How Islamic State is expanding its empire of terror

Emma Graham-Harrison

Observer

21 February 2015

Unlike the slow and careful rise of al-Qaida, Isis is extending its global reach far and fast – sometimes to groups with very different beliefs

Marched on to a Libyan beach in now gruesomely familiar orange jumpsuits, the last moments of 21 Coptic Christians carried the vicious jolt of previous Isis snuff videos, but with an added charge of fear.

The setting, in Libya, suggested that the group was spreading further and faster than even their dramatic early advances seem possible, and it came after vows of allegiance to Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by militants from Afghanistan to Yemen.

“With affiliates in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, the group is beginning to assemble a growing international footprint,” Marine Corps Lieutenant General Vincent Stewart, director of the Defence Intelligence Agency, warned the US House of Representatives this month.

The beheading of a tourist in Algeria, a meticulously videoed attack on an Egyptian army base, including the casual murder of surviving soldiers, a suicide bombing in Tripoli’s smartest hotel – all were recently masterminded by militants publicly loyal to a group whose name once defined its geography: “Islamic state in Iraq and Syria”.

Affiliates are adopting their slick media production along with bloody tactics, amplifying the influence of the violence. The murder of the Egyptian Christians has already drawn bombing raids on Libya by Egyptian jets, which may suit some Isis commanders keen to draw enemies into an expensive and draining war.

There are echoes of al-Qaida’s global expansion, even as its leader shrank into hiding, through loyal but virtually autonomous units in Yemen, north and east Africa, and other areas. But al-Qaida expanded slowly and carefully, vetting would-be allies that wanted to use its terrifying brand in their own battles.

Isis by contrast has already welcomed several would-be supporters under what seems to be a looser umbrella, among them Afghan fighters whom analysts say have significant theological differences with the group.

“I think it’s important for us to differentiate between the spread of Isil and individuals who are trying to attract attention for themselves by claiming an association with Isil,” said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. “Those are two very different things. And I think the best example we have of this is the situation that we saw in Afghanistan.”

The wealth Isis commands, the extraordinary power of its brand, and its dramatic sweep from obscurity to power over large swathes of two nations make it an alluring patron. It can offer support in areas from financial to weapons supply to practical assistance with video productions, and has more than proved its attraction to potential foreign donors and fighters. Isis arrived in Egypt effectively overnight, when local insurgent group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in November. The group has several years’ experience fighting Cairo’s forces and perhaps 12 million pieces of weaponry hidden in the vast deserts there, according to one former intelligence official.

In Libya, where Isis now controls three towns, its roots are less clear, with some fighters signing up from a homegrown militia based in Benghazi city, and others returning from Syria. The group has advanced quickly though across a country rocked by civil war, highlighting its progress with regular displays of extreme violence.

Countries bordering the Isis heartland are worried that it will try to infiltrate their territory. Lebanon’s security chief warned earlier this month that Isis is seeking control of villages along the border with Syria to use as staging posts for operations.

“Islamic State does not want to dominate Qalamoun … but they want to use it to secure their backs in the region,” Major General Abbas Ibrahim, head of Lebanon’s General Security Office, told Reuters recently. “The Lebanese military and security forces are on full alert.”

Beyond the immediate reach of Isis funds or tacticians, the group’s name has become so famous that it may have an attraction for those with an interest in its policies.

In January this year, after a steady trickle of reports from Afghanistan that Taliban commanders were signing up to join Isis, the group officially announced its first outpost beyond the Arab world, in “Khorasan”, an ancient name for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Many analysts were sceptical that Afghan commanders declaring their loyalty were doing anything more than pursuing local rivalries with the latest tool to hand. They have so far avoided the sectarian atrocities that Isis has embraced in Iraq and Syria, and in some places are even reluctant to fly the black flag of the group they claim to serve.

“In practice, the IS groups in Helmand and Farah have not been involved (so far) in actions that resemble the brutality or sectarianism of the mainstream Isis,” said Borhan Osman, who has researched the group for the Afghanistan Analyst Network, and pointed out the theological disputes.

Isis could boast one Afghan commander with real links to the Isis heartland, a former Guantánamo detainee, but he was killed by a drone strike in January.

“Launching a militant offshoot in an unfamiliar land is one thing, seeing it grow into a solid force and sustaining it is another,” Osman wrote, in a recent paper about the group, that warned against exaggeration. “Afghanistan and Pakistan are a long way from the group’s heartland and it may have miscalculated its appeal.”

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 24 February 2015, 9:41 am and is filed under
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Inside the Islamic State ‘capital’: no end in sight to its grim rule

Abu Ibrahim al-Raqqawi

Observer

21 February 2015

US air strikes have damaged morale in Raqqa, Syria, but a local anti-Isis activist says no one is expecting the group to be driven out

When Isis took over Raqqa, a wave of black swept over the city. The group’s dark flags were raised where its members lived or worked, women were required to shroud themselves in black, and black paint was daubed on buildings and in public spaces.

When US air strikes started, though, activists warned families not to dry dark clothes outside or on their roofs, in case they were mistaken for Isis flags. Perhaps Isis was worried, too, as it has started repainting everything. One central square, where crucifixion and other gruesome punishments are carried out in public, has been decked out in candy colours – pink, green and white. Another is golden.

Apparently, the pressures of publicity and the mundane and expensive business of ruling a city have pushed even Isis to make some compromises.

Last summer, crimes like smoking or failing to shutter a shop during prayer time would have earned transgressors several dozen lashes, but some religious police have started to accept fines in place of punishment from those who can afford it. There are even reports that they have been forcing traders to stay open through prayers, so that they can collect more money from them – around 1,500 Syrian pounds (around £5) each time.

It is not just money that they are short of. They lack blood for fighters injured in air strikes or on the frontline. People don’t want to donate, so they compel them. Anyone with business at the Islamic court is told first to go to a certain hospital, donate a pint of blood, then return with the receipt. Only then will the case be processed.

