DAP claims member forced to back Christian Malaysia report

By
Clara Chooi

May 14, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 — The DAP claimed today one of its members had likely been coerced into lodging a report against the party in support of Utusan Malaysia’s Christian conspiracy article.

Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi, who was implicated in the Malay daily’s allegations last Saturday, told a press conference here that the member, Mohamed Razali Abdul Rahman, could have been forced to lodge the report as the paper has not one single testimony made in its favour to date.

He complained that since Mohamed Razali’s report yesterday, the latter could not be reached over the phone.

“We have tried to contact him but he has not been answering his calls,” Ooi (left) said.

He added that it is now one man’s word against at least 40 others, including eight pastors and at least 13 DAP leaders and members, all of whom had attended the event in Penang where Utusan Malaysia claimed the conspiracy had taken place.

The group, he explained, had been summoned to give statements to the police over the week.

“We are now giving him (Mohamed Razali) 24 hours to repeat what he said in the police report so that our legal team can take a look at his statement.

“His statement caused further abuse to the DAP with (Home Minister Datuk Seri) Hishammuddin (Hussein) now saying that there is basis in Utusan’s report.

“We want to remind Mohamed Razali however that it is the word of one man against 40 others, all of whom have given consistent testimonies that there was never any conspiracy to usurp Islam during the retreat,” he told The Malaysian Insider when contacted.

Ooi admitted that Mohamed Razali was a valid member of the DAP and had helped during campaigns for several by-elections and the recent Sarawak state polls when he was stationed in Miri.

But, he said, that the 42-year-old was also formerly an Umno member, who had left the ruling party following Election 2008 after he had been allegedly “suppressed and harassed” by his fellow party members.

“He also has a relative who is a lance corporal in the Special Branch unit based in my area — Jelutong,” he said.

Ooi said the party had always considered Mohamed Razali a loyal member, especially after having helped the latter with his employment problems shortly after he joined the party.

He was responding to a report in Utusan Malaysia today quoting Hishammuddin as saying there was some element of truth in the daily’s controversial report last Saturday entitled, “Kristian agama rasmi?” (Christianity the official religion?).

The minister had allegedly made the claim following Mohamed Razali’s report claiming that he was present during the retreat gathering involving DAP members and Christian leaders and had the “true story” of the events that transpired.

Utusan Malaysia’s report had been based entirely on unsubstantiated blog postings by two pro-Umno bloggers, alleging that the leaders had taken a pledge during the gathering promising to take over Putrajaya, abolish Islam as the religion of the federation and install a Christian prime minister.

The paper had also published a grainy photograph showing what it described to be a secret pact between the DAP and pastors at a hotel in Penang last Wednesday.

The DAP and Christian leaders have since voiced out their rage over the allegations and vehemently denied taking any part in such a pledge.

They have also urged stern action against Utusan Malaysia for telling “dangerous lies”, spurring a police investigation and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s special meeting with Christian leaders on Thursday.

According to Ooi, the police have since summoned eight pastors and at least 13 DAP members and leaders including himself to give their statements over the issue.

The pastors, he said, were asked if such a pledge had been taken, whether they had raised their hands during prayers, which hands they had raised and whether they had raised it high or at half mast as if they were taking an oath.

“On my part, I told them that there was no political talk during the retreat because Christian leaders are apolitical.

“During the dinner we attended in the three-day/two-night retreat, we discussed ethical issues, the duties of Christians to help eradicate corruption and so on.

“This is why even the Transparency International had been invited to be present… there were so many stakeholders and we did not touch politics at all,” he said.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 May 2011, 3:51 pm and is filed under
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Egypt: Suzanne Mubarak detained in corruption probe

13 May 2011 |
BBC

The wife of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been detained for 15 days pending further investigations into corruption allegations.

The 70-year-old was later moved to an intensive care unit in Sharm el-Sheikh hospital after suffering what officials said was a suspected heart attack.

Mr Mubarak stepped down in February after weeks of protests.

He and Mrs Mubarak have been questioned over allegations of “illegal acquisition of wealth”.

Mr Mubarak, who held power for 30 years, is currently receiving treatment Sharm el-Sheikh hospital while under arrest.

Mohammed Fathallah, the head of the hospital, said Mrs Mubarak had suffered a “suspected heart attack and a sharp increase in blood pressure” after she was told she would be detained. He added she would be kept in the intensive care unit, under observation, for 24 hours.

Mr Mubarak has been detained by Egypt’s Illicit Gains Authority, on charges he abused his position to illegally acquire wealth. He is also accused of involvement in the killings of anti-regime protesters.

Fall from grace

The 83-year-old has been held under arrest in the hospital in the Red Sea resort since suffering heart problems. His detention was extended by 15 days early on Friday morning.

Mrs Mubarak had kept an almost constant vigil by her husband’s side since he was admitted to hospital a month ago, says the BBC’s Jonathan Head, in Cairo.

Her detention marks a dramatic fall for a woman once seen as the most powerful influence on Egypt’s former ruler, and a further blow to Mr Mubarak, whose health is frail, our correspondent says.

While the initial period of her detention is 15 days, it could be extended, as it has been for her husband and their two sons since they were taken into custody, he adds.

Earlier this week, Mrs Mubarak was questioned about a bank account containing more than $3m (£1.9m) and a luxury house she owns.

Reformers in Egypt believe the Mubarak family accumulated a fortune worth tens of billions of dollars while in power.

Hosni Mubarak has denied this, and little hard evidence has yet been made public. However their bank accounts in Cairo and in Switzerland have been frozen.

Many Egyptians also believe the former first lady was instrumental in pushing for her eldest son, Gamal, to succeed his father – one of the grievances that mobilised opposition protesters, our correspondent says.

Travel ban

The military council which has been in power since Mr Mubarak stepped down has vowed to bring to justice all those accused of corruption.

The former president, his wife, their two sons and their wives have been banned from travel and had their assets frozen by general prosecutor Abdel Magid Mahmud.

More than 20 ministers and businessmen linked to Mr Mubarak’s regime have been detained since his departure from office.

Last week, former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly was sentenced to 12 years in jail on charges of money-laundering and profiteering.

Adly also faces separate charges of ordering troops to fire on demonstrators. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 May 2011, 1:47 pm and is filed under
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Is Najib swaying to ‘psychic’ Daim?

Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz | May 12, 2011

Free Malaysia Today

Umno president Najib Tun Razak’s call for unity within Umno takes off from former finance minister Daim Zainuddin’s interview with Utusan Malaysia.

COMMENT

When former national economic adviser and ex-finance minister Daim Zainuddin said Barisan Nasional (BN) would lose five states in the 2008 general election, everyone laughed at him.

Former Selangor menteri besar Khir Toyo, whom Daim had actually identified to be the MB, were among the many who said the dimunitive Daim was out of touch, a pensioner and a has-been.

Daim was slapped with all kinds of other unpleasant “epitaphs” after his political demise. But when the results of the 12th general election in 2008 came around, people quickly realised how precise Daim had been.

Now when Daim speaks, Malaysia pays attention. Probably if he sneezes, Malaysia catches a cold.

As such, it must have been a welcome relief to hear Daim give out so many complimentary comments about Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his government.

So, when I met the Oracle of Syed Putra recently, I said just that. I told the Oracle that Daim’s compliments on an “overall basis” of Najib in the Utusan Malaysia interview was a much welcome endorsement.

But the Oracle cautioned me to read it carefully. To be precise, the Oracle said to read critically and between the lines.

Subtle criticism

Daim, the Oracle said, can’t be openly critical like me when speaking about a government of which he was once a member. Daim can’t also be openly critical of Najib. So, read between the lines, he reminded.

This interview with the Oracle was different from the others. This interview was replete with conditions and preconditions on Umno.

Umno can win provided this… Umno can win provided that… Umno can win provided the Umno president (Najib) manages firmly and shows more robustness.

Yes, continued the Oracle, the winning is based on so many conditions.

The machinery must be ready.

Najib and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin must go down to visit the bahagians (divisions) and listen to the Umno members directly.

They shouldn’t trust the ketua bahagians (division chiefs). They tell only the good stories.

Don’t trust the intelligence sources completely.

Don’t listen to opinion polls by independent survey groups.

You pay the piper; you determine the tune to play, the Oracle said.

‘Rotten to the core’

So, when we read Najib’s speech at Umno’s 65th birthday celebrations yesterday (May 11), did we see Daim’s admonitions being heeded?

Umno should be 65 years old if we do not take into account the formation of Umno Baru in 1988. In that year, the original Umno was declared an unlawful party.

The causes for its illegality will forever be debated. The Umno we celebrated on May 11, 2011, is a new Umno with a different character and philosophical underpinnings.

We must not forget the description of Umno (this Umno, his Umno) by its former president and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He described Umno as being a party “rotten to the core”. By this he must have meant it’s a corrupt party. Corrupt from the top to the bottom.

It’s not I who am saying this – Mahathir said it.

In an off-the-cuff speech at a luncheon of former ministers, he said the party is “corrupt from the top to the bottom”.

