Two Brothers Jailed

Muslim brothers jailed for torching Christian church in Malaysia

Firebombing took place at height of a dispute over whether non-Muslims could use the word Allah to refer to God.

A Malaysian policeman at the damaged church the two men have been found guilty of settting fire to. Photograph: Stringer/EPA

A Malaysian court sentenced two Muslim brothers to five years in prison today for torching a Christian church during the height of a dispute over whether non-Muslims could use the word Allah to refer to God.
The firebombing was the first in an unprecedented string of arson attacks and vandalism at places of worship last January that threatened to undo decades of religious harmony in the Muslim-majority country. Eleven churches, a Sikh temple, three mosques and two Muslim prayer rooms were assaulted before the tensions abated.
Two ethnic Malay brothers in their 20s were arrested and placed on trial for the 8 January attack, which partially gutted a Protestant church. The attack, which did not injure anyone, came days after some Muslims were angered by a court verdict that allowed Christians to use the word Allah in Malay-language publications.
Komathy Suppiah, a Kuala Lumpur district court judge, convicted both suspects of "mischief by fire" with the intention of destroying a place of worship. They had faced a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, but Suppiah sentenced them to five years each.
"You have shamed the society and country ... The message from this court must be loud and clear: Don't play with fire," Suppiah told the men.
However, she allowed them to remain free on bail until their appeal could be heard.
Both men had pleaded innocent. They testified that they were at a restaurant when they heard people planning to attack the nearby church. They said they went to the church and saw unidentified men smashing its window and setting it ablaze.
One of the suspects, Raja Muhammad Faizal Raja Ibrahim, 25, was detained by police after he sought medical treatment for burn injuries. He told investigators that he suffered the burns at a barbecue gathering after he and his brother, Raja Muhammad Idzham, 23, left the church area.
Judge Suppiah ruled that their testimony was riddled with inconsistencies.
The Reverend Hermen Shastri, an official with the Council of Churches of Malaysia, praised the court's decision.
"This serves as a reminder to all citizens of the country that violence against religious places – be it whatever religion – will not be tolerated," Shastri told The Associated Press. "This is a clear signal that basically the majority of Malaysians are peace-loving."
Several other suspects have also been arrested in connection to various attacks last January that caused mostly minor damage at places of worship nationwide.
The attacks subsided after the government bolstered security and urged people not to undermine amicable ties between Malay Muslims, who account for nearly two-thirds of Malaysia's 28 million people, and minority ethnic Chinese and Indians who mainly practice Buddhism, Christianity or Hinduism.
Tensions initially rose after The Herald, the newspaper of the Roman Catholic Church in Malaysia, challenged a government ban on the use of the word Allah in its Malay-language publication.
A court ruling granted the paper the right to use the word. Some Muslims insist that using Allah in Christian literature might confuse Muslims and tempt them to convert. The government has appealed the verdict.
Minorities sometimes complain their religious rights are not respected by the government, which denies any bias.
Guardian UK

Dinar Emas Kelantan

TINGGALKAN DOLLAR - BELI EMAS UNTUK LEBIH SELAMAT




KELANTAN MAHU GUNA MATA WANG SYARIAH BAYAR GAJI KAKITANGAN -minsider

Selepas empat tahun Dinar Kelantan dilancarkan, kerajaan negeri itu memperkenalkan mata wang syariah — emas dinar dan perak dirham.

Menteri Besar Kelantan Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat berkata adalah menjadi hasratnya untuk melihat Kelantan mempelopori penggunaan mata wang syariah dalam semua urusniaga, termasuk membayar gaji kakitangan kerajaan negeri.

Bagaimanapun, kata beliau masih banyak soal teknikal yang perlu diatasi oleh kerajaan negeri sebelum dapat melaksanakannya.

“Kita bercadang mengamalkan semua urus niaga dan membayar gaji kakitangan menggunakan mata wang syariah iaitu dinar emas dan dirham ini secara menyeluruh tidak lama lagi,” kata beliau kepada pemberita selepas majlis pelancaran dinar emas di sini, hari ini.