You can’t pay your way out of that donation, even if you do have money, which not everyone does. They have shut down many companies, including legal firms, for instance. Isis doesn’t believe in the old legal system, claiming that it tries to replace Allah’s law with the law of men.

Isis doesn’t want people to work, it just wants them to suffer, so that the men will join the group, and the women will marry Isis fighters. The Isis men seem to be sex-mad. They are always confiscating Viagra from pharmacies, which people think they use themselves. Many take several wives and are still looking for captives to take as concubines, like the Yazidi women.

The city has become a prison for women under 45. The regime says they cannot leave because they may be raped in areas held by Isis or other rebel groups, but most people inside Raqqa think that it is because they are desperate for more wives for the fighters.

The female brigades have put out a notice saying that anyone who wants to marry an Isis fighter should wear a white veil under their black one, and they will be contacted. Girls don’t really like them, and don’t want to marry them, but some families have economic problems.

But when the women do marry they have other problems. Some don’t even know the true identity of their husbands, only the nom de guerre; one woman’s husband was killed in battle but all she knows is that he came from Tunisia. She has no way of contacting his family, or even finding out where they are.

Isis has banned men born after 1992 from leaving the city for regime areas, to take exams, collect salaries or anything else. That means that no one can go any more, because who wants to flee to Turkey without their wife or daughters and sons?

Also, people don’t want to leave because as soon as anyone goes, Isis seizes their house. It has confiscated many homes from Christians, members of the Free Syrian Army and any activists it has caught.

Before Isis took over, the population of Raqqa was 1 million; now it is 400,000. But people say, ‘Where will I go? What will I do? I have no money to live in Turkey. And they will take my house.’ So they just stay here, waiting for an unknown tomorrow.

With no work, they mostly just stay at home watching television or using the internet. Ordinary people cannot live without internet and Isis cannot live without the internet; it’s like the heroin trade here, everyone is addicted.

They just go on Facebook or WhatsApp, since they can’t really watch videos or Skype, and in any case people worry about causing trouble with Isis. They sometimes inspect your phone at checkpoints, and if they find un-Islamic pictures or messages, you are in trouble.

People are worried about their children. No children are being forced to join up, but they are bored. They have no school, and Isis bans anyone under 13 from working. All day children are surrounded by fighters with Kalashnikovs. It’s like the movies – they see these things and eventually they want to go to the recruitment camps, so it’s very dangerous.

After being closed for a year, the schools reopened this month, but teachers had to go and denounce themselves for using “infidel” textbooks in the past. No one is happy about the new Isis ones they have been given.

School goes only up to ninth grade (middle school) and parents are so worried that their children will be brainwashed that they mostly keep them at home. A few people run small schools at home to teach their children, but it is extremely dangerous. Isis says it will kill any teachers who it catches running private schools, particularly ones for girls.

No one thinks that Isis will be forced out soon, because there are so many of them. The number of foreign fighters in the city is shocking. There is no neighbourhood without them and dozens of houses have been taken over.

People don’t look at Kobani and see a defeat, because everyone had to leave and the Americans bombed it to rubble to win. There are too many people in Raqqa to leave, and Isis knows that no countries want to send in troops to fight on the ground.

The jihadis from other countries tend to stick in groups by nationality or language – the British together, the Dutch together – and they don’t have much to do with ordinary people here. Both sides are afraid of each other.

If someone tries to talk with the foreigners, the Islamic police are likely to turn up and ask why he is bothering them, or perhaps accuse him of being a spy. But the foreigners are also nervous, perhaps because their families or governments in their countries don’t know they are here. Maybe they are worried that their photos or real names might be published, and that this will cause problems if they want to go home.

In fact, though, there is little chance of them going back. It’s easy to get into Raqqa, but very hard to get out. When foreign fighters go to Raqqa the first thing they do is confiscate their passports, and in sermons at the mosques Isis has warned people against giving foreigners new IDs.

Some of them just get bored when they arrive here from London or New York. Raqqa was never an exciting city and now there is nothing to do at all, so they lose enthusiasm. Others just came to live a good life under the caliphate, but they don’t really want to fight, so when Isis needs men and tries to take them to the frontline they are unhappy.

Isis can’t afford news to get out of people defecting, so anyone attempting to sneak out is executed in secret. They killed several people in the west of the city and just dumped their bodies in a hole until the smell got so bad that they had to bury them.

■ As told to the Observer. Abu Ibrahim al-Raqqawi is an activist with the group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 24 February 2015, 10:19 am and is filed under
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Let MCA and Gerakan Presidents explain whether MCA and Gerakan had agreed  to Kelantan UMNO Assemblymen  supporting PAS’s hudud legislation in Kelantan State Assembly next month as part of the UMNO strategy to break up Pakatan Rakyat?

The MCA President, Datuk Seri  Liow Tiong Lai and the Gerakan President, Datuk Mak Siew Keong should explain whether MCA and Gerakan had agreed to Kelantan UMNO State Assemblymen supporting PAS’ hudud legislation for implementation in the Kelantan State Assembly next month as part of the UMNO strategy to break up Pakatan Rakyat?

Suspicion of such an agreement has been caused by three developments:

•	firstly, the sudden increase in the number of speeches and statements by all levels of MCA and Gerakan leaders on this issue in the past few days;

•	secondly, the sudden two-hour meeting of the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council last Friday night within 24 hours of the death of Tok Guru Nik Aziz on the night of Thursday, 12th February, necessitating the holding of a by-election in the Chempaka state constituency; and

•	thirdly a statement by a UMNO Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and Deputy Umno Youth leader Razali Ismail on Tuesday, 17th February that “despite the death of PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, UMNO will continue to support the Islamic party on the implementation of hudud in Kelantan”.