Get rid of fakes and factions

Yesterday, in his speech at Umno’s 65th anniversary celebration, Najib implored Umno members to carry out a bigger transformation in order to earn the support of the rakyat.

But the Umno president needs to be reminded that transformation must begin at the core – at the leadership circle.

To start, just get rid of the fakes.

The fake Tengku, for example, whose roots I searched but cannot be traced to any royal families in Pahang.

How on earth did this Achenese ,who was a one-time carpet salesman who was married to a Pahang royal family member, become a Tengku?

If he can become one, everyone else can also become one.

Then work on the factions within Umno. It’s a known fact that factions are tearing apart Perlis, Selangor and Kedah.

I hope the Umno people will ponder over Najib’s ominous exhortations yesterday.

“Kalau kita bersatu, tiada politik puak-puak dalam Umno, kita merupakan parti yang lebih kuat daripada parti-parti lain. Apakah semua (perjuangan) kita sudah selesai? Belum… kenapa masih ada cakap-cakap, masih ada lagi politik puak-puak, apa guna kita sambut ulang tahun 65 tahun kalau kita tidak bersatu?

(If we are united, no factions within Umno, we are a stronger party compared to other parties. Have all our struggles ended? No… so why is there still talk, why is there still factions? What is the use of celebrating 65 years if we are not united?)

This is an excerpt from the writer’s blog posting at sakmongkolak47. The writer is an FMT columnist

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 May 2011, 7:33 am and is filed under
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Malaysian. Chinese. Totally Foreign.

By
 Lisa Ng

LoyarBurok

13 May, 2011

Is it racialism that causes Malaysian Chinese to be cliquish? Or is it just bad faith? Let’s explore the reasons why some Malaysian Chinese youth can’t integrate into society and why abolishing vernacular schools may be just a blind shot at solving a growing problem.

Eu Jienn’s story

Chong Eu Jienn is 15. He lives in Kepong, KL. He speaks fluently in Mandarin. If you ever get lost in Kepong and bump into him, please do not ask for directions in English. He will not know how to respond to you. If you switch next to Bahasa Malaysia, he might be able to bring up a broken explanation consisting of recognisable words like “sana” or “depan” but the rest might be in Mandarin so you’d better know a bit of the language yourself if you want to understand what he is telling you.

Eu Jienn is a product of the vernacular schooling system. His parents decided long ago that their children would be educated in a Chinese Independent School. Firstly, China was quickly becoming an important economic power. Secondly, friends with children in National schools were lamenting about the quality of teachers in such schools. Thirdly, Eu Jienn’s parents came from very strict family backgrounds – discipline was top priority for them and Chinese schools were renowned for discipline. Fourthly, Eu Jienn’s parents were DAP supporters. His grandparents were aligned to BN due to the presence of MCA which was felt to represent the Chinese voice in government. But the loyalty ceased as the political landscape shifted with Mahathir, in favour of the Malays. Besides, what was so important about English or Bahasa Malaysia anyway? If Eu Jienn performed well academically, he could get a good job in Singapore or China. Singapore, for one thing, was close enough to stay in touch with their eldest son. Singapore was also kind to the Chinese. And, yes, in Singapore, people spoke Mandarin.

You could hardly blame Eu Jienn’s parents for such a narrow view. For them, vernacular schools were the best bet to ensure a future of better opportunities for their children. They must have known how important English was as it is still the lingua franca of the business and working world. And yet they somehow chose to ignore this point in shaping their son’s future.

Why?

Why are Eu Jienn’s parents also unconcerned with their son’s inability to speak the National Language? The National Language is something every citizen of every country should be proud of and be able to converse in comfortably – a badge of their national identity. But before we clamour for the abolishment of these vernacular schools or talk about racism (not to be confused with Chinese patriotism), we should look at the big picture and consider all the factors that led Eu Jienn to where he is today.

Then and now

My parents went to Chinese schools but they both speak English. My dad is more fluent because my grandfather spoke English at home with all his children. My mum is less so because her parents spoke Hokkien and Mandarin at home. I used to catch her learning grammar from a self-help book months before a team presentation at OCBC where she worked as a bank teller. During the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, English was a more important language to master due to our colonial heritage, so Bahasa Malaysia (henceforth referred to as BM) for Chinese families was left on the wayside to rot into
Pasar Malay
, also known as the hybrid of Chinese dialect-inflected BM our grandparents and parents spoke when shopping at the wet market (e.g
“Lu banyak pasal. Wah beli ikan kembong lu, lu bagi harga baik lah.”
)

The point is – language needs to be put into practice or it’ll leave our working memory.

My time was the 80’s and I was enrolled in a Kebangsaan school. Malay and English were the medium of instruction for me and my lot. Even though our syllabus was in Bahasa Malaysia, if the teacher of the subject was Chinese, she would give instructions in English but refer to the terms and formulas of our syllabus in BM. Furthermore, BM was compulsory on Wednesdays – i.e everybody had to speak in BM on that day, throughout the day. Failure to do so might score a deviant a black mark in the prefects’ “little report book”. Among friends of different racial backgrounds, we conversed in a mixture of BM and English. So you could say that a lot of us were pretty well-versed in both languages, although for the Chinese and Indians, BM rolled less easily off our tongues. (It must also be said that I spoke English and Cantonese with my family.)

Again, the point is – if language is not put into practice, it’ll leave our working memory. We’ll eventually slip back into the language we’re most comfortable with – i.e use more often.

Now, if the issue of the day is “the inability of Chinese students to function in society due to the complete lack of proficiency in English and the National language”, then the Education System is a little flawed against both the Nationalism platform and the Prime Minister’s objective of turning our country into a high-income one. This is because that would mean all our students need to be able to compete on the world stage and not just among the best within Malaysia.

Let’s get better

Yet this issue can be arrested if the Ministry of Education steps in to ensure that English and Bahasa Malaysia are taken seriously at such schools. Make them compulsory subjects which have to be passed, NOT History which apparently has become very subjective. And lift the pass mark while we’re at it. Ensure there are qualified Language teachers teaching the subjects. Turn a day of the week (or two) into a BM-only day or English-only day. Incentivise the kids to do well in these subjects – cash prizes, discounts off computers, a free AirAsia ticket to the historical cities of China, etc. These are examples of possibly a long list of what can be done.

If racial integration is the key issue, then we must acknowledge that this is a much larger problem to tackle. It requires that we consider politically driven policies, climate, and environment beside the Education System itself. I personally feel that this issue has exacerbated the conundrum of language proficiency. How?

Most parents who insist their kids go to Chinese schools, for instance, insist because they no longer believe that National schools have the quality teachers to teach well. Chinese schools are known to be strict (read: disciplined) with high emphasis on good performance. Parents subscribe to this perception. Secondly, with China burgeoning into a Superpower in her own right, parents are convinced that the Mother Tongue is taught and taught well in schools, something that does not exist in National schools anymore. Thirdly, because of the political climate we are in, with all the race-tinged statements floating about in National newspapers as well as race-skewed policies affecting our education system (quotas and scholarships for example), these parents withdraw to self-sufficient mode. It’s a “Ok, I’ll work around the system then” kind of attitude. They believe they can survive and thrive against these odds because they can rely on their work ethic. As long as they can pursue their goals in life without too much interference or restrictions from the government of the day, they’ll just “do their thing”.

Malaysian Favelas?

You could categorise this behaviour as being self-imposed isolation smacking of racialism. But I see it as communality driven by self-preservation. There’s a bit of this in the favelas of Sao Paulo and Rio De Jeneiro. Essentially composed of the marginalised poor, favelas are shanty-like towns that make perfect hideouts for drug lords because they know a shootout with the police will cost innocent lives, a risk the police would prefer not to take. At the same time, drug lords offer protection to the residents (faveladors) from thugs and thieves in return for loyalty and silence about their identities and exact whereabouts in the maze of makeshift homes. Code words are used and every home has an open-door policy should a drug pusher find himself being hotly pursued by the cops.

Meanwhile these faveladors get jobs from the richer families that live and operate on the outer ring of the towns for their cheap labour – or at the bottom of the hills should the favela be built on the hillside. Kosher or not, there is a system that governs such favelas and systems make people feel safe and secure. Kosher or not, they get leadership and the time of day from the drug lords. Malaysian Chinese and South Americans are, of course, worlds apart in many ways, not least in the area of the economic power each community holds. But there are similarities.

If you visit typically Chinese-skewed townships in KL, you’ll notice that there is a little economy giving pulse to the communities there, making them self-sufficient neighbourhoods consisting of banks, markets, small law practices, supermarkets, tailors, pharmacies, cobblers and schools. Facilities you will also find in favelas – although to a lesser degree and in humbler forms. The factors influencing the strong communal behaviour of both cultures are also somewhat similar: there are signs of marginalisation of some form, pragmatism linked to some form of threat to their livelihood or well-being, and the basic belief of strength in numbers.

