KEEP YOUR OLD VINYLS. THEY ARE WORTH A FORTUNE.

About 2 or 3 years ago, I came across an article in a British music magazine highlighting the worth of old records sold world wide. One of the records was the 7" SP "Living Doll" by Cliff Richard, recorded in 1959. It was valued at almost RM200!!!! I quickly made a check with one of my boxes containing these 7" vinyls and what do you know, I still have the copy.

I do not know how many of you still keep old vinyls because these items certainly worth a lot, and you will never know you will be sitting on a gold mine in time to come. It is indeed a good investment for our kids and grandkids. To think that I bought it for only RM2.50 in the early sixties.

This "Living Doll" release was the only one listed by the magazine. Strange they didn't mention Cliff's other releases.

A close-up shot of the vinyl

The blogger and his RM200 Living Doll

 

 

As I end my posting for the year, may I take this opportunity to wish all my friends out there a very Happy New Year and may 2014 bring renewed hopes to you.

A warm season's greeting ....

 

And may 2014 brings renewed hopes to you too.

The Cobbold Commission

Ever since the ruling on the 'Allah' issue by the Court of Appeal in October, the 18 and the 20-point agreements with Sarawak and Sabah have once again been brought to the fore front in our national discussions.

But what was the role of the Cobbold Commission insofar as the two agreements are concerned.

The Cobbold Commission, was a Commission of Enquiry set up to determine whether the people of North Borneo (now Sabah) and Sarawak supported the proposal to create the Malaysia consisting of Malaya, Brunei, Singapore, North Borneo, and Sarawak. It was also responsible for the subsequent drafting of the Constitution of Malaysia prior to the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. The Commission was headed by former Bank of England governor, Lord Cobbold.

The above photo shows the signing of the Cobbold Report of the Commission of Enquiry, North Borneo and Sarawak, at Knebworth House, London on 21 June 1962. The Commission comprises of five members, chaired by Lord Cobbold, a former governor of the Bank of England, its members comprises of Dato' Wong Pow Nee (second from right) and Encik Mohd Ghazali bin Shafie (first from right), representing the government of Malaya, while Sir Anthony Abell and Sir David Watherston, the representative of the British government. Mr. H. Harris acted as the Secretary.

The Sabahans and the Sarawakians want a review of the agreements but why is UMNO Baru shying away from it?

The Queen's Christmas Broadcast, 1957

The first televised Christmas Broadcast or 'Queen's Speech', filmed at Sandringham House in Norfolk

My, what do you know. This guy is also a 'pendatang'.

Nelson Mandela dies

Mandela, shown in 2010, married Winnie Madikileza in 1958. (Alexander Joe/Reuters)

Nelson Mandela, one of the greatest leaders of modern times, passed away Thursday at his home in Johannesburg after a prolonged lung infection. He was 95.

South African President Jacob Zuma announced that Mandela, "the founding president of our democratic nation, has departed," adding that he "passed on peacefully."

"Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father," Zuma said.

"Our thoughts are with the millions of people who embraced Mandela as their own and who saw his cause as their cause.… This is the moment of our deepest sorrow.”

Mandela will be accorded a state funeral, Zuma said, and national flags will be lowered to half-mast.
"We saw in him what we seek in ourselves. And in him we saw so much of ourselves," he said. "Nelson Mandela brought us together and it is together that we will bid him farewell."

Mandela's respiratory problems in recent years may be connected to his imprisonment, when he contracted tuberculosis after working in a prison quarry. He had been in hospital in recent months.

His hospitalization on June 8, 2013, marked his fifth visit to hospital in two years. In April 2013, he spent 10 days in hospital after being treated for pneumonia.

Mandela was a prominent international figure for more than half a century, first as a leading human
rights campaigner in South Africa and then as the world's best-known political prisoner.

Following his release, he again became the leader of the anti-apartheid struggle, and in 1994 became the first president of a democratic South Africa.

On July 18, 2009, the first Mandela Day declared by the United Nations, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spoke about how "Nelson Mandela has made a lasting imprint on our lives."

Now I know why ....

Further to my last posting, which was on UiTM, now I can understand it's racist nature.

Institute of Technology MARA and UiTM

One day in 1977, I received a call from one Puan Aishah of ITM in Shah Alam who wanted to meet up with me to ascertain whether I was interested in taking up a part-time job as a lecturer with the college.  She was the head of the School of Hotel and Catering Management, and the course she wanted me to lecture in was in the "Diploma in Tourism Administration", and it involved the final year students.