So is the stage set for a “big drama” from the Barisan Nasional component parties for next month’s Kelantan State Assembly, with Kelantan UMNO State Assemblmen voting in support of hudud implementation in Kelantan but ignored by  MCA and Gerakan leaders and publicists who will concentrate on their attacks on  the DAP and PKR for “selling out the rights of the non-Muslims in Malaysia” because of PAS Kelantan State Assemblymen and women voting for implementation of hudud in Kelantan?

In the uproar and din of multi-party attacks and counter-attacks, accusations and counter-accusations, the inability of the Kelantan State Assembly to implement hudud unless Parliament authorizes it will be temporarily forgotten.

In the Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council meeting on 8th February 2015, it was unanimously agreed by PKR, DAP  and PAS leaders, led by  PKR Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng that as hudud and local government issues were outside the PR Common Policy Framework, the two issues  would be specifically discussed at the following PR Leadership Council meeting and that no further steps would be taken to pursue these two  issue in the meanwhile – which meant that any intention whether to propose an amendment to the hudud enactment in the Kelantan State Assembly or a private member’s bill in Parliament should first be brought to the PR Leadership Council for discussion and decision.  This also applies to  any proposal to follow-up on local government elections.

I have consistently taken the position that it is  the paramount duty and challenge of every PR leader to jointly save PR by adopting an Eight-Year PR Roadmap to reaffirm the secret recipe of  the PR success in the 2008 and 2013 general elections, namely adherence to the PR Common  Policy Framework which binds all three parties and the operational principle of consensus requiring the consent of all three parties before any policy,   issue or decision could be made or changed.

Nik Aziz will be missed greatly, especially with the revived campaign  orchestrated by UMNO strategists for a “unity government” between UMNO and PAS reaching a new crescendo.

If Nik Aziz is still alive, there would be no  possibility even for a revival of the “unity government” conspiracy, for he was the bulwark in PAS in opposition to it.

Now, it would appear that MCA and Gerakan top leaders have also bought into the “unity government” proposal of the UMNO strategists to break up Pakatan Rakyat, as they ware  persuaded that with Nik Aziz’s death,  this is the best gambit to break up Pakatan Rakyat – a two-prong attack with Umno staying out of Chempaka by-election and Kelantan UMNO State Assemblymen giving support to Kelantan PAS proposal in the Kelantan State Assembly next month for hudud implementation.

MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and MCA Datuk Mah Siew Keong should declare their party’s stand on both these issues as noises by their subordinate officials carry no weight whatsoever.

The UMNO leadership has yet to give a commitment to support a PAS private member’s bill in Parliament but it has given a commitment that its PAS Kelantan State Assembly persons would support PAS proposal in Kelantan State Assembly for hudud implementation.

Why is MCA and Gerakan supporting UMNO and UMNO Kelantan State Assemblymen endorsing hudud implementation in Kelantan?

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 24 February 2015, 5:57 pm and is filed under
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Sport, sodomy and Sirul

By Mariam Mokhtar

Malaysiakini

Feb 23, 2015

Khairy Jamaluddin, the Umno Baru Youth chief, is smarter than we credit him. The fiercely ambitious Oxford graduate is taking the initiative and showing Umno Baru that he can lead.

 Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is facing his worst nightmare. His spectre is a Malaysian in an Australian detention centre. Khairy needs to prove that he will be ‘prime minister material’ if the top post becomes vacant.

 Khairy is showing signs of being bored with his day job as the youth and sports minister. After Malaysia’s dismal performance in the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games, Khairy’s focus should be on promoting and improving our performance in sport. He should engage more young Malaysians.

Proving that he has too much time on his hands, the minister has instead organised a roadshow. His co-star is the lead prosecutor in the Sodomy II trial, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (right). They are trying to convince the public that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s guilty verdict was a just one.

 There is probably an ulterior motive to the roadshow. Shafee has his sights set on being the next attorney-general, whilst Khairy is taking pole position in the race to be the prime minister.

 To most Umno Baru members, Khairy shows promise and this will probably upset Najib’s cousin Hishammuddin Hussein, whom many consider to be another potential Malaysian PM.

 Hishammuddin’s credentials? He spoke English better than any of the government officials who gave press conferences for MH370. His popularity received a boost after photos of him were circulated, sitting in a cramped economy-class seat en route to a meeting in Australia.

 Nevertheless, Khairy has other endearing qualities. He has political pedigree by virtue of his father-in-law, former PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

 Khairy’s English is heavily accented, unlike most of his peers. He was educated in Singapore and England, and spent his childhood globe-trotting as the son of a diplomat.

 Appearance counts – Khairy wears bespoke suits, because he knows that to look good is half the battle, especially when impressing his design-conscious supporters.

Most important of all, Khairy is a “real man”. The reservist in the Territorial Army underwent commando style training and has obtained his parachute wings.

 When some tudung-clad Malay girls were hugged on stage by K-Pop performers, Khairy was dismissive and tweeted, “…I hope Malaysian girls return to tall, dark and handsome men and not pale, skinny and pretty men. Those are not real men.”

To his credit, Khairy did not ask the girls to be investigated, unlike some of his party members.

Has Khairy done enough?

 At Umno Baru’s last general assembly in November, Khairy proved his racist credentials with his outburst against non-Malays, warning them not to question Malay rights.

 Despite his image of a tough guy, Khairy has a sensitive side to him. The traditional practice is for the Umno Baru Youth leader to be given a ministerial role, but in 2009, Najib snubbed him. Dejected, Khairy hinted to reporters that he might go on study leave and not stand for election in GE13. Pigs can fly!

 So, has Khairy – the sports minister – done enough to upgrade sporting facilities in schools, universities and public areas? How has he promoted a more healthy and productive lifestyle in our youth?

Has his ministry successfully discovered and nurtured young, sporting talents? Current stars like squash champion Nicol David will eventually retire, and Lee Chong Wei  is embroiled in alleged abuse of drugs.

 These – and other ageing stars – will soon have to be replaced. They do not have the qualities of Peter Pan, like some who are still members of ‘Umno Baru Youth’ although middle-aged.