For Malaysian Chinese, there is the added threat to their culture, the very essence of their identity. With the seeming Islamisation of the country, there is also a cogent fear among Chinese working class families that their culture will soon be swallowed up, dismissed or forbidden. This may sound flippant to some but if you could send your kid to a school that celebrates your culture, subscribes to high standards of discipline and performance versus a national school where you believe the teachers are lazy (and just pile up homework on your kid rather than teach), discriminatory (what with those reported insults of headmasters and mistresses in the news recently) and themselves not fluent in English or BM, then what would your choice be? Wouldn’t you want the former even though the possibility of your kid not being able to mix around later is high? What’s more important – being able to mix around or having the values and skills to be able to have a good career that could take you out of an increasingly hostile country?

Root out the illness, not the symptom

To summarise, the source of the problem is the Education System and its quality which affects the reputation of our National schools. The political climate and policies that are increasingly race-tinged and biased are secondary “viruses” threatening the Chinese community. Parents who insist on vernacular schools are just a symptom of the problem. The “illness” that is manifested are the children of these vernacular schools who are not able to function in society due to language proficiency issues.

If we want to treat the symptom, then, yes, just abolish the vernacular schools without doing anything else. If, however, we want to prevent the illness itself, we’ll have to go to the root of the problem, the source. We’ll have to revisit the medium of instruction for Math and Science. We’ll have to consider introducing Chinese and Tamil as subjects in schools. We’ll have to pay teachers a lot better, improve the selection criteria get good teachers – we’ll even have to review the teaching courses in our institutes and universities. And then some.

It’s sad that kids like Eu Jienn are destined to be another digit in our brain-drain statistic. It’s even sadder that he’ll grow up unable to mix with people other than his own race due to a language problem. That he is a foreigner in his own country. That, even if he ends up in Singapore or China, he will still be “middle-tier” even if he’s a genius back home because his academic performance may still not be as good as his regional counterparts. Whether partly by his choice, or his parents’, it doesn’t matter. Leaders have a great opportunity to shape the country, the pillars of society and bring out the best in its rakyat simply because they’re in power and they’re supposed to, well, lead. As a result, they are primarily accountable for the way things have turned out.

Too bad for Eu Jienn though.

Lisa Ng is a human being. She used to be a copywriter in the advertising industry. But now she just writes. For whatever helps us regain the lost art of “giving a toss” towards things that matter to the human race.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 May 2011, 6:35 am and is filed under
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Malaysian human capital outflow

By
Michael Lee

May 14, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

MAY 14 — Once, on the way to the airport in the cold dead of night, I had a heated discussion with an acquaintance of my father from the US about having a life outside of Malaysia.

I was in my teens then, fresh from the Malaysian public education system and was a staunch supporter of our government’s policies. The man who initiated the discussion, on the other hand, was a successful overseas Malaysian himself and was going on about the many merits of leaving Malaysia for a better life abroad. He himself had left Malaysia decades ago after getting his degree and has since found success in an auto-parts business he founded.

Throughout the drive, he cherry picked on the rampant corruption and injustices, particularly against non-Bumiputeras, like us, deep set in the Malaysian social, economic and political system.

While I believed most of what he said to be true, it was not something I haven’t heard before.

Again and again, my defence was that Malaysia was young in being independent compared with the US and needed more time to mature before the inequalities and inefficiencies fade away. The conversation ended in, what I believe, a stalemate, with his detailed reasoning unable to pierce the wall that was my youthful optimism. This took place about 18 years ago.

Fast forward another 6-7 years, in a mamak stall somewhere south of the Klang Valley, with my two friends, both many years my senior. One of them raised his decision to move to Taiwan and to start a life there with his Taiwanese wife. Coincidentally, he had just a few months previously returned from Taiwan after his privately-funded tertiary education there ended. Despite our suggestion, he did not believe that bringing his new Taiwanese wife to Malaysia instead would be an alternative worth considering.

Again, as with my father’s friend, I attempted to sway him home, albeit unsuccessfully. Halfway into the drinks, his reasons for leaving unmasked into, again, the injustices, perceived or real, that plagued the non-Bumis in Malaysia. He saw no agreeable future for him in Malaysia. There was nothing we could have said to convince him otherwise. He moved to Taiwan later that year and has since worked hard to start a small food shop that sustained his family’s life there.

By far the most poignant experience I have on the matter was with my distant cousin in Ireland. He was there working part time as a small-time cook for a former Malaysian in a two-man operated neighbourhood curry shop to finance his culinary studies in a nearby town. He studied during the morning and worked in the afternoon and late into the night. On weekends, he worked all day and well into the night. All the while, he stayed in the cramp and dusty attic of the curry shop by himself, sleeping on an old mattress on the floor.

It was during my visit in the middle of winter that I experienced for myself first hand just how lonely and bitter that type of living arrangement was. Unlike the previous two, it was obvious, even to me, that the man did not need any convincing Malaysia is good, because evidently, his willingness to go through what he had been going through daily was conviction enough for all to see. As it worked out, a handful of years of perseverance later, he is now residing in UK as a successful chef and, the last I heard, had since succeeded in his own pastry business there.

On a related note, and I’m not sure if it’s still the going trend these days, but back when I was a secondary student at my Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK), I have watched many of my better-than-average secondary classmates whisked away to Singapore via the Asean scholarship and, to my knowledge, none have returned back to Malaysia. Our southern neighbour was so keen on Malaysian academic achievers that some of those who failed to apply for the Asean scholarship programme were approached individually after their STPM exam.

A close friend of mine attests to this as she herself has experienced this. In her first few months in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Nanyang Technology University of Singapore (NTU) contacted her directly at her house to offer her a full scholarship for a degree course in information technology. Ironically, the course offered has always been her first choice but the course she was studying at UKM at the time was the last on her list of choices.

Due to family obligations at that point in time of her life, she was forced to decline the offer. But this was not the end to it. Further to this, NTU called her again days later to ask her reasons for declining their offer and gave her the opportunity to reconsider again.

After much thought and consultation with her friends and family which was unanimous in their bias, she took up NTU’s offer and left for Singapore. She is now working with a multinational corporation there and has since taken up permanent residence in Singapore.

The above are just an inkling of some of the real cases that I have personally come across. I don’t think it’s necessary to point out other examples as I’m pretty sure a lot of Malaysians may be already intimately acquainted with this phenomenon. Given the very recent World Bank statistics on Malaysia’s human capital outflow, the above, unfortunately, are but a scratch on the surface.

The fact was not lost on me, of course, that the Malaysian government throughout the years has had more than its fair share of unflattering news, deserved or otherwise. But I always held on to the hope that all the corruption, inefficiencies and misdirection would be scraped away eventually in due time. Not so because of some inner sense of righteousness or of my own naive optimism in the conscience from our leaders but from a more practical and realistic standpoint — that being, because we live in among an increasingly competitive global economy and we are quickly running out of excuses and options.

But that did not happen.

As a nation, we have been steadily but surely reaching an impasse. The fact that we are overlooked by foreign and even domestic investors nowadays shows that Malaysia is no longer the “Asian tiger” it once was.

The rise of the opposition political parties after the 2008 “tsunami” elections intensified the in-fighting among our leaders and stirred the incumbent BN leaders to become more preoccupied in staying in power rather than to govern the country properly for once.

The news we read in the media grew more and more unbelievable and outrageous. From unsinkable submarines to RM25,000 laptops purchased by civil servants, from the provocative act of dragging of a cow’s head in public to the Molotov cocktail attacks on churches, from the rise of Perkasa/Pembela to the Allah debacle in east Malaysia, from calling for the abandonment of English in our education system to the recent import of 300 American teachers, etc, etc. The list goes on, even today.

And while those sensationalistic news peppered itself regularly all over the local media, boiling beneath the surface are the bread-and-butter issues that have been increasingly plaguing the day-to-day lives of the average working Malaysian.

From the price of homes to the price of food, the rapid rise in the cost of living is now more prominent than ever. For an ordinary salaryman like myself, even as a degree holder, I foresee that my meagre income will no longer be able to meet my young family’s future financial needs.

I found myself starting to apply for a job overseas since a year ago, just to chance the possibility that some company outside of Malaysia might want to consider hiring me. In the beginning, my family, I especially, had been very reluctant to even consider leaving as I have a very rewarding career in Malaysia. Also, Malaysia is my home. I was born and raised in Malaysia and has always felt that Malaysia is a wonderful place to call live. This is not solely because I’ve been told this repeatedly by the government-sponsored media since I was young, or because I grew up well integrated with our public national school system philosophies.

To cut a long story short, and to my surprise, a job did find me months later, and following in my predecessor’s footsteps, my wife and I, together with our three-year old son have recently moved to Hong Kong. To be honest, the overall package offered was only slightly more lucrative than my job in Malaysia when one factors in the cost of living. Even so, it did not affect our eventual decision to take the job because that was not the sole reason for applying for an overseas job in the first place.

I do not think it’s necessary to go through the faults of Malaysia, or more specifically, its government, just to prove that it has faults. Perfection is not something to be expected from an individual let alone from a collection of provincial populists strung loosely together by bureaucracy. Understandably, no government is perfect. But that’s not really the point.