I was a little apprehensive on two account.  First, it was just after the great campus riot, and secondly, my BM.  Although I could speak the language well, but I figured it would be a different cup of tea entirely when coming to giving academic lectures.

When I drove into the campus that afternoon to meet her, there were debris all around.  I must have thought I had just driven into a war zone. The meeting was interesting and to my surprise I was told that my lecture was to be conducted in English.  And so began my journey with my students in ITM.

During the first 6 months of my lectureship with the college, I found the students to be smart, they articulated very well in English, believe in a socialist order of life and even one or two of them were quite self-opinionated about their belief (not religiously though) which sometimes can be overbearing, but well intended.  Although religion was important but never the main focus. Race relations was fantastic as far as I was concerned.  We mixed well with no hang-ups.  On the day when they finished their last paper for the exam, I would be there to have a little tea gathering with them at the 'mamak-teria' (just across the field) and to wish them all the best for the future.  I used to tell them, "Your journey in life now begins".

These are my students from the 1983 batch.

The blogger (in batik shirt) with his students



And these are the students today from the same institution, albeit being accorded university status.

How times have changed.

50 years ago today

How many of us remember where we were today fifty years ago?  I believe that was the day which is still etched the minds of us till today.  As for me, we have just completed sitting for our Form 3 LCE exam and a group of us decided to take a cycling trip to Puchong to visit our American Peace Corp teacher, Mrs Mary Weinhold, who was hospitalised at the Kinarara Army Camp.  In the course of our journey, one of my classmates, panting away, pulled up to us and cried out, "Kennedy is dead, Kennedy is dead!".  We took a break beside the road and asked him from where did he receive the news.  He said it was from the Voice of America (radio), a station his father regularly tuned to.

All of us were just shocked.  Mind you, we were in Form 3, merely 15 years old and have never met John F Kennedy before in person.  He was not even our leader, yet, this man had such a profound impact on us all.  We will always remember this famous quote from his inaugural speech made in November 1960, "Ask not what your country can do for you.  Ask what you can do for your country."

The beginning of the Presidency -



The end of the Presidency, November 22 1963 -

Good news for Selangorians

Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim today announced that the government will utilise RM430 million from its massive reserves after constant complaints within Pakatan Rakyat's own ranks about his frugality.

Abdul Khalid (left) announced this when tabling a RM1.85 billion balanced budget for 2014 at the Selangor state assembly this afternoon.

"Coupled with the use of reserves for development spending (and the normal RM1.85 million budget), the state government is prepared to spend a total of RM2.28 billion for 2014," he said.

The RM430 million will be channeled into six projects, one being the already announced RM150 million third Klang bridge.

The other five initiatives are:

• RM100 million for affordable housing

• RM50 million for new schools

• RM50 million for entrepreneurship and youth development

• RM50 million for rural development

• RM30 million for women's empowerment

Abdul Khalid's announcement to finally use the some of the state reserves which now stands at RM2.71 billion, the highest level since 1998, invited cheers from the floor.

Last month, the Pakatan-led Selangor government backbenchers club had submitted a memorandum expressing concern about a possible reduction in development expenditure for budget 2014.

At first glance, their concerns appeared real after the development expenditure announced in budget 2014 today saw a slight reduction from RM633 million this year to RM624 million next year.

However, the additional RM430 million injection from state reserves brought the total development expenditure to RM1.055 billion - the highest ever.

The operational expenditure stands at RM1.225 billion.

At a press conference later, Abdul Khalid said this was the first time that Pakatan-led Selangor was incorporating part of the state reserves into the budget.

Selangor had last year announced a plan to use RM500 million from the state reserves for various projects, but the money was never spent and was returned, he added.

Abdul Khalid denied that the planned use of the reserves next year was due to pressure from his own state assemblypersons.

"No, it has been planned before this. But of course they (state assemblypersons) will want to know how the money will be spent so we will set up a mechanism for them (to give input)," he said.

A misunderstanding

He added that concerns expressed by Pakatan state assemblypersons that development expenditure would go down was merely a "misunderstanding".

"They thought that the estimated revenue for next year is only RM1.6 billion but it is RM1.8 billion which means there is enough money for development expenditure after deducting operational expenditure in a balanced budget," he said.

Despite the apparent concession, Abdul Khalid took his detractors to task for criticising the ballooning state reserves.

"Some are less wise about finance and fiscal discipline therefore there are voices threatening or complaining about the accumulation of the state reserves.

"We stress that maintaining the reserves coupled with prudent spending is consistent with fiscal discipline and as part of the long term finance management," he said.