 Does Khairy possess the political will to clean up doping and corruption in sports, especially in football?

 We need new faces and an injection of fresh, creative ideas to promote sports. Is Khairy afraid of getting rid of the deadwood amongst sports officials?

 When will he persuade his party that racism in sports is bad? Before racism crept into the sports arena, there were sporting heroes from all the communities. Competition is healthy, and racism should also be avoided when selecting sporting officials.

 Najib’s future is looking bleak and his problems are not caused only by his fiscal measures, his 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the goods and services tax (GST), or the Sodomy II fallout.

 Perhaps, this roadshow is to make Khairy stand out from the crowd and prove his worth. Both Najib and Khairy know that in the dog-eat-dog world of Umno Baru, there are enemies around them and it is difficult to distinguish friend from foe.

 Najib is aware that his adversaries are circling him, like hyenas waiting for the kill. The stakes are high. No one can be trusted and people are watching their backs.

 Is Khairy trying to justify Anwar’s conviction or is he trying to promote himself?

 MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army and president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO).

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 24 February 2015, 8:37 am and is filed under
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‘Tok Guru’ Nik Aziz, the conscience of PAS

By Zurairi AR

The Malaysian Insider

February 13, 2015

‘Tok Guru’ Nik Aziz played a huge role in inter-racial reconciliations in Kelantan, and attracted even non-Muslim support for PAS and Pakatan Rakyat. ― File pic

OBITUARY, Feb 13 ― To others, he was known as Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

But to those who were fortunate enough to walk beside him, he was more fondly known just as “Tok Guru”.

It was an appropriate moniker for the soft-spoken leader, a quietly resilient man with an unassuming demeanour befitting his post as spiritual adviser of PAS, Malaysia’s largest Islamist party.

In PAS, Nik Aziz was revered as the party’s conscience and moral compass, often turned to for guidance.

Among fellow politicians, friend and foe alike, he was well-respected as a voice of reason and a symbol of humility.

Over the past few months, Nik Aziz’s battle with prostate cancer saw him in and out of the hospital numerous times. At 9.40pm last night, the ailing leader passed away in the presence of his family at his old home in Pulau Melaka, Kelantan. He was 84.

My first close encounter with Nik Aziz was during the 2012 PAS muktamar, or annual congress, in Kota Baru.

Still unfamiliar with the Kelantan lilt then, I had to strain my ears when listening to a press conference given by Nik Aziz in his soft, soothing voice.

Listening back to the recording later, I realised that Nik Aziz was not simply a politician.

He was a scholar through and through, always conveying his messages through metaphors and parables ― worrying more about teaching lessons rather than rushing to enforce a point.

Nik Aziz first joined PAS in 1967 before going on to win the parliamentary seat of Kelantan Hilir in 1969. He kept the seat up until 1986 even when it changed its name to Pengkalan Chepa.

He had a stint as Semut Api state assemblyman in Kelantan, before serving the state assembly seat of Cempaka since 1990 until his death yesterday, which will now trigger a by-election.

Perhaps his most remembered contribution was as the Mentri Besar of Kelantan for 23 years, the second longest-serving state leader in the country after Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud.

“As long as I breathe, I will continue to hold posts and play my role in shaping Islam,” Nik Aziz defiantly declared in April 2013, but his ailing health had his deputy Datuk Ahmad Yaakob take over after the 13th general elections.

Nik Aziz’s popularity with Kelantan folks was mostly due to his “common man” image, as he eschewed open display of material wealth. His old wooden home in Pulau Melaka is often used by those who idolised him as proof of his humility.

With his iconic attire of robe and turban sans-security guards, Nik Aziz was always approachable by the common folk who would often ask to take photos of him. And he always obliged.

Believing in Islam’s notion that all men are equal, Nik Aziz played a huge role in inter-racial reconciliations in Kelantan, and attracted even non-Muslim support for PAS and Pakatan Rakyat.

Several Buddhist monks I met for a story in September 2013 related that they used to receive cold shoulders from the Malay locals, but that immediately stopped the moment Nik Aziz attended their spiritual ceremonies to honour the community.

But Nik Aziz received his share of criticisms too, especially over his hardline and sometimes misogynistic remarks. In 2012, a four-year-old video of his lecture resurfaced, where he said that women who do not cover up deserved to be raped.

Nik Aziz was also notorious for equating joining PAS to taking part in an Islamic struggle with rewards in afterlife. He has claimed that those who go against the party, such as those in ruling party Umno, were seen as rejecting Islam.

Perhaps my most memorable encounter with the PAS spiritual adviser was when he turned up in Putrajaya before Election 2013 to support the contest bid of party vice-president Datuk Husam Musa, widely regarded as one of his protegés.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) stronghold was flooded with thousands of his supporters who turned up for the Friday prayers led by him, and later that night, filled a mega rally with an atmosphere usually reserved for rock concerts.

It was an unprecedented scene; A sea of mostly civil servants, oblivious to the rain, and Nik Aziz, a frail white-robed figure, standing among them in a place surrounded by the concrete walls of the country’s administrative capital.

But such was the gravitas of the man we called “Tok Guru”.

And with his passing, PAS has lost its most influential spiritual conscience, and Malaysia, one of its most respected political icons.

Nik Aziz leaves behind his wife Tuan Sabariah Tuan Ishak, five sons and five daughters.

His fifth son Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz, now Pasir Mas MP and PAS central committee member, has been tipped by observers to one day take over his mantle as the spiritual adviser.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 24 February 2015, 6:35 am and is filed under
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Bersih to seek injunction against hearings on new Sarawak electoral boundaries

BY DESMOND DAVIDSON

The Malaysian Insider

24 February 2015

Electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 will proceed to make good its promise to get a court injunction to stop Sarawak’s redrawing of the state’s electoral boundaries after Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yusof snubbed a meeting with them.