Dinar emas dan dirham itu dikendalikan oleh Kelantan Gold Trade (KGT) iaitu anak syarikat Perbadanan Menteri Besar Kelantan (PMBK).

NOTA:
ini langkah paling tepat.
tinggalkan mata wang yang tidak bersandarkan dengn emas.
ringgit bersandar kan dollar – dollar adalah fiat money
fiat money ialah duit yng nilainya dipaksakan ke atas dunia
oleh federal reserve. Paksaan ini dapat dijalankan kerana jual beli
minyak wajib menggunkan dollar.

awas – salah satu sebab saddam di serang kerana saddam telah
meninggalkan dollar dan menjual minyak dengan menggunkan
pelbagai mata wang.

Tukar Tiub

Kelantan Dinar

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (AP) -- A Malaysian state is
allowing people to use gold and silver coins at stores and
restaurants to revive a practice from early Islamic societies,
an official said Friday.
     The gold dinar and silver dirham coins provide an
alternative to Malaysia's currency, the ringgit, in
northeastern Kelantan state, which is governed by the
Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, a conservative opposition group
that promotes religious policies in its rule.
     The gold dinar was the official currency of Muslim
societies for centuries. The value of the coins used in
Kelantan can fluctuate according to market prices, but
officials say it remains a better alternative to currency
affected by the U.S. dollar and other foreign currency.
     Kelantan authorities also say the use of such coins is
encouraged in the Quran.
     State officials have produced coins worth about $630,000
for use at about 1,000 outlets in Kelantan's capital, said Nik
Mahani Mohamad, executive director of Kelantan Golden Trade,
which mints the coins.
     "It's a great, great moment for Muslims," Nik Mahani said.
"We are providing an alternative means for the people to trade
with."
     The coins came into circulation Thursday and can be
purchased at various locations in Kelantan. Their worth is
currently about $180 per dinar and $4 per dirham.
     The state government also plans to give employees the
option of receiving part of their salary in this currency, as
well as introduce gold bars for large investments. Muslim alms
can also be paid with the coins.
     The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party has governed Kelantan since
1990. Some of its policies over the years include banning
gambling, nightclubs and rock concerts, and requiring Muslim
female state employees to wear headscarves at work.

DAP Putrajaya Promises

DAP lists promises in bid for Putrajaya

By Clara Chooi

August 13, 2010

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PETALING JAYA, Aug 13 — The DAP has embarked on what appears to be a quest to boost its popularity ahead of the coming 13th general election, with three promises to the people should the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) capture Putrajaya. The promises are — to abolish the saman ekor (postal summons) system, to provide annual payments of RM1,000 to each senior citizen aged above 60 and to provide free wi-fi or wireless broadband throughout Malaysia.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said that the party’s central executive committee had agreed yesterday to issue a blanket directive to all party leaders to work on publicising these three promises during all political functions.
“These are the three policy initiatives that will bring benefit to the people that we are confident will be carried out by the PR should we win Putrajaya.
“We do not just want to harp on the corrupt practices of the Barisan Nasional but we also want to talk about what we can do for the people,” he told a press conference at the party headquarters here.
Lim noted that the practice of blacklisting owners of vehicles was not only unfair but should also be declared illegal by the courts for it was in contrary to the principles of natural justice.
“We also want to provide this annual payments of RM1,000 to senior citizens as a sign of appreciation for their past contributions to the country,” he said.
He noted that the policy would merely cost the government RM2.1 billion annually.
“What is RM2.1 billion when the country squanders RM28 billion annually to corruption,” he pointed out.
The Penang chief minister also cited an article from the global weekly magazine The Economist, pointing out that even the internationally renowned magazine was agreeable to the concept of providing money for the poor.
“This is a number one capitalist economic magazine who does not believe in giving money. But it is true that if you help those in need, there is a multiplier effect. People will spend the money and this will in turn help to generate and liven up the economy,” he said.
Lim pointed out that such a policy was also implemented in Thailand.
“In Thailand, they believe that it is the responsibility of the government to give people money when they need it. They believe that if the government does not adhere to this, they should change the government,” he said.
On the third promise to provide free wi-fi to throughout the country, Lim noted that the country needed to change with the moving times.
“We must innovate and only when you do that, you are racing to the top. If not, you are racing to the bottom,” he said.
The DAP leader denied that the three promises were merely populist measures or a form of vote-buying.
“What vote-buying? We are not even having an election now. Why is it wrong to give money to the people? To the BN, giving money to themselves is not wrong but giving money to the people is,” he claimed.
He noted that Malaysia was behind for it does not adopt international practices such as attempting to empower the poor and the elderly.
Lim also claimed that the DAP’s policy suggestions had been accepted by all PR parties and would duly be implemented should the fledgling coalition wrest Putrajaya from the BN in the coming general election.
“I have spoken to the other parties and it is not a problem. In any case, it is not about objecting, only on how to implement these policies,” he said, adding that he had also spoken with PR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Lim also said that the DAP, in introducing such promises, was showing its strong denial that it was anti-Malay and a communist party.
“Measures that we are taking now in Penang is to prove all these allegations wrong. We are distributing flyers to tell the people of these lies,” he said.
He said the flyers would explain the Komtar Ramadan bazaar debacle where the DAP state government was accused of banning the people from setting up stalls.
“The problem was on the money issue and how Komtar had not received the rental money from the stalls, but it turne dinto a racial one. We were also accused of being communists.
“But how can we be the communists when it is Umno who has ties with the communist party of China,” he said.
MI