Even as I type this, I am watching the headline news on HK local television network talking about the effects of the recent minimum wage implementation. I believe that this is a newsworthy issue that directly affects the majority of HK residents. Now contrast this with the headline news in Malaysia two days ago about a major Malaysian newspaper inciting fear against the Christians for allegedly wanting a Christian Malaysian prime minister?

I cannot speak for others who had left the country as to their reasons or their motivations for doing so. I can only speak for myself and, to an extent, my wife. I came to seek our fortunes overseas because I feel that the opportunity cost of just staying put is far too high. Furthermore, in my line of work, I may soon find it difficult to get work in the future due to the shrinking pool of my potential employers.

With regards to the human capital outflow, it is my humble opinion that the government should take steps to build up the country properly first before even considering setting up ad hoc agencies like Talent Corp.

If Malaysians like me who has only recently left Malaysia would not consider moving back to Malaysia solely based upon any temporary and half-hearted measures by our Talent Corp, what are the chances of enticing Malaysians that have been overseas for much longer than I and more entrenched in their lives abroad?

If anything, I believe that, at the moment, the government would be better focused in creating reasons and opportunities for Malaysians living in Malaysia now to prevent them from leaving rather than waste money and effort trying to lure overseas Malaysians to come back.

No one really wants to go through the difficult decision of leaving home, away from family and friends for an extended amount of time if they felt that they had a reasonable choice in the first place.

* Michael Lee reads The Malaysian Insider.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 May 2011, 2:20 pm and is filed under
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May 13: A Recollection

By
Adrian Ng

LoyarBurok

13 May, 2011

Reflections of the incidents of May 13, 42 years ago, and how Malaysia has grown since then.

Mom was 16. They lived at Cheras Batu 2 1/2 squatters, near the legendary field which produced Mokhtar Dahari, and near Cochrane Road School, where DBKL has now built a hall along Jalan Loke Yew. Grandpa decided not to open his stall at Central Market that day. The situation was tense from what was being heard in KL due to the massive win of the Democratic Action Party. Rumours were spreading that the Malays were going to attack the Chinese. Everyone was terrified.

Grandpa and grandma quickly packed up some food, just in case they needed to make a run and gathered everyone. They all sat quietly waiting as far back as possible in the tiny little wooden house, at the back of the kitchen. Grandpa took a radio to the kitchen, to listen to any news on what was happening outside.

No one dared venture outside.

The usually lively squatters area was extremely quiet that day. Then a few knocks on the door… everyone was quiet and dared not answer. Then a few knocks again. And a few knocks again. Then someone called my grandpa’s name softly… “Ah Chong… Ah Chong… are you inside?” It took a few more calls before my grandpa answered and opened the door, only after he was sure that it was the youngster from the sundry shop.

They continued their conversation in front of the house, whispering to each other. Then he came to the kitchen and gathered everyone. They walked out of the house and quickly hurried themselves to the wood-processing factory nearby.

Along the way to the factory, mom and family were accompanied by some young Chinese boys. Mom recognised them; they were the gangsters at the squatters, some with scars on their hands, some with tattoos. Each on of them were holding a parang, some samurai swords, and others metal rods.

Upon reaching, they were led to the wooden planks stores and were told to hide there. A few other neighbours were already there. Everyone look frightened, not knowing what was happening outside. After some whispers here and there, mom found out that some other neighbours had gone to Chan Sow Lin, and were also hiding at some factories.

Before the Chinese youngsters left, a few more youngsters came and grabbed some more parangs, samurai swords, and metal rods from the store, hidden among the planks of woods. Mom took a peep, and saw a lot of weapons hidden in between.

Then someone called out in Malay… everyone panicked, thinking that they had been ambushed. Everyone kept quiet. After a long wait, Grandpa whispered “Don’t worry, he is Pak Mat, he and a few others will help guard around the squatters.” The day went by, and soon night fell. That night, mom heard on radio that an emergency had been declared by Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Mom heard from one of the neighbours that a massive bloodshed had broke out at Tai Wa cinema (the old Cathay cinema along Jalan Pudu, now an empty lot with a bus station). There were scores of people inside the cinema, watching a just up-on-the-screen new movie. Suddenly, they were ambushed and attacked. They couldn’t escape. Scores were dead.

Some of the Chinese gangsters who were around managed to gather some people, and tried to save as many people as possible. There were also some Malays locals around who helped out, trying to pull away people and hide them — in drains, inside shops, anywhere. Anywhere they could. The slashing groupsoon backed off and moved back towards Puduraya. Mom also heard that many Malays were also hurt.

Mom’s tears flowed down her cheek. Until today, no one knows how many died.

The FRU arrived shortly after, trying to help as much as possible. Apparently, the FRU were also up in arms against the Police, as during that time, the FRU were made up of mainly Chinese, whilst the Police were Malays. The FRU soon rounded up some Chinese gangsters and instructed them to help stand guard around their villages.

The FRU helped man the main roads leading to the villages. Some Malays volunteered to help, manning the intersections into the villages together with the Chinese gangsters, and patrolling around at night.

Throughout the night, there were some noises outside the factory and around the squatters. Footsteps of people running around quickly. Rays of torch lights occasionally shone into the factory. However, no untoward incidents occurred. Everyone stayed at the factory for a few days, with the Chinese and Malay youngsters taking turns to bring food to the factory and patrolling. It was only after the soldiers came that everyone dared return to their homes. And everyone was glad that nothing untoward happened to any of the villagers in the squatters.

It was an unforgettable day in Malaysian history.

And that incident shaped the path of our society today.

I could not understand her feelings, everytime she told me her stories of May 13. I can just try to imagine how bad it was, and how it has traumatised my family and the rest of the Chinese community from that era.

And not too long ago, I too had a near encounter of a similar nature, if not entirely similar. It was 8 March 2008. We were back at the nerve centre, to hand in the results from the polling centre I was taking charge of, and it was a win from the school. On the way back, my friend called and said that Khalid had won Bandar Tun Razak. I was jumping.

I was even more estatic when unofficial results started to flow in and more schools were reporting majority wins.

It was not what we expected, as we expected a tough fight. Soon calls started to flow in, we had won most seats; KL and Selangor were looking good, very good.

Crowds outside were celebrating, shouts could be heard. We quickly gathered some people and asked them tocalm down, fearing any untoward incident. And coincidentally, the nerve centre was also in Pudu, behind the old Tai Wa cinema. Creepy.

Shortly after, we headed to the nomination centre, waiting anxiously for the polling officer to annouce the results. We knew we had nailed it, and were just waiting for the official results. Then my phone rang, my friend from Penang called. He said “Tsu Koon lost and they have lost Penang”. An eerie feeling suddenly crept in. Flashback of the stories of May 13 that my mom told me. I told him we had won in KL, and it seemed that the opposition were going to govern Selangor.

I quickly asked him to go home. He was joltedsuddenlyand realised that situation was very uncertain, and that anything could happen had anyone from the other parties provoked, be itjust throwing a stone or bottle towards the celebrating crowd. I called my wife, asking her to stay indoors.

Nothing untoward did happen that night. The following morning, we proudly watched on TV as they announced a major political tsunami in Malaysia. I was glad, but I couldn’t stop a sigh of relief that nothing untoward happened.

I realised that we young Malaysians had grown up from May 13. Whilst I do not really understand the feeling of them who had encountered it, we do need to remember what happened. But it is not for us to remember to hate, but for us to remember to cherish that this is part of our history, and to ensure that we learn from the mistakes made, and further improve ourselves.

Looking back at mom’s recollection of May 13, we can see that not all Malays were extremists. Mom said that there were very glad that Pak Mat and some others came help and stood guard. And likewise, Pak Mat was very sad about what happened to those at Tai Wa cinema, including some friends who lost their friends there. Even today, we all knew that not all Malays are extremists, and they don’t stir up May 13, but instead understand why it had happened.

It is already 42 years since then. And today, as a proud young Malaysian, I can proudly say that we have moved past the ghost of May 13, as demonstrated in March 2008.

Today, let us rejoice together as a peace loving Malaysians and celebrate this day!

Adrian is a proud Anak Bangsa Malaysia. He tweets at @AdrianNCF

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 May 2011, 10:47 am and is filed under
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Police quiz 8 pastors over ‘Christian conspiracy’

By
Aidila Razak

May 14, 11  | MalaysiaKini

Police have quizzed eight pastors who were present at the gathering in Penang that Utusan Malaysia had alleged to have hatched a so-called ‘conspiracy’ to make Christianity the official religion.

According to Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi, the pastors were called up in the week following his police report on May 8 denying the Malay daily’s claims.

Speaking to reporters in Kuala Lumpur, Ooi who was present at the dinner last weekend where the ‘plot’ was supposedly hatched, said that the police’s questions to the pastors suggests confusion of the authorities over the manner of Christian worship with the taking of a pledge.

“The pastors were commonly asked questions of the same theme,” said Ooi.

“They were asked if there was a conspiracy to install a Christian prime minister and if there was a pledge taken to make Christianity the official religion of the country. They (the pastors) categorically denied this.

“They were also asked if they raised their hands during their prayers, as commonly practiced among Christians, and if they had raised their left or right hand, and how high they raised it,” he said.