Bersih’s vice chair for the southern peninsula, Thomas Fann said he had followed Abdul Aziz for 60km from Kuching, the Sarawak capital, to the market town of Serian, hoping to meet with and persuade the EC chief.

Bersih wants the EC to stop the local inquiries on the new electoral boundaries pending the outcome of PKR’s judicial review on the constitutionality of the EC’s proposal.

Abdul Aziz and the rest of the seven-member commission were in Serian to hear the objections of voters from the state seats of Triboh and Tebedu.

Fann, who managed to have a 10-minute meeting with Sarawak EC director Datuk Takun Sangguh at the Serian community hall where the hearing took place, said he was given a “flat ‘No’” on the grounds that Bersih had no capacity or locus standi to be part of the redelineation process in Sarawak.

Bersih had on Sunday warned that the EC’s refusal to halt its inquiry sessions, which are mandated by law on any proposed boundary redrawing, may result in application of injunctions.

“We’ll file the application as soon as possible. Before the inquiries end,” Fann said.

The application would not be in Bersih’s name, but that of a local voter.

Yesterday, Takun had said the inquiries could take about two weeks to complete.

Fann said he told Takun that Bersih was objecting to the redelineation because of unequal apportioning of representatives to a legislative body, and over the EC’s unconstitutional move of having the electoral boundaries cut through administrative divisional boundaries.

“The law does not allow the EC to draw up seats in Sarawak by cutting state boundaries. It’s against Section 2A of the Thirteenth Schedule.”

While Fann said Bersih had found many instances of cross-boundary cuttings, he gave the two parliamentary seats of Tanjung Manis in Mukah division and Sarikei in the division with the same name as examples.

Fann said for the EC to increase the number of voters in Tanjung Manis from around 8,000 to over 19,000, the EC drew a boundary that had cut into the divisional boundary in neighbouring Sarikei.

He said this, too, had resulted in the second largest town in Sarikei division, Bintangor, being divided with one half in the Tanjung Manis parliamentary seat and the other in the Sarikei parliamentary seat.

The opposition has charged the EC of gerrymandering in the redrawing of the electoral boundary.

“We now have no other option, but to take the injunction,” Fann said.

Bersih yesterday attempted to pass a letter requesting an appointment to meet Abdul Aziz, who refused to accept the letter.

PKR Sarawak vice chairman See Chee How, acting on Bersih’s behalf, however, managed to hand the letter to Takun.

The group had on Sunday questioned the EC’s insistence in holding the local inquiries despite knowing that there was a judicial review pending, filed by See to have the redelineation proposal declared null and void.

See, the Batu Lintang assemblyman, and a voter in Ulu Baram named Paul Baya, applied for leave  for the judicial review on February 2 and were granted the leave by the Kuching High Court on February 17.

The court is to hear the leave again on March 19 and to set a date for the hearing.

In their affidavit, the two had claimed the publication, or notification of the EC to review the delineation was not in compliance with the provisions of the 13th Schedule of the Federal Constitution, and that the EC did not have the power to make changes to parliamentary consitutuencies in the delineation exercise.

Both are seeking court orders to declare the exercise “null and void and of no effect”.

“To hastily schedule the inquiry within three weeks of the one-month objection period suggests that the EC is disrespectful of the judicial review process and cannot care less about wasting the time, energy and resources of all parties in the event of a ‘null and void’ judgement,” Bersih had said.

“To save the time, energy and resources of all parties including the court, the EC should instead consider withdrawing the first display notice and redo the process constitutionally, whereupon See may then withdraw his application,” it added. – February 24, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 25 February 2015, 1:26 am and is filed under
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Tun Arifin Zakaria is duty-bound as Chairman of JAC to satisfactory account for the by-passing of promotion to Federal Court of the country’s most respected serving judge, Justice Hishammdin

The Chief Justice, Tun Arifin Zakaria is duty bound as Chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) to satisfactorily account for the by-passing of promotion to the Federal Court of the country’s most respected serving judge, Justice Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus.

Arifin had previously tried to shirk from his duty of national accountability when he was asked in September 2013 why Justice Hishammuddin was by-passed from promotion to the Federal Court  in the batch of judicial elevations at the time, claiming that the elevation of judges was made without the influence of anyone and that it was at the prerogative of the Yang di Pertuan Agong on the advice of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Arifin is right that the elevation of judges is not 100 per cent the prerogative of the JAC, but  it is beneath the dignity of the Chief Justice to hum and haw claiming  that it is unfair for the media or anyone to question the fate of any particular judge.

It has been reported that Justice Hishammuddin’s name was omitted from the promotion list in 2013 as a result of a directive from the Prime Minister’s Office, after the recommendation of his elevation to the Federal  Court had passed through the JAC.

Justice Hishamudin’s name was missing again on the promotions list released on Feb. 16 this year, this time by-passed in favour of Justice Zaharah Ibrahim.

This is the era of accountability, transparency, open government with the Prime Minister’s much-flaunted National Transformation Programme.

The black-listing and by-passing of Justice Hishamuddin from elevation to the Federal Court is the best proof that the JAC had acted arbitrarily to sideline independent  judges of unquestioned integrity who are fully committed to uphold the law and the Constitution instead acceding to pressures from various quarters.

Malaysians still remember the horrors in the appointment of judges revealed by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Video Tape Scandal, and the still unresolved issues from the RCI Report.

Arifin should not be satisfied with low fruits and standards saying that there is now more transparency in judicial appointments since the formation of the JAC compared with appointments done before 2009.

Malaysians do not just want a system better than the horror-days of the Lingam Videotape Scandal, but a judicial appointment system comparable to the best in the world which can bear public scrutiny and criticism, like the  present case for the by-passing of Justice Hishammuddin not only twice from elevation to the Federal Court,  but also for the earlier injustices suffered by him when he was overlooked for promotion to the Court of Appeal and was stuck as a High Court judge for 14 years.