KJ's Rejoinder to LKS

Statesmen and opportunists: A rejoinder to YB Lim Kit Siang — Khairy Jamaluddin

August 13, 2010

AUG 13 — There are statesmen and there are opportunists. We learnt yesterday the shocking news that Petaling Jaya Utara MP YB Tony Pua received a bullet threat in the post. Immediately a chorus of condemnation ensued, and rightly so. At some point the politics and politicking need to take a backseat in favour of humanity and caring for each other's fundamental right to physical safety. It was in such spirit that I, as Leader of Umno Youth, expressed outrage against the threat to YB Tony and his family, as well as urged the police to ensure their safety. It matters not that YB Tony is a DAP leader, or that we have our numerous disagreements politically, and it certainly does not matter that he is an ethnic Chinese. All that should count is that he is a Malaysian citizen who was threatened by an individual or individuals and that no justification exists for such a threat.
But as is often the case here, in times of shock or crisis, some politicians find ways to exploit sentiments and score political points against an opposing political party. A matter, to which sensible Malaysians can gravitate, suddenly becomes all about how Umno or Barisan Nasional is at fault. In the minds of such politicians, the politics never stops; in their actions and statements they insist our entire social lives be governed by narrow, belligerent partisan logic, 24/7.
One such politician who tends to do this is YB Lim Kit Siang. We shan't go through history here to see how often he has exploited tensions, conflicts and unease for partisan gains. His recent blog post suffices.
In it, YB Lim Kit Siang implies that the threat was a result of "communal hatred against YB Tony". He precedes this insinuation by stating the police reports and warnings made against YB Tony made by Umno Youth Selangor and the Umno Information Chief. He is careful to avoid blaming Umno outright on his blog, but we all know what he's trying to say.
Was the bullet threat motivated by discontent in parts of the Malay community about YB Tony's position on the Bumiputera housing discount? Likely, though we cannot rule out any possibility until the police conclude their investigations, hence the call I made earlier for speculations to be kept at bay. For the sake of argument, was Umno at the forefront of this Malay discontent? Sure. But instead of trying to empathise with such disgruntlement, YB Lim Kit Siang dismisses it with adjectives like 'irresponsible', 'ugly' and 'vicious' - because he'd like very much for people to believe that Umno manufactured the discontent, and that in doing so Umno similarly created a "communal hatred" against an individual resulting in a bullet threat. Talk about generalising and piling one assumption over another.
Nevermind that many Malays who have nothing to do with Umno feel strongly about the issue of Bumiputera housing discounts, it is what YB Lim Kit Siang omits from his statement that interests me most. If he is going to assume that the threat was racially motivated, then I say bravo, Captain Obvious. But especially so being a veteran politician, YB Lim Kit Siang should follow that up with calls for calm, join Umno Youth and others in rallying all Malaysians of all races to stand in solidarity against extremism. He could have stated that even if the threat was racially motivated, it was not representative of any community. These are exactly the things YB Lim Kit Siang should say if he has the country's interests at heart. But true to form, instead of defusing the situation, YB Lim Kit Siang sought to worsen it by fanning the very "communal hatred" he is convinced exists — provoke Umno, ridicule the aforementioned discontent and hope people see it through his partisan eyes.
But I have more faith in Malaysians than YB Lim Kit Siang does. Just as Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans and all the various ethnicities in this great country rose up against the arson attacks early this year, I believe we will do the same whenever anyone receives death threats for stating their views, even if there are racial or religious dimensions involved. We are a resilient lot; push comes to shove, we know to put our differences aside and stand together. Well, most of us, anyway. There are statesmen and there are opportunists. — www.rembau.net.my
* Khairy Jamaulddin is Umno Youth chief and the Member of Parliament for Rembau