This, Ooi believes, has led to some mistaking the Christian gesture of raising their hands in prayer to that of taking an oath of pledge.

Besides the pastors, three DAP volunteers including two municipal councillors and Ooi have given their statements to the police in the on-going investigation.

Another of Ooi’s special assistants has also received notice to give a statement to the police today.

Allegation devoid of common sense

According to the MP, the dinner in which the alleged pledge was supposed to have been taken was part of a anti-corruption conference attended by some 50 participants.

The event, called the Unashamedly Ethical Conference, discussed the role of Christians in the fight against corruption, with Transparency International Malaysia president Paul Low also in attendance.

“As per common practice for Christian events, the dinner began and ended with prayer session.

“Several guests also gave speeches and some spoke on the topic of corruption. None of what was alleged (the Christian state conspiracy) took place,” Ooi said.

He added that the meeting was apolitical and as such, he as an invited guest, also kept politics out of his speech.

Ooi added that the fact that a Muslim man, Mohamed Razali, has now come forward to make a report which authorities claim give the Utusan Malaysia report “some basis” is also illogical.

“Should there be a conspiracy, we wouldn’t have invited anybody, moreover a Muslim.

“That is common sense and to allude that I was the organiser to call for such a pledge – they should take note that I am a practicing Buddhist,” said Ooi.

Mohamed Razali, a member of DAP’s Jelutong branch, has yesterday lodged a police report on the controversy.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 May 2011, 1:09 pm and is filed under
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Them versus us

Mustafa Sharif

The Malaysian Insider

May 14, 2011

 MAY 14 — There has been too much focus on Anwar Ibrahim’s fitness to lead the country; whether Raja Petra Kamaruddin has sold out his ideals for ringgit Malaysia; and what exactly Zaid Ibrahim stands for.

All this is just a distraction from a couple of questions at hand, which are: do Malaysians have to depend on others to transform and save this country? And who exactly is the adversary?

The simple answer is that you and I have to step out of our comfort zones, galvanise family and friends and make a difference at the ballot box.

This is about us versus them. I define us as ordinary Malaysians who have had enough of corruption, abuses of power, intimidation, religious persecution, mediocrity, divide and rule, the discredit of the judiciary, police and other institutions, the blatant flaunting of wealth and power by incumbents, and the incompetence and spineless national media.

I define them as individuals or groups of individuals who want to preserve this state of affairs and the status quo because it enriches them and keeps them in a position of power and privilege. They included government politicians, senior officials of the Election Commission, police force, certain judges, senior editors of the newspapers and television stations, Umno, MACC and crony businessmen.

So when people talk about change and cleaning up the system, this is the “establishment” which we have to confront and defeat. At first glance, this may be insurmountable but as the experience of Egypt and Tunisia shows nothing is impossible and no tyrant strong enough to withstand the will of the people.

It is the same with us. Change will only happen when we decide to take charge of our own destiny. Until that time, we will have to suffer at the hands of people who are morally inferior to us and less capable of leading us.

Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) believe that they have Anwar Ibrahim on the ropes with the sex video. They also believe that they have neutralised whatever little threat Raja Petra Kamaruddin and Zaid Ibrahim posed.

In their calculation, with Pakatan Rakyat weakened and the Opposition movement short of personalities, the rakyat will get disillusioned and return to BN or simply abstain from voting.

They don’t believe for a moment that we will still push for a coalition system or work doubly hard to deny evil their two-thirds majority.

But we must, not because we think that Anwar and his family have been treated unjustly but because if even without two-thirds majority, Umno and its supporters (Utusan Malaysia, MACC, Khalid Abu Bakar, EC, et al) can behave in such an insufferable manner, what will happen to all of us when they command two-thirds majority in Malaysia?

This is a question which keeps me awake at night and persuades me that Malaysians can only be saved by us, ordinary tax-paying Malaysians like you and me.

It’s us versus them and what is at stake is great.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 May 2011, 10:51 pm and is filed under
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Things will get worse

Ali Kadir

The Malaysian Insider

May 13, 2011

MAY 13 — Every time Hishammuddin Hussein opens his mouth, I am reminded of two pieces of wisdom which Malaysians should take on board.

Number 1: The apple does fall some way from the tree. His father, Hussein Onn was a man of integrity, fairness and intelligence, Unfortunately for us, Hishammuddin is not his father’s son in any of those categories. Far, far from it.

Number 2: Evil happens when good men do nothing. At best, he is of average competency with a penchant for grandstanding and stock answer rhetoric.

But if Malaysians do not take matters into our hands through our participation in the voting system, he could end up as our leader!

I know it is a frightening thought but look at the paucity of leadership in Umno. Its either him, Shafie Apdal, Mukhriz Mahathir or some other average person.

And if it is Hishammuddin , just think of how bad Malaysia has become and multiply it by a few times.

My friends, this is not unfounded scaremongering.

Who was behind the idea to unsheath the keris at the Umno assembly? Who molly-coddled the cow head protestors who were against the building of a Hindu temple in Shah Alam?

Who is showing bias, not to mention incompetence, in the so-called probe by the police against two bloggers and Utusan Malaysia over its reports that a group of pastors wanted to turn Malaysia into a Christian country?

He is quoted as saying that police were handling the case, but went on to add that it would not be fair to take action against Utusan only because of alleged past indiscretions of the Chinese media.

But you did take action against the Chinese media. The top editor of China Press was suspended for two weeks for publishing an inaccurate report on the resignation of Musa Hassan, the former top cop.

Your government also arrested a reporter from a Chinese newspaper under the Internal Security Act for publishing accurate seditious comments from one of Umno’s thuggish leaders in Penang.

For completeness, Makkal Osai also was suspended for carrying a degrading picture of Jesus.

So, what is Hishammuddin mumbling about? He is mumbling about there being “some truth” about the Utusan report.

This is nothing more than a desperate attempt to give some credence to a report by Umno’s party newspaper. Just think about it.

If Hishammuddin is reluctant to act in an open and shut case, how will he act fairly to protect the interests of non-Malays/non-Muslims in other more pressing cases.

How will our Constitutional rights be protected if he does manage to become president of Umno and PM of Malaysia?

Once again, I say that this is not scare-mongering but the reality based on his track record.

Yes, evil will happen when good Malaysians do nothing.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 May 2011, 9:04 am and is filed under
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Thousands rally for Syrian dead

Al Jazeera

14 May 2011

More than 8,000 people attend funeral of protester who was killed by security forces in restive city of Homs.

More than 8,000 people are attending the funeral in Homs of one of three protesters killed by Syrian security forces in the restive city, an eyewitness told Al Jazeera.

Mourners for Fouad al-Rajoub, who was killed on Friday, gathered near Bab al-Dreib and began making their way through the city chanting for an end to the siege on Homs, Baniyas and Deraa, the major flashpoints in the uprising.

The eyewitness said that due to the size of the procession the military had removed and relocated some of the checkpoints it had established throughout the city since mass anti-regime protests erupted there last month.

“Everything is peaceful now but we will be passing government buildings and I fear the snipers will open fire on us,” he said.

Another witness told the AFP news agency that security forces shot dead three people and wounded several others in Tall Kalakh, a town in the Homs region which borders Lebanon.

Syrian army personnel were deployed in Talkalakh after officials said troops and tanks were being pulled out of Baniyas and Deraa.

Security barriers were set up at the entrances of the Talkalakh and heavy gunfire was heard, according to activists’ accounts. Security forces were deployed in surrounding villages as well.

Lebanese security officials said cracks of gunfire could be heard on the Lebanese side of the border.

Officials said scores of Syrians had crossed into Lebanon, fleeing violence in their country that has left at least 775 people dead since the start of the protest movement in mid-March.

‘National dialogue’

Meanwhile, Adnan Mahmoud, the minister of information, announced “a comprehensive national dialogue in all Syrian governorates,” Syria’s state-run SANA news agency reported on Saturday.

In a press conference on Friday, Mahmoud said that the government was implementing “a comprehensive political, economic and social reform program in the interest of the people”.

“There is a correlation between security and stability from one hand, and the reform from the other hand,” SANA quote the minister as saying.

Mahmoud said army units had started to leave the coastal city of Baniyas and completed a pullout from Deraa, although residents there reported tanks outside mosques in the morning.

Aref Dalila, an economist who met Shaaban last week, said “the domination of the security apparatus over life in Syria” must end for different opinions to be represented.

“We are long used to these ‘dialogues’ in Syria, where the regime assembles its loyalists in a conference and the other opinion is either in jail or underground,” he said.

According to the Syrian government “police and security forces have been sent to pursue armed groups which perpetrated acts of killing citizens, terrorised people, burned public and private properties, halted social and economic life, threatened schools and public security”.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 May 2011, 8:28 pm and is filed under
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Utusan’s 4Ts

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 May 2011, 8:41 pm and is filed under
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Wan Azizah defends Anwar, says video slander ‘worse than murder’

By
Boo Su-Lyn

May 14, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

SHAH ALAM, May 14 — Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail hit out at those who say the main actor in a sex video circulating through Malaysia is her husband Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, calling it slander that is “worse than murder”.