Was Justice Hishammuddin being punished for life in the judicial service as being too independent-minded and for his series of landmark judgements, which shows his respect for the law and constitution?

It would be difficult to find another judge who could command as much respect from the Bar for his integrity, independence and respect for the law and Constitution.

If the lawyers have a say, Justice Hishammuddin would have been the favourite choice to be the Chief Justice of the land leading Malaysia to a golden age of new international respect and acclaim for a truly independent judiciary and a just rule of law  instead of languishing for 14 years as a High Court and compulsorily retiring in September this year from the  Court of Appeal.

If the Chief Justice is unable to give any or satisfactory explanation on behalf of the JAC  for the by-passing of promotion of Justice Hishammuddin to the Federal Court, the Bar and lawyer should  demand their voices should be heard loud and clear.

Surely Malaysia doe not need another Royal Commission of Inquiry into another judicial scandal before standards of judicial ethics and appointments are raised?

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 25 February 2015, 12:16 pm and is filed under
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Will Liow Tiong Lai and Mah Siew Keong notify the Cabinet today that their resignations from Cabinet would instantly  come into effect when  the Kelantan UMNO Assemblymen support PAS hudud legislation in Kelantan State Assembly next month?

Open Letter to MCA President Datuk Liow Tiong Lai and Gerakan President Datuk Mah Siew Keong

25th February 2015 8 am

This is my third pre-Cabinet Open Letter for this month of February, but unlike the first two pre-Cabinet Open Letters to all Cabinet Minsiters, this is  addressed specifically to the MCA President, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, the Transport Minister and the Gerakan President, Datuk Mah Siew Keong, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

It is clear that the UMNO/BN strategists are taking full advantage of a possible change of political dynamics in  Pakatan Rakyat with the death of Tuan Guru Nik Aziz and the imprisonment of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to  refurbish and  launch a devilish political plot to destabilize, divide and destroy the Pakatan Rakat which it rightly regarded as  the greatest threat to the credibility and survival of the ruling coalition.

This latest UMNO/BN political plot has  two phases, firstly and immediately to entice the PAS Kelantan State Government with UMNO support for  the implementation of hudud  legislation in Kelantan; secondly, the lure of “unity government” between UMNO and PAS.

This UMNO/BN political plot is  a two-faced double prong one: on the one hand, UMNO promising and delivering support  of UMNO Kelantan State Assemblymen to PAS Kelantan State Government  in the Kelantan State Assembly on the implementation of hudud legislation in Kelantan next month; while on the other, MCA and Gerakan launching an intensive  three-week publicity war against the DAP and PKR for “betraying the rights of non-Malays and  non-Muslims” in supporting PAS Kelantan State Government in hudud implementation in the Kelantan State Assembly next month.

Top MCA and Gerakan leaders have started the political offensives and the MCA and Gerakan will intensify in the coming three weeks, focusing on the Kelantan PAS State Government’s stand in the Kelantan State Assembly on hudud implementation in Kelantan while totally ignoring the support of the Kelantan UMNO Assembly members to hudud implementation in Kelantan.

This is the irresponsible and hypocritical game of political desperadoes, bankrupts and cowards who are incapable of taking  a consistent stand but  must twist and turn depending on  the season and audience.

In the past few days, MCA and Gerakan Ministers and leaders have suggested that I should quit if PAS succeeds in implementing hudud in Kelantan, clearly belabouring under the notion that if the Kelantan State Assembly enacts amendments to hudud legislation next month, it is tantamount to the implementation of hudud in Kelantan.

The MCA and Gerakan  Ministers and leaders are either ignorant or pretend to be ignorant so that they could ground a prolonged political offensive on such a false premise.

Let us get two things clear about the proposal of hudud implementation in Kelantan.

Firstly, any amendment to the Kelantan  hudud legislation in the Kelantan State Assembly next month will not lead to any hudud implementation in Kelantan state.

The Kelantan PAS hudud legislation was enacted in 1993 in the form of Syariah Criminal Code but it could not be implemented in the past 22 years because it is against the Federal Constitution.

It will be most pathetic if I have to  educate MCA and Gerakan Ministers and leaders the simple knowledge that an amendment to an unconstitutional Enactment will only produce  an unconstitutional and unenforceable Enactment with an unenforceable  and unconstitutional amendment!

Surely MCA and Gerakan Ministers and leaders throughout the country are not so superficial and shallow in their law and general knowledge as to believe that an amendment to a 22-year State Enactment which is unconstitutional and could not  be enforced from 1993-2015 could make the enactment enforceable instantly as to effect an  immediate hudud implementation in Kelantan!

The same situation applies to Terengganu as the PAS Terengganu State Government enacted the Terengganu Syariah Criminal Offence (Hudud and Qisas) Enactment in 2003, but it could not be implemented in the past 12 years because it was against the Federal Constitution.

If the MCA and Gerakan Ministers and leaders still cannot understand this simple point, I am prepared to offer them free tuition courses in their party headquarters.

The second thing about  the proposal of hudud implementation in Kelantan is that it could not be implemented without authority from Parliament by way of an amendment to the Federal Constitution.

We are therefore talking about  two processes that must be taken before they could be any hudud implementation in Kelantan  – one at the Kelantan State Assembly and the second in Parliament.  Any amendment to the Kelantan  hudud legislation by the Kelantan State Assembly next month will not be constitutional or enforceable unless there is a follow-up Parliamentary endorsement.

Although any amendment to the hudud legislation in Kelantan State Assembly next month will not mean any implementation of hudud in Kelantan, as it will be a status quo like what  prevailed in the 22 years from 1993 to 2015, unless there is follow-up endorsement by Parliament, the Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council decided at its meeting of February 8, 2015 that the proposed amendment to the hudud legislation in the Kelantan State Assembly next month as well as any proposal such as a private member’s bill in Parliament to seek sanction for hudud implementation in Kelantan should be brought to the PR Leadership Council, as hudud and local government elections are issues outside the PR Common Policy Framework agreed by all three signatory member parties.

