not reflect its true value.

It is evident that many of the financial crises that hit the world, such as the devaluation of a currency, inflation, hyperinflation, deflation and the loss of confidence on a particular nation's currency is a direct result of the use of paper money which carries no intrinsic value. Paper money is accepted only on the basis of faith and trust. In the past, paper money is a promissory note that payment is to be made at some time to come or upon demand. Since currencies are no longer linked to a gold standard, payment in gold is no longer necessary. Paper money itself is then considered to be the payment. The value of a currency and the supply of "wealth" can then be manipulated easily by speculators, the banking institutions and governments. As such, the wealthy can lose the value of their riches in a single day. A nation's debt may double or triple within just a few days if it is unfortunate. There is no stability in the value of a currency and there is no stability in the value of riches. Stability is determined only by the people's sole faith in paper money, by pegging or floating their currencies against what is thought to be the most stable currency in the world  the US dollar  which is maintained still by faith alone. A currency that is an acceptable standard with an intrinsic value will address this issue and prevent a nation's financial meltdown or collapse.

NST : 9.02.2007 Don't curb students' enthusiasm

Yes, indeed, we have become a nation steep in the pursuit of "acedemic excellence".

These kids no nothing outside school work. What a shame!

The situation is made worse in Malaysian university due to stifling laws to control the minds of the students which inhibit their intellectual development.

This is done to ensure they tow the government line of thinking.

This is bad news to students and their future.

It is no wonder why we Malaysians as well as Malaysian graduates are so poor when it comes to creativity.

When you put too many restrictions, the result is a stifling of creativity. The mind was not exposed. A mind left unexposed does not generate anything new.

Malaysia's trade breaks 1 Trillion Ringgit mark

What is the big deal of achieving 1 trillion RM in trade? Even if it is USD 1 trillion it does not say much about the Malaysian economy.

We must bear in mind that this figure takes both imports and exports. If we take the exports minus the imports, what do we get? A mere 100 million RM plus. Nothing spectacular. Absolute figures say nothing much. Why don't we compare growth from previous years. This would be more indicative of the rate of growth. Furthermore with the inflated prices of products and commodities due to increased oil prices and therefore inflation, these figures carry even less meaning economic wise.

We also know that with rising population, consumption increases. It goes without saying that the increase is natural for any country. For a developing country like Malaysia, this is nothing to celebrate about.

I ve seen lately that the media has been trying to give a picture that the economy is doing well under AAB. It takes the figures of 1997-1998 (right after the economic meltdown) and compare it directly with 2006-2007.

Any fool will see the obvious.

If they want to make a direct comparison between Tun Mahathir and the current administration's economic handling, they should take the average figures of 22 years of Tun Mahathir compared to the best after his departure time. Or, just take the figures right before Tun Mahathir stepped down. That is more justified.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Take the Bull by the Horns

We can talk, we can mutter, we can complain, we can say anything we wish, but in the end, if we say something and it does not get done, whose fault is it?

Either we cannot make people do what wish done, or that we are not convincing enough to persuade people to listen to us or that they have no respect for us and never wish to follow our directives. The other reason may be that our directives are too vague that people do not know how to act or to start implementing solutions.

Whatever the reason, as a leader, we have to be able to direct and our directive must be adhered to.

As a leader, you would have to take the bull by the horns. If none below you are doing their job well enough, you as a leader must be above them. You will have to know what to do to get the job done. You must be able to see details, because if those below you know nothing, at least you know what to do. If you don't, this is what happens, you tell them to do something but you yourself do not know what to do. If you do not know what to do, then you can just talk into thin air.

For example, one may say "reduce bureucracy". But does one know what it takes to reduce bureucracy? You as a leader should at least know what is involved and strictly speaking, you should be able to see what needs to be done ....in detail. You would have to get down to the nitty-gritty essentials. You have to get your hands dirty.

In order to foresee what is involved in details require great intellect. Without which, all you can do is just speak, but you could have never taken the bull by the horns.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

A Strong Leader in Malaysia or Perhaps Somewhat Dictatorial?

In Malaysia, if you are wishy washy, you will be washed off shore.

To be an effective PM in Malaysia, you would have to have a steely determination.

At times, you would also have to be somewhat dictatorial...especially in a country which is composed of a multhi ethnic group with each group trying to exert its own influence.

If you are weak, you as a prime minister, will be bullied into submission by the various groups. You would have to have a strong mind and a stronger determination going doggedly after correct policies.

Utusan Malaysia 7.02.2007: "Hukum juga ‘si bapa’ -- Cadangan KPN bagi membendung perbuatan buang bayi"

Oleh Ruhaidini Abd. Kadir

KUALA LUMPUR 6 Feb. – ‘Bapa’ kepada bayi yang dibuang perlu dikenakan hukuman setimpal sama seperti wanita yang melakukan kesalahan itu sebagai usaha membendung perbuatan kejam tersebut.