The PKR president defended her husband at a ceramah here last night after police said they will reveal the identities of those seen in the sex video only if they are required to do so by law.

“The man in the video is not my husband,” Dr Wan Azizah (picture) told a crowd of Malays at a village here last night.

“If I don’t recognise (him), who else can do so? If an accident happens (to him) at night, I’ll be the one to recognise him,” she said.

Businessman Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah performed the sumpah laknat oath last month by swearing in God’s name that Anwar is the man featured in the controversial sex video.

Shazryl took the oath on behalf of the “Datuk T” trio behind the sex scandal, who comprises him, former Malacca Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik and Perkasa treasurer-general Datuk Shuib Lazim.

Dr Wan Azizah warned that those who spread such a “lie” and their grandchildren would suffer the consequences of their “sin”.

“Don’t play around… This is a lie. It’s slander. This slander is worse than murder,” said the PKR president in front of the 200-strong crowd.

The doctor, who married Anwar 30 years ago, also pointed out that the physique of the man in the sex video was clearly different from her husband’s.

“In the video, with a stomach like that, it’s not him,” she said as the crowd laughed.

She had made similar remarks last month, pointing out that Anwar’s stomach was smaller than the stomach of the man in the video as Anwar had exercised when he was in jail.

She went on to criticise national leaders who, she said, insulted Anwar every day by calling him a sodomite.

“This is the country’s tragedy,” said Dr Wan Azizah.

In the late 1990s, then-deputy prime minister Anwar faced charges of sodomy and abuse of power.

Three years ago, Anwar faced a second sodomy charge brought against him by a former aide. The case is ongoing.

The opposition leader has accused Umno leaders of masterminding the latest sex scandal.

Dr Wan Azizah also hit out at a text message, which her daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar said she had received, containing a threat to kidnap the latter’s three-year-old daughter.

“What kind of human is this?” she asked.

Nurul Izzah said yesterday that she was warned against continuing to support her father, or else her daughter would end up sharing the same fate as Sharlinie Mohd Nashar.

Sharlinie, 5, was abducted in 2008 at a playground near her house in Petaling Jaya and remains missing.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 May 2011, 12:21 pm and is filed under
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What I have said about Christians and Muslims worshipping the same God/Allah is confirmed by the Quran!

By
N H Chan

Introduction: why I decided to write on why the Deity Allah is not owned by Muslims only

I wrote the series of articles on Allah to put forward the Christians’ point of view on why they are entitled to use the word Allah in their Malay language Bibles. I felt it was unfair for the people in power to use governmental clout to prevent Christians from calling their God Allah. And when these myopic politicians started to desecrate the Christians’ Holy Book that became the catalyst which really drove me to write so as to inform the public that it is not anyone’s right to claim ownership of an Arabic word which was in use by the Jews and the Arabs since the time of Abraham and his descendants, or even much earlier i.e. from the time of the descendants of Shem the eldest of the three sons of Noah who were regarded as the ethnic group of peoples known as the Semites or Shemites who spoke a Semitic language. And Arabic and Hebrew are two Semitic languages. The Arabic word Allah meaning “The God” had been used by God’s people for thousands of years before Jesus was born and before Mohammad’s Call, the legendary revelation of Allah in 611 AD.

But then there are certain people who think that to mention that Christians worship the same God as Muslims do is sacrilege

It looks like there are some Malay Muslims, and some other people of unknown faiths, who maintain that it is heresy to say in my articles that Christians worship the same God as Muslims do. They say Muslims worship only one God and that is Allah but Christians worship three persons called the trinity.

But do these misinformed Muslims know what they are talking about when the word “trinity” is not found in the Bible? Can they tell us why they say that Christians worship three persons when this is not even mentioned in the Bible? Or are these people just paying lip service to keep up with the Joneses to upstage the Christians’ faith without knowing the reason why they are doing that?

I think it is mean, unseemly and unbefitting of such narrow-minded Malay Muslims to decry the Christians, who believe in the same God as Muslims, that Christians are polytheistic by relying on a baseless assumption that Christians worship three persons. But how can anyone say that when there is not even a tittle of evidence to support such an unfounded assumption? In truth Christians are as monotheistic as Muslims. Indeed both faiths worship the same Deity who is God or Allah depending on whether your Bible is in English or in Malay or Arabic.

I find it most disconcerting as an observer, who is neither Christian nor Muslim, to see those narrow-minded followers of Islam defy their own Allah by not accepting the followers of Jesus who, according to the Quran, was created by Allah to receive His revelation and be His prophet.

The Quran says that Jesus was made by Allah to propagate the teachings of Allah

When the Quran has acknowledged that Jesus was created by Allah to deliver the teachings of Allah, who are they – I am referring to the narrow-minded Malay Muslims – to object to the Christians calling their Deity Allah? They should not assume that all Christians are English speaking! Many Christians in this country, especially those in East Malaysia, can only read the Malay Bible. English, which is a foreign language, is quite unfathomable to them. A rudimentary knowledge of English is not good enough to understand the Bible because the King James Bible is not an easy read.

I quote below from the Yusuf Ali Translation:

The Holy Quran (Yusuf Ali Translation)

Surah 19, Maryam (Mary)

27. At length she brought the (babe) to her people, carrying him (in her arms). They said: “O Mary! truly an amazing thing hast thou brought!

28. “O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!”

29. But she pointed to the babe. They said: “How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?”

30. He said: “I am indeed a servant of Allah. He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet;

31. “And He hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long as I live;

32. “(He) hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable;

33. “So peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)”!

34. Such (was) Jesus the son of Mary: (it is) a statement of truth, about which they (vainly) dispute.

35. It is not befitting to (the majesty of) Allah that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! when He determines a matter, He only says to it, “Be”, and it is.

36. Verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord: Him therefore serve ye: this is a Way that is straight.

37. But the sects differ among themselves: and woe to the unbelievers because of the (coming) Judgment of a Momentous Day!

38. How plainly will they see and hear, the Day that they will appear before Us! but the unjust today are in error manifest!

39. But warn them of the Day of Distress, when the matter will be determined: for (behold,) they are negligent and they do not believe!

40. It is We Who will inherit the earth, and all beings thereon: to Us will they all be returned.

41. (Also mention in the Book (the story of) Abraham: He was a man of Truth, a prophet.

The above is what the Quran says about Jesus; verse 34:
 “Such (was) Jesus the son of Mary: (it is) a statement of truth, about which they vainly dispute.”
and verse 35:
 “It is not befitting (to the majesty of) Allah that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! When He determines a matter, He only says to it, ‘Be’, and it is.”
From this it is clear that Jesus was created or made by Allah to be His prophet to perform a specific task which is to spread the teachings of Allah.

In these verses of Surah 19 of the Quran, Jesus said:

30. … “I am indeed a servant of Allah. He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet;

31. “And He hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long as I live;

32. “(He) hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable;

33. “So peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)”!

Thus it is proclaimed in the Quran that Jesus the son of Mary is a statement of truth. The Quran also says that Jesus is a servant of Allah who gave a revelation to him and made him a prophet. So those who doubt, namely the aforesaid uninitiated Malay Muslims, the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament should hold their tongue for it is unbefitting of them to dispute what is said in the Quran!

So that when Jesus spoke to the eleven disciples after he rose from the dead; see the New Testament, Matthew 28: 19:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Those misinformed Muslims should not doubt this statement of Jesus even though they may wish to doubt and imagine that Jesus was saying there are three persons to be worshipped in the Godhead. Those who doubt the teachings of Jesus should be careful of offending Allah for disputing what is said in the Quran that Jesus was created by Allah to propagate His teachings to all nations.

“In the name of the Father”
 means
“In the name of God”
 because God is also called Father in the Bible.

Just as Allah is also referred to as
“Lord”
in the Quran; see e.g. verse 36 above:
“Verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord”
.

“In the name of the Son”
 means
“In the name of Jesus”
 because Jesus is also known as the Son of God in the Bible.

Just as in the Quran Jesus is the
“son”
made by Allah because Allah cannot beget a human son: see e.g. verse 35 above:
“It is not befitting to (the majesty of) Allah that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! when He determines a matter, He only says to it, ‘Be’, and it is”
.

“In the name of the Holy Ghost”
 or Spirit. In the Quran this is
 “an angel”
; see e.g. verse 17 above:
 “She placed a screen (to screen herself) from them; then We sent her our angel, and he appeared before her as a man in all respects”
. The continuing verses in Surah 19 of the Quran should be read as they are quite revealing:

18. She said: “I seek refuge from thee to ((Allah)) Most Gracious: (come not near) if thou dost fear Allah.”

19. He said: “Nay, I am only a messenger from thy Lord, (to announce) to thee the gift of a holy son.

20. She said: “How shall I have a son, seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste?”

21. He said: “So (it will be): Thy Lord saith, ‘that is easy for Me: and (We wish) to appoint him as a Sign unto men and a Mercy from Us’: It is a matter (so) decreed.”