Are all Malays the same?

Speech by Berita Harian editor Guntor Sadali, at the Berita Harian Achiever of the Year Awards ceremony on July 28, 2010
It is a fact known to all that Malays in Singapore is a minority. However this minority is quite different from other minorities in the world. Similarly, to some, Singapore is just a red dot in this vast Asian region.
But it is no ordinary red dot.
It is a grave mistake to equate size with ability, just as it is wrong to assume that being small and in the minority is to be weak and insignificant.
The recent World Cup proved this. While Spain may be the world champion, it was minnow Switzerland that became the only country in the tournament that was able to defeat Spain.
Forty-five years have passed since Singapore left Malaysia, yet every now and then we still hear non-complimentary comments from across the Causeway about the Malay community here. The latest came from former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who casually reminded Malaysian Malays not to become like Singaporean Malays.
He did not make it clear what he actually meant, but the comment was made in the context of the possibility of Malaysian Malays losing their power in Malaysia.
Again he did not specify what type of power, but it could safely be interpreted as political power.
Now, what could have happened to the Malays here in the last four decades? What could have driven Dr Mahathir to voice his concern and to caution the Malaysian Malays?
I wonder.
The Malay community in Singapore, of course, know what has become of us here.
First and foremost, we have become a completely different community from what we were 45 years ago.
We have developed our own identity and philosophy of life that are distinct from our relatives across the Causeway.
We may wear the same clothes, eat the same food, speak the same language and practise the same culture.
However, the similarities end there.
We are now a society that uphold the philosophy of wanting to stand on our own feet, or what is known in Malay as 'berdikari' or 'berdiri atas kaki sendiri'.
We do not believe in being spoon-fed or being too dependent on government help.
In other words, we do not have a crutch mentality.We firmly believe that a community with such a crutch mentality will soon become a “two M” community – the first ‘M’ stands for ‘manja’ (spoilt), and the second for ‘malas’ (lazy).
We definitely do not want to be labelled as a pampered and lazy community.
That is why our Malay community here constantly work hard to raise funds to build our own mosques, madrasahs and other buildings in expensive and land-scarce Singapore.
Over the years we have raised millions of dollars to become proud owners of these buildings.
Through our own efforts and with the help of other organisations, we have also helped the needy not only financially, but also in equipping them with new skills so that they can earn their living.
For Dr Mahathir, however, all that we have done and achieved so far are not good enough.
He takes a negative view of our changed attitudes and different mindset, and has therefore cautioned Malaysian Malays not to be like us.
What about power? For Malays in Singapore, power is not about wielding the keris.
For us, knowledge is power. In fact we believe that knowledge is THE real power.
The constant emphasis by the community on the importance of education and acquiring knowledge has led to the formation of institutions such as Mendaki, Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP), the Prophet Mohamad Birthday Memorial Scholarship Board (LBKM) and many others. These self-help organisations not only provide financial help to needy students, but also strive to nurture our students to their full potential.
At the same time, these organisations help to tackle various social ills faced by the community.
Again, we do these all on our own. Malay children here attend the same schools as other Singaporeans with a shared aim - to obtain a holistic education and, of course, achieve good examination results.
Yes, it is tough. Like all other children, our Malay students have no choice but to work hard.
It is a reality of life in Singapore that we have come to accept - that there is certainly no short cut to success.
We do not believe in getting any special treatment, because it would only reduce the value of our achievements and lower our dignity.
The meritocratic system that we practise here is, without doubt, a tough system but it helps us to push ourselves and prevent us from becoming 'manja' and 'malas'.
Still, Dr Mahathir and some Malay leaders across the Causeway do not like the way we do things here and have therefore warned Malaysian Malays not to be like us.
On our part, there is certainly no turning back.
Meritocracy has proven to be a good and fair system.
It pushes us to work hard and makes us proud of our achievements.
We can see how it has benefitted us by looking at the growing number of doctors, lawyers, magistrates, engineers, corporate leaders and other professionals among us.
It is the successes and achievements of some of these people that Berita Harian wants to highlight and celebrate when we launched this Achiever Award 12 years ago.
Tonight, we have another role model to present to our community.
So, the question is: Shouldn't our friends and relatives across the Causeway be like us – Malays in Singapore?
It is definitely not for us to suggest or decide.
And we too have no intention of asking our own community if we would like to be like them either, because we have already chosen our very own path for the future.
We, the Malays in Singapore, should be proud of our achievements, because we have attained them through hard work.
It is true that what we have achieved so far may not be the best, and that we are still lagging behind the other races.
There are large pockets in our community facing various social problems.
We have achieved so much, and yet there is still a long way to go. But we should not despair.
We can do a lot more on our own if the community stay united and cohesive.
In critical issues, we should speak with one voice.
We need to help and strengthen each other while at the same time reach out to the other communities in multi-racial, multi-religious Singapore. A successful and prosperous Singapore can only mean a successful and prosperous Malay community.
Can we do it? Well, to borrow US President Barack Obama’s campaign slogan, “ Yes, we can”.