Ketua Polis Negara (KPN), Tan Sri Musa Hassan ketika mencadangkan perkara itu menegaskan, untuk itu Kanun Keseksaan yang memperuntukkan hukuman penjara maksimum 20 tahun terhadap wanita yang didapati bersalah membuang bayi yang diguna pakai sekarang perlu dilihat dan dikaji semula.

“Ketika ini Kanun Keseksaan mempunyai peruntukan hukuman penjara maksimum 20 tahun terhadap wanita yang didapati membuang bayi.

“Namun, undang-undang ini tidak memperuntukkan hukuman terhadap lelaki yang bertanggungjawab menghamilkan wanita yang dituduh membuang bayi itu.

“(Undang-undang) Inilah yang perlu dilihat semula agar ia memberi keadilan kepada pihak yang teraniaya,” katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia di sini hari ini.

Beliau berkata demikian sebagai mengulas berita muka depan Utusan Malaysia bertajuk Angkara Siapa? yang turut menyiarkan gambar mayat seorang bayi dalam keadaan terdampar di atas rumput di Flat Lobak, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.

Bayi berkenaan yang ditemui dengan kepala dan hidung masih berlumuran darah serta tali pusat yang masih terlekat dipercayai meninggal dunia dalam tempoh 24 jam di satu lokasi lain.

Ketua Polis Negara memberitahu, hubungan sebagai anak dan bapa dapat disahkan menerusi pelbagai kaedah termasuk ujian DNA untuk mengheret si bapa ke muka pengadilan.

Mengenai sikap wanita yang sanggup mengambil tindakan di luar dugaan seperti membunuh dan membuang bayi, Musa berkata, semua pihak sepatutnya memberi sokongan moral dan emosi kepada ibu terbabit sebagai usaha melindungi bayi yang dikandung itu.

“Kita tidak boleh menghina mereka dan membiarkan perkara seumpama ini terus berlaku.

“Sebaliknya, semua pihak perlu menangani masalah ini agar punca perlakuan tidak berperi kemanusiaan yang didorong oleh perasaan buntu si ibu dapat ditangani,” katanya.

Tegas Musa, setiap individu termasuk ibu bapa perlu peka dan memainkan peranan mereka khususnya dalam memastikan anak-anak tidak terjebak dengan masalah sosial.

“Gejala buang bayi ini adalah isu nasional yang perlu ditangani oleh semua pihak dan perkara paling pokok ialah didikan ibu bapa terhadap anak-anak,” katanya.

Sementara itu, dalam perkembangan berkaitan, siasatan polis menunjukkan kebanyakan kes membuang bayi membabitkan wanita muda dan remaja yang mengalami trauma akibat ditinggalkan pasangan sebaik disahkan mengandung.

Wanita terbabit berasa tertekan kerana terpaksa melahirkan anak tanpa bantuan dan pada masa sama berdepan dengan tindakan undang-undang sedangkan pasangan mereka bebas begitu saja.


Below is an extract taken from chapter 9 of The Malay Ideals (2002):

Now, punishment as a form of deterrent is crucial in preventing immoral behaviour. The fear of a severe punishment would have a positive impact on the youngsters' attitude. Although, it is not solving the problem at its root cause, the mere use of punishment will act to reduce deviant behaviour. It is a form of prevention. Punishment should be applied to those caught in divergent and immoral activities. Punishment should however not be implemented on its own. It should be accompanied with education. Not only should youths be punished for misdemeanour, the wisdom that parents and guardians be cautioned and monitored should also be considered * if they are found to be partly responsible for their children's or the minors' acts. This is in line with the view that parents are to post bond to guarantee that their unruly children will be on good behaviour. One should not cease there but proceed further in punishing those in positions of responsibility, where minors have been placed under their care, who through wilful neglect have directly or indirectly, contributed towards the cause of misbehaviour of those under their care. Put in another way, they are liable for the misdemeanour of those placed under their scrutiny - parents included.

As mentioned previously, unwanted newborn babies are frequently left for either dead or alive. These acts are usually committed by their unwed mothers straight after delivery. It seems that the individuals involved do not value the life of another human being whatsoever. They commit such acts because they know they could get away with it and even if they were caught, the sentence would not be severe enough. It is not that adoption homes are not present, but shame has prevented them from approaching these homes. Therefore, to prevent these acts, the punishment for disposing off the newborn should be amended to make it very severe to act as a deterrent. If an infant was found dead, by law the perpetrators should not be charged with manslaughter, but murder, because the mere act of leaving these babies at the hands of nature and chance, fail to take into account that the child has no ability to survive on its own. A person leaving a child for dead should be tried for attempted murder. The male partners should be identified through DNA analysis and should be given similar sentence for indirect involvement * even though they have no part in the abandonment or killing of the infant. Their unwillingness to assume responsibility have forced the women to act irrationally. The punishment will thus impose responsibility upon both male and female individuals so that they will have to think twice before committing immoral acts. If the abandonment and killing of newborn babes incur severe retributions, then couples would have to make proper considerations before contemplation on illicit sexual relationships. The punishment should be lightened or waived on the females only in the case whereby the sexual impropriety committed is a forced or a non-consented one.