22. So she conceived him, and she retired with him to a remote place.

So there you have it, convincing proof from the Holy Book of the Muslims that Christians worship the same God/Allah as Muslims!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About the Trinity

However, since there is so much confusion among the uninitiated, I think I should try to explain what the word “trinity” is meant to convey. It is a term which is sometimes used by Christians to explain the Oneness of God. But for sure trinity does not mean three persons to worship, and it is not a word which is found in the Bible.

Christians worship only one God who is sometimes described by them as
“God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost or Spirit”
 and these three are one. This is the most likely passage in the New Testament where I think the phrase comes from: Matthew 28:19:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost

Matthew 28 speaks of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. After Jesus rose from the dead he spoke to the 11 disciples:

16Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

 	17And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

But where does it say in the Bible that Jesus is part of the Godhead?

1 John 5: 7 says:

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

And for proof of the deity of Jesus Christ, see John 1: 1:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The Word is clearly identified in John 1: 14:

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

And 1 Timothy 3: 16 states:

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

It is quite obvious that
 “God was manifest in the flesh”
above refers to Jesus.

Actually, if you know your English well, you will know that the expression Trinity or Holy Trinity does not mean the worship of three persons: God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost. I have already explained in a previous article that the word
 “Trinity”
 is a euphemism for God. But it looks like I have been casting pearls before swine because the critics of Christianity in this country are unable to understand plain English. Anyway, I am digressing. The fact remains that the expression
“trinity”
 or
“the trinity”
 is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. This is because Christians do not worship three persons. They worship only one God who was the God of Abraham, and who is the same God the Jews and the Muslims worship.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 14 May 2011, 7:10 am and is filed under
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10 Days in May (10)

Tweets
@limkitsiang
:-

Kuantan Police cynosure. Is Lynas already exercising Xtraordinary influence over Kuantan Police? Contd subversion of national institutions?

Internet-savvy IGP, r u following this? Shd apologise n tel/stop Kuantan police from its folly b4 Police become world laughing stock.

Hisham will have 2explain Parliament wh Police have new SOP 2get urine test from all arrested, rationale – recipe 4PDRM become world-class?

Hisham – in national interest, wld Police arrest IbrahimAli n demand urine test 2stop lies n seditious race/religious baiting?

Hisham – can explain Y police so tough overbearing w loyal peaceloving defenders environment? @LeeChinChen they want us to do urine test!

If DAP/Christian rep had said 10% what Ibrahim did, ISA/worst laws wld have been thrown at him.Hisham – Y so soft now?

Must TQ police create 4heroes agnst Lynas plant. Reminds me protracted battle agnst AsianRareEarth (ARE) in Bukit Merah in 80s – lesson 4all

Wld have been at DAPPahang anti-Lynas protest in Kuantan 2day if not 4my eye condition. Police arrest completely unwarranted/abuse of power.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 15 May 2011, 6:18 pm and is filed under
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As police probe, Ibrahim Ali threatens crusade against Christians

By
Clara Chooi

May 15, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

GOMBAK, May 15 — Despite police still investigating unsubstantiated reports of a move to a Christian Malaysia, Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali threatened Christians nationwide last night that he would wage a crusade or holy war should they proceed with their agenda to usurp Islam.

The pint-sized Malay rights leader thundered to a ceramah audience of some 200 at Kampung Changkat here that he was willing to take the fall for his statement for the sake of defending the dignity of Islam.

Although he complained of fatigue from his nine ceramah stops from Kelantan to here since Friday night, the Pasir Mas MP also said his blood was boiling with rage and “hairs standing on end” following recent reports of a Christian conspiracy between religious leaders and opposition party politicians.

“In Kelantan earlier, I declared before the police, I told the security forces present that if they want to send my messages to Bukit Aman (police), please go ahead.

“Please record my words — if there is any party in Penang, especially the Christian priests who are being backed by the Penang DAP, should continue with their agenda which we already know, I would like to offer that if they want to hold a crusade, we can.

“This is in the spirit of Sultan Saladin Ayubi… if they want to fight a crusade, we can,” he charged.

Saladin was a Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and led the Muslim forces during the Crusades — a series of religiously sanctioned military campaigns taken by the Christians to recover the Holy Land from Muslims.

Ibrahim (picture) warned the non-Muslims not to take the silence of their Muslim comrades to mean complacency, saying it was because the latter community placed peace and harmony above everything.

“But we are ready. Silence does not mean fear, we have been silent because we prioritise peace and harmony.

“But these people, if they feel the peace that they have enjoyed all these years is insufficient, or the stability and progress of this nation is not enough and they want to do something that has never once crossed our minds, go ahead… we will be ready,” he said.

He claimed the reason why the non-Muslims were now fearless and brave enough to step up was because they felt secure with the backing of many Muslim liberals and other political leaders including PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat.

“This is my view… if I am incorrect, it is my right. If I am rude, I apologise. My sins I will bear.

“But why is this happening now… after 53 years? The answer you may know — the main source is because of Anwar’s misdeeds.

“So to them (non-Muslims), this is their time because they are being backed by Nik Aziz, supported by Anwar and spurred by the Malay liberals,” he said.

Ibrahim was referring to the recent row over a controversial newspaper report in Utusan Malaysia entitled “Kristian Agam Rasmi?” (Christianity the official religion?) where it was alleged that DAP leaders and Christian priests were conspiring to take over Putrajaya, abolish Islam as the religion of the federation and install a Christian prime minister.

Christian leaders and DAP members have denied the reports and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was even forced to host a meeting with the religious chiefs to solve the issue but Ibrahim insisted last night that the report was true.

For one, he pointed out that a Muslim DAP member had also lodged a report on Friday claiming to know the true story of what transpired during the meeting at a hotel in Penang recently.

“They have been accusing Utusan Malaysia but from the beginning, I said it is valid. It is true.

“Why? Because the MP present at the meeting was Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi. He is an MP like me and I know from his mannerisms and the language he uses,” he said.

Ibrahim also reiterated his recent claim that former Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) members were using local groups for an unsubstantiated plot to replace Islam as Malaysia’s official religion.

He insisted that CPM supporters had infiltrated political parties, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), religious groups and business associations after the party laid down arms in 1989 in order to carry on their activities.

“I am reminding the Malays of this country… where are these CPM members? They have been absorbed into the community. I am confident they have infiltrated political parties, NGOs, and so on.

“These are the remains of PCM… that is why they are brave enough to continue with their agenda…. it is a golden opportunity for them because they now have extraordinary support from Anwar, from PAS and from the Malay liberals,” he said.

Utusan Malaysia’s Christian conspiracy report is presently under police investigation.

According to Ooi, a total of eight pastors and 13 DAP members and event participants have been called forth to give their statements to the police.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 15 May 2011, 10:19 am and is filed under
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Family wants independent inquiry into teen’s fatal shooting

By
Clara Chooi

May 15, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

PETALING JAYA, May 15 — The family of Johari Abu Bakar have demanded an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the  17-year-old’s shooting, accusing the police today of giving inconsistent accounts of the incident.

The family will also file a court petition tomorrow, seeking for a second post-mortem on the school dropout, due to “suspicious” signs of assault found on the boy’s body, including a broken right arm.

Johari, an odd-job worker, was killed in a shootout with the police behind a budget hotel at the Cyber Valley Commercial Centre, Dengkil, at about 10.30pm on Friday.

According to a media statement by Selangor police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah following the incident, the suspect had been in his “20s” and was believed to have been hiding in the hotel after stealing a Toyota Alphard multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) near Taman Megah, Kelana Jaya, on May 10.

Upon spotting the vehicle parked behind the hotel on Friday evening, the police ambushed Johari as he was attempting to leave the vicinity in the MPV that night.

The police also claimed that the boy had reversed the MPV into a patrol car and fired several shots, forcing the cops to retaliate in kind.

Injured from the shots, Johari eventually stumbled out of the car onto the road and died moments later. He was found with a semi-automatic gun and several bullets.

But Johari’s mother, housewife Salmah Mohamed Shariff, insisted today that her son was not a criminal and had never been in possession of any weapon.

“He is a good and obedient boy. I refuse to believe that he was in possession of any gun,” she told reporters today after lodging a report on the incident at the Damansara police station here.

Salmah was accompanied by her two elder sons, pub doorman Abdul Razak, 21, and kitchen helper Mohamad Rosli, 20;  Johari’s grandmother, Jamilah Magar Saib, 56; Subang MP R. Sivarasa; Bukit Lanjan assemblyman Elizabeth Wong; Suhakam commissioner James Nagayam and several others.

She complained of discrepancies in the circumstances surrounding Johari’s death, particularly in the accounts given in the media and to her yesterday by a policeman named “Afendi”.

“The policeman told me that my son was with four others at the time and they were being marked for five days before his death.

“They claimed that my son shot at them and the four others had escaped during the shootout. I find this hard to believe,” she said.

Afendi, she added, had also claimed that her son had released eight shots at the police before being shot at in return.

The teary-eyed 41-year-old added she was also suspicious of the condition of her son’s body when she was allowed to see him at the Serdang hospital morgue yesterday.

Sivarasa, who was also at the morgue with the family, said that Johari’s right arm was clearly broken.