It was also agreed by the Feb. 8, 2015 meeting of the  Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council that that there should be no further development of either issue until  a specific PR Leadership Council  meeting is held, which means  any proposed amendment to the hudud legislation in Kelantan must be  first  tabled and studied by the PR Leadership Council.

I am penning this pre-Cabinet Open Letter to the MCA President, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai (Transport Minister) and the Gerakan President, Datuk Mak Siew Keong (Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department) to inquire whether the Barisan Nasional has altered its stand taken by the founding fathers of the nation that hudud legislation is against the Federal Constitution and the secular character of the nation.

If not, are both Liow and Mah prepared to notify the Cabinet today that their resignations from the Cabinet would instantly come into effect when the Kelantan UMNO Assemblymen are allowed by the UMNO leadership to support PAS hudud legislation in Kelantan State Assembly next month?

I hope both Liow and Mah will  make public after the Cabinet meeting later today whether they had given such notification to the Cabinet today.

This is a serious matter because political leaders in a plural society like Malaysia should not play irresponsible and dirty political games  – as indulging in the two-faced politics of accusing the DAP of selling out the non-Malay and non-Muslim voters in non-Malay non-Muslim areas, while accusing PAS of selling out Malay and Muslim rights in Malay constituencies.

The Pakatan Rakkat of DAP, PAS and PKR was formed to defend and promote  the inclusive rights and interests of all Malaysians, regardless of whether Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan, Iban or Orang Asli; whether Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs or Taoists, and we stand by this credo.

This  is in great  contrast to the UMNO/Barisan Nasional coalition whose vision had shrivelled from  the grand  one of Bangsa Malaysia of Vision 2020 and  even 1Malaysia in the early years of Najib premiership to an increasingly narrow, intolerant,  exclusive,  racist and religious obsession.

Liow and Mah can confirm my suspicion whether the death of Nik Aziz and the imprisonment of Anwar Ibrahim have revived the “Unity Government” (UG) conspiracy of UMNO schemers proposing the formation of UMNO-PAS “unity” government.

What is the stand of MCA and Gerakan on this “UG” government issue – was it ever discussed in the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council or the Cabinet?

Three recent events have attracted my attention, viz:

• firstly, the sudden increase in the number of speeches and statements by all levels of MCA and Gerakan leaders on the issue of hudud implementation in Kelantan in the past few days;

• secondly, the sudden two-hour meeting of the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council last Friday night within 24 hours of the death of Tok Guru Nik Aziz on the night of Thursday, 12th February, necessitating the holding of a by-election in the Chempaka state constituency; and

• thirdly a statement by a UMNO Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and Deputy Umno Youth leader Razali Ismail on Tuesday, 17th February that “despite the death of PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, UMNO will continue to support the Islamic party on the implementation of hudud in Kelantan”.

So is the stage set for a “big drama” from the Barisan Nasional component parties for next month’s Kelantan State Assembly, with Kelantan UMNO State Assemblmen voting in support of hudud implementation in Kelantan but ignored by MCA and Gerakan leaders and publicists who will concentrate on their attacks on the DAP and PKR for “selling out the rights of the non-Malays and non-Muslims in Malaysia” because of PAS Kelantan State Assemblymen and women voting for implementation of hudud in Kelantan?

In the uproar and din of multi-party attacks and counter-attacks, accusations and counter-accusations, the inability of the Kelantan State Assembly to implement hudud unless Parliament authorizes it will be temporarily forgotten.

What now is the next chapter in the  devilish Umno/BN plot to destabilize, divide and destroy Pakatan Rakyat now that Anwar has stymied their plans, as there will not be two simultaneous by-elections of Chempak state assembly in Kelantan and Permatang Pauh parliamentary in Penang but only one.

The least Liow and Mah can do is to advise the UMNO and BN leaders to follow through with their original plan to stay out of Chempaka by-election to give PAS an uncontested victory, as well as to later stay out of the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election if Anwar’s pardon appeal is rejected.

(Media Statement in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, 25th February 2015)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 25 February 2015, 8:42 am and is filed under
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Elegant Silence is no option and Najib must break his silence on the PMO Statement attributing his expenditure, including the multi-million dollar purchases of his wife’s jewellery,  to his inheritance

Elegant Silence is no option for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to the swirling national and international controversy since the New York Times report on Feb. 9, 2015 quoting a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) attributing his expenditure, including the multi-million dollar purchases of his wife’s jewellery, to his inheritance.

The PMO statement to New York Times said:

“Neither any money spent on travel, nor any jewellery purchases, nor the alleged contents of any safes are unusual for a person of the prime minister’s position, responsibilities and legacy family assets.”

Two weeks after the New York Times report, the four brothers of the Prime Minister expressed concern over news reports regarding inheritance said to be from their father, Tun Razak Hussein, the second Prime Minister of Malaysia.

In a rare private statement, Najib’s four younger brothers Johari, Nizam, Nazim and Nazir expressed worry that the name of their father, who was known for his frugality, would be tarnished by such talks of family assets.

They said: “We are extremely concerned that some recent news articles and postings have given rise to speculation as to the nature and extent of the inheritance that our late father, Abdul Razak, had left behind.

“We wish to put on record that Abdul Razak  was a highly-principled man, well known to all who knew him for his frugality and utmost integrity and any statement or inference to the contrary would be totally false and misleading to his memory and to his service and sacrifices for the nation.

“We take issue with anyone who taints his memory, whatever the motive. We would also like to add that our whole family is united on this issue.”

I can vouch that Tun Razak was known for his frugality and utmost integrity as I had on no occasion in my years in Parliament from 1971 – 1976 when Razak was the Prime Minister to raise any issue casting any doubt on his integrity.