Fraud

‘Billionaire’ Elie gets six years’ jail for fraud

August 13, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — Lebanese “billionaire” Elie Youssef Najem was today sentenced to six years and five months’ jail after the Magistrate’s Court found him guilty of two counts of cheating, and a charge of abusing his social visit pass five years ago.
Magistrate Mohd Azali Ibrahim sentenced Elie, 50, to three years’ jail on each of the cheating charges and five months’ jail for abusing his social visit pass.
He meted out the sentence after ruling that the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubts on the case, and ordered the sentence to run consecutively from today.
Mohd Azali, however, granted a stay of execution of the jail sentence pending appeal to the High Court, and allowed the accused a bail of RM40,000 in two Malaysian sureties and had his passport impounded.
Elie, who made headlines when he promised to donate RM1 billion to the National Cancer Council of Malaysia in 2006, was charged with deceiving Tan Sim Chai, 64, into handing over nine Maybank cheques totalling RM22,000 to him on assumption that he would pay back the loan when he received money from abroad totalling £2.6 million (RM13 million).
He was charged with committing the offence at a house in Megan Avenue 2, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, here, at 10pm on September 12, 2005.
Elie was also charged with deceiving Tan, based on the same assumption, to hand over RM13,000 at 11pm on September 13, 2005 at the same place. He also faced a third charge of abusing his social visit pass by working as a company director.
Eight prosecution witnesses and a defence witness testified during the trial.
Earlier, lawyer S. Selvam, representing Elie, asked for a stay of execution of the sentence on the ground that his client had health problems including diabetes and needed treatment.
Deputy public prosecutor Nor Aizam Aiza Zamran objected and said that the ground for the request was irrelevant because he would still have access to the treatment even if he was in jail. — Bernama