“You can see that the right arm was broken. It’s like a V-shape. Question is, how did he break his arm? After or before the shooting?” he asked.

He added that when Afendi, who is from the Dengkil police station, was questioned about the arm, the latter had claimed that there was nothing wrong with the arm.

“The family is also unhappy with the hospital. Firstly, they were only allowed to see Johari’s body for several seconds.

“Next, when the post-mortem was completed, they were not informed by the doctor in charge who, coincidentally, is the same pathologist who conducted the first post-mortem on A. Kugan, which was later disproved in court,” said Sivarasa.

He also said that Johari has no criminal records to date.

“We are not against any lawful capture of a person deemed to be a criminal. But if indeed he is guilty, he should be caught and tried in court and not shot dead,” said Sivarasa.

“I just want justice for my son. He is not a bad person and I cannot accept that the police are turning him into a criminal” said Salmah.

“If he has done something wrong, arrest him and jail him, do not shoot him.”

She added that she last saw her son a week ago and last heard from him on Friday, supposedly seconds before his death.

“He called me but just as I picked up his call, he was gone. I think that was the time when he was shot dead,” she said.

Johari’s grandmother Jamilah said she last saw her grandson two days ago at her house in Kayu Ara here.

“He left home when his friends called him out for a drink and he never came home. We were worried about him,” she said.

Johari’s brothers explained that the youth had dropped out of school when he was in Form Two, after their father’s death.

According to Malay daily Kosmo! the father had also been shot dead two years ago by the police, on suspicion of being involved in a kidnapping and several other serious crimes in Selangor.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 15 May 2011, 9:19 pm and is filed under
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Four arrested at anti-Lynas protest

By
S Pathmawathy

May 15, 11 | Malaysiakini

At least four people were arrested in Kuantan, Pahang today during at a rally organised by the anti-Lynas Advanced Material Plant (LAMP) movement.

The protestors had gathered in front of DAP’s service centre in the state capital at about 11.30am.

Barely 10 minutes into the demonstration, the police had moved in.

DAP Pahang publicity secretary Chow Yu Hui and organising secretary Lee Chin Chen as well as Khor Huey Ying and Thing Siew Shuen, from the DAP’s headquarters were arrested.

“The protest had just started for about 10 minutes.

“After speeches were delivered by the Triang rep and Pahang DAP chairperson Leong Ngah Ngah as well as member of parliament Azan Ismail (PKR-Indera Mahkota), the police interrupted and tried to grab the microphone from Anthony Loke (DAP-Rasah) when it was his turn to deliver a speech,” said DAP Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching, who was at the scene.

Teo said that after convincing the police that the representatives would stop their speeches, the four DAP reps decided to show their dissatisfaction by “lying on the anti-Lynas banner”, whereupon they were immediately arrested.

As of press time, their statements were being taken at the Kuantan district police headquarters.

According to Kuantan police chief Mohd Jasmani Yusof, the four were taken in for questioning after they refused to disperse and instead lay down on the road.

“It was the first arrest since a series of anti-rare earth protests were held here,” Bernama reported him as saying.

The proposed construction of the Rm700 million anti-rare earth plant in Gebeng, some 25km northeast of Kuantan, has sparked much public outrage over fears of potential radiation poisoning and its effects on the communities living in and around the industrial area.

Both Lynas and the government have given assurances that the plant’s operations would produce only negligible levels of radiation.

Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd is a subsidiary of Lynas Corporation of Australia.

They also said the project would differ from the controversial Asian Rare Earth factory run by Mitsubishi Chemical in Bukit Merah, Perak, that operated in the 1980s and 1990s.

Detractors unconvinced

However, opponents of the project stressed that concerns over radiation poisoning were inevitable as there has so far been no clear plan on how and where the plant’s waste materials – said to be a major source of radiation – would be disposed.

Public dialogues by the Pahang Development Corporation (PKPN) and the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) have had little effect in reassuring the public.

In a move to allay growing concerns, the authorities recently announced that the UN nuclear agency International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would set up an expert panel to advise it on the potential radiation risks of the plant.

LAMP activists had earlier ignored police warnings against an illegal assembly and managed to attract some between 100-150 people to join their protest today.

Human rights NGO Suaram condemned the arrests and urged the authorities to release those detained as they were involved in a “peaceful assembly”.

Blasting the authorities’ “continued attack on freedom of expression”, Suaram’s coordinator Yap Heng Lung also criticised the police for dispersing the crowd through force.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 15 May 2011, 1:01 pm and is filed under
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Gerakan wants Ibrahim’s ‘crusade’ threat against Christians investigated

By
Clara Chooi

The Malaysian Insider

May 15, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Dr Koh Tsu Koon today called on the police to investigate Datuk Ibrahim Ali for inciting racial and religious hatred in his recent speeches, especially Ibrahim’s threat last night to wage a crusade against Christians.

Dr Koh, who is unity affairs minister in the Prime Minister’s department, accused the Perkasa president of being “uncouth” in his outburst, saying Ibrahim had clearly violated the government’s 1 Malaysia concept and call for moderation among the various communities.

“I feel disgusted that he should beat his chest this way, trying to be a hero, especially after the Prime Minister has just met Muslim and non-Muslim leaders separately, calling for calm, understanding and mutual respect,” Dr Dr Koh said in a statement today.

Dr Koh reminded Ibrahim that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, together with Christian leaders, had met last week to discuss the row over allegations by Utusan Malaysia of Christian conspiracy, and had decided to put the matter to rest.

Christian leaders, Dr Koh pointed out, had strongly denied any involvement in such a conspiracy, and had given their commitment towards respecting and upholding the spirit of the Federal Constitution and the status of Islam as the religion of the federation.

“The Christian leaders have also reiterated their stand that they will work with the government to sustain peace and harmony, while seeking for amicable solutions to various outstanding issues.

“So how could Ibrahim Ali keep talking about the Christian ‘agenda to usurp Islam?’,” he asked.

Dr Koh also chastised Ibrahim for proclaiming himself a defender of the dignity of Islam and for declaring that the Muslim community “placed peace and harmony above everything”, arguing that the Pasir Mas MP, in waging a “jihad” last night, had failed to stand by his own words.

“If so, he should not have uttered such words and behaved this way,” Dr Koh said.

Dr Koh added that in multi-racial Malaysia, local leaders should work to promote moderation and become mediators to manage divergent views instead of being provocative.

He said the police should swiftly investigate Ibrahim’s speeches over the past two days for elements of racial and religious incitement.

“I appeal to Malaysians to stay calm and not to fall into his trap to divide and push the people of Malaysia to take extreme stands and not to fall prey to emotions and sentiments,” Dr Koh said.

He was referring to the fiery speech Ibrahim made last night to about 200 people in Kampung Changkat, in Gombak, where Ibrahim challenged Christians to a holy war should they proceed with their agenda to usurp Islam.

He also declared that he was willing to take the fall for his statement for the sake of defending the dignity of Islam.

Despite complaining of fatigue from his nine ceramah stops from Kelantan to Kampung Changkat since Friday night, the Pasir Mas MP also said his blood was boiling with rage and “hairs standing on end” following recent reports of a Christian conspiracy between religious leaders and opposition party politicians.

“In Kelantan earlier, I declared before the police, I told the security forces present that if they want to send my messages to Bukit Aman (police), please go ahead,” he said.

“Please record my words — if there is any party in Penang, especially the Christian priests who are being backed by the Penang DAP, should continue with their agenda which we already know, I would like to offer that if they want to hold a crusade, we can.

“This is in the spirit of Sultan Saladin Ayubi . . . if they want to fight a crusade, we can.”

Saladin was a Kurdish Muslim who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and led the Muslim forces during the Crusades — a series of religiously sanctioned military campaigns taken by the Christians to recover the Holy Land from the Mohammedans.

Ibrahim also warned non-Muslims not to take the silence Muslims to mean they were complacent. He said it was because Muslims placed peace and harmony above everything.

“But we are ready. Silence does not mean fear; we have been silent because we prioritise peace and harmony.

“But these people, if they feel the peace that they have enjoyed all these years is insufficient, or the stability and progress of this nation is not enough and they want to do something that has never once crossed our minds, go ahead . . . we will be ready,” he said.

Ibrahim was referring to the row over Utusan Malaysia’s “Kristian Agama Rasmi?” (Christianity the official religion?) report. The report alleged that DAP leaders and Christian priests were conspiring to take over Putrajaya, abolish Islam as the religion of the federation, and install a Christian prime minister.

Christian leaders and members of DAP have denied the reports, and Najib has hosted separate meetings with religious leaders to resolve the issue.

Ibrahim last night insisted that allegations in the Utusan report were true.

He pointed out that a Muslim member of the DAP had on Friday lodged a report claiming to know the truth of what transpired at the meeting at a hotel in Penang.

Police are investigating Utusan Malaysia’s report of a Christian conspiracy.

DAP Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi, among those implicated in the controversy, said eight pastors and 13 DAP members and people who attended the event have been called to give their statements to the police.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 15 May 2011, 11:05 pm and is filed under
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