As the reputation of two Prime Ministers – father-and-son – are at stake, Najib must answer simply and fully to all the swirling controversies arising since the New York Times report on Feb. 9 and not await until the matter is pursued by MPs in Parliament when reconvened on 9th March.

Or is Najib preparing to make a Ministerial statement on the subject on the first debate day of Parliament on March 10?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 26 February 2015, 8:21 am and is filed under
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I fought for all Muslims, says Borders manager after court frees her

BY JENNIFER GOMEZ

The Malaysian Insider

26 February 2015

Borders Bookstore manager Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz said her legal battle with Islamic authorities over a charge of selling and distributing a book deemed to be against Islam had changed her and made her realise her larger role to ensure other Muslims are not harassed for doing their jobs.

Given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal by the Shariah High Court today, Nik Raina said she had been a shy and reserved person before the raid on May 23, 2012 on the bookstore where she worked, but her ordeal had turned her into a more outspoken person.

Along the way, she realised that she had a role to play in facing up to the charges against her.

Nik Raina said most of the management staff at Borders are Muslims, and she feared they could be subject to the same intimidation if she did not stand up for her rights in facing the charges.

“I stand here today not only for myself, but for all my colleagues, especially the Muslims who could face the same action by the religious authorities for merely doing our jobs,” she said outside the court today.

Nik Raina had been charged with selling and distributing the book “Allah, Liberty and Love” by controversial Muslim writer Irshad Manji.

The Borders employee said she drew comfort from the company’s top management, adding that Berjaya Group founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan would always tell her when they met at company events, “Do not be afraid”.

Nik Raina said she would never forget these words, which were also repeated to her by Tan’s son, Datuk Robin Tan, after he took over his father’s portfolio in the group.

“He would tell me what his father used to say to me, to not be afraid, that I have done nothing wrong,” she said.

Still, Nik Raina never imagined when she took this job over seven years ago that she would get into this much of trouble.

Yet, even after the ordeal, there was no where else she would rather work because she felt it was “right” to be working with Borders, she said as she fought back tears.

“From the first day I had my interview with them, it felt like the right place to be, because the interviewers were so welcoming.

“I would not want to be anywhere else,” she said.

Nik Raina said she felt that the Shariah prosecutor’s submission in court today, where he had told the judge that the pressure she faced was not his problem, was as though his main intention was to punish her.

This was after her lawyer, Rosli Dahlan, submitted that Nik Raina faced anguish and pressure in having this case hanging over her head for the past three years.

“He could so easily say that I went the wrong way and so it was my problem.

“But he did not put himself in my shoes. And what about the anguish faced by my family, especially my father, who has been so worried about this case?” she said.

Nik Raina was equally emotional when she spoke about the support from Rosli. “He is the best lawyer ever”. – February 26, 2015.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 26 February 2015, 4:15 pm and is filed under
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UMNO decision to stay out of Chempaka by-election welcome but it should be forerunner to promote a virtuous cycle of national unity and reconciliation

The decision announced by the UMNO President and Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak after the UMNO Supreme Council meeting last night that UMNO will stay out of the Chempaka state by-election in Kelantan is most welcome although not for the reasons given.

Najib said that the decision was for the sake of Muslim “unity” as well as to allow the federal government to focus on its flood relief, rehabilitation and reparation works still in progress.

It is sad that 58 years after Merdeka, and six years after the launching of his 1Malaysia signature policy, Najib has retreated  to talk about Muslim unity instead of Malaysian unity.

The UMNO decision to stay out of Chempaka by-election should be a forerunner to promote a virtuous circle of moderation, tolerance, national unity and reconciliation,  after a most prolonged, cacophonous and divisive period where the  rhetoric  of hate, intolerance, extremism and bigotry whether of race or religion, have held sway in the public domain raising disturbing questions about the future of Malaysia.

There is no dispute of the need to double efforts in the post-flood relief, rehabilitation and reparation works after  the worst floods catastrophe in Kelantan in living memory in December 2014, although a special meeting of Parliament last month or a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Dec. 2015 Floods Catastrophe in the East Coast would have been proof of greater concern about the failures of disaster management preparedness and the need to be better prepared to deal with future disasters.

The possibility of UMNO staying out of Chempaka had been very obvious from the start, as indicated by the sudden two-hour meeting of the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council last Friday night within 24 hours of the death of Tok Guru Nik Aziz on the night of Thursday, 12th February and the meeting between the Prime Minister and the Kelantan Mentri Besar in Putrajaya on Monday.

This was also why in my third pre-Cabinet Open Letter addressed to the MCA President, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and Gerakan President, Datuk Mah Siew Keong, before yesterday’s Cabinet meeting yesterday, I ended with these two last paragraphs:

“What now is the next chapter in the devilish Umno/BN plot to destabilize, divide and destroy Pakatan Rakyat now that Anwar has stymied their plans, as there will not be two simultaneous by-elections of Chempak state assembly in Kelantan and Permatang Pauh parliamentary in Penang but only one.

“The least Liow and Mah can do is to advise the UMNO and BN leaders to follow through with their original plan to stay out of Chempaka by-election to give PAS an uncontested victory, as well as to later stay out of the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election if Anwar’s pardon appeal is rejected.”

Although there are those who see UMNO’s staying out of Chempaka by-election is as part of a Machiavellian  UMNO/BN plot to destabilize, divide and destroy Pakatan Rakyat so as  to escalate a vicious cycle of plot and counter-plot to aggravate differences and contradictions inside Pakatan Rakyat and PAS, this need not be so.

UMNO’s staying out of Chempaka, followed by a clear-cut announcement that UMNO will not contest in any Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election, can set in motion a  virtuous, positive and statesmanlike process of  national reconciliation to forge greater national unity and consensus  to bring  together all political forces and all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, into one common national endeavour to save Malaysia from the many dangerous travails and challenges – political, economic, educational, social, environmental – confronting the nation.

The only question is whether the national leaders in the country are up to such a challenge.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 26 February 2015, 7:24 am and is filed under
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