He said that the state government had nowhere else to loan money and if it overspent it will need to go "begging" from the federal government.
Abdul Khalid also announced a number of measures on improving the state’s spending, including an independent action committee comprising of professionals.

He said among their task is to study the procurement and services cost of agencies as well as to develop a mechanism to control, and if necessary, cut unneeded expenditure for them, on top of solving red tape.

Furthermore, Abdul Khalid said a committee to improve the administration of state agencies and government-linked companies (GLC) will also be set up, to be chaired by the menteri besar himself.

The committee, comprising of top government officials, academics and professionals, will review the workings of state civil service and GLCs in line with international standards and oversee their implementation of policies.

[Source: Mkini]

An emotional ad by Google - must see!

The partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 must have been one painful period for the people of these two countries who have to quickly decide which side of the border they would like to spend the rest of their lives in, thus separating family members and friends apart. The great Mahatama Gandhi protested against the partition but to no avail. Years later, will friends meet again and if they do, what would their reactions be? Now, here is one video by Google which will surely tug at your heartstrings.  Immerse .........

Houses for rent

I have two properties which are currently up for rent.  They are :

1. One and a half storey terrace house in Taynton View, Cheras.  4 rooms, 2 bathrooms (1 common and 1 attached). Comes with water heaters, a meeting table, a dining table and a pantry cupboard. 

2. Service Apartment with three rooms and two bath rooms.  Comes with water heaters, kitchenette, cupboards in bedrooms. In addition, there is a balcony/porch facing the children's play area and swimming pool. 

Those interested, please contact :

Mrs Heidi Ong (012-239 1689)
Mr Nicholas Ong (012-339 9006

Please call to arrange for viewing of the properties.

How to Memorize China's Major Dynasties?

China has been in existence for more than 5,000 years and during this time, dynasties have come and gone. But how many of us do remember the names of the dynasties?  Other than the Ming Dynasty [the time of Admiral Cheng Ho], the rest are blur to me.  So, if you plan to do a course on the history of China, there is an easier way to remember the major dynasties which played prominent roles in shaping the giant nation it is today.



Enjoy!

Mother and child reunion

Baby Freddie has been found at 12.20 pm today at Lake Titiwangsa, much to the relief of everyone, more so, his mother, Sarah Joseph.  Following are pix and video of the happy reunion between mother and child.

Sarah Joseph becomes emotional on receiving news that Baby Freddie has been found

A passer-by in Lake Titiwangsa comforting Baby Freddie in her arms, and feeding him with water and snacks

As Paul Simon would sing, "Mother and Child Reunion"

Baby Freddie back safely in the arms of mummy

For the die hard Shadows and Ventures fans

Back in the good old days of the sixties, forming a 4-piece was a popular past time amongst us school boys. In my school alone, SMK Jalan Cochrane, I believe we had four bands. 

 

Now one of the interesting things is that to get a band going..., one of the first tune we must be able to play was "Apache" by The Shadows from the UK, or if you are unable to form a band but wished to join one, you be "auditioned" by members of the band, and again it is "Apache" irrespective whether you play the lead, rhythm or bass.  "Apache" became a staple piece for all the bands in the country.

 

The Shadows

Later, the American group, The Ventures released their own version, but still many of us preferred The Shadows version. However, some other groups held the view that The Ventures was a better version.
 

The Ventures

 Anyway for the many diehard Shadows and Ventures fans, I have a video clip here of the two bands playing the same tune alternating one after the other demonstrating their individual style and technique. Now we can make the comparison.

 

 

Has "Sleep Apnea" struck again, this time it's Najib

How could he do this in front of hundreds of delegates and right there on the stage too?

And while he is snoozing away in a world of his own, the British people are giving him the heat from outside the convention hall.

"British Victims of Investing in Malaysia" protest against Doxport Technologies Sdn Bhd outside Excel Centre in London at the World Islamic Economic Forum.

 

 

 

 

Read more here.

Is Malaysia a looney house?

To be a Malaysian is not easy these days.  Besides having to struggle to survive, many on their meagre income, our lives are further made more difficult by politicians who do not seem to know whether they are coming or going with their ill-thought policies.

Boy, am I confused

We have a Federal Constitution which is meant to protect the well being of ALL its citizens, irrespective of race, religion or creed.  But apparently this doesn't seem to be the case.  Instead we have laws enacted that are so skewed across racial and religious boundaries, that it is almost like walking in a minefield, gingerly taking one step at a time, lest you stepped on a landmine to have it exploded in your face.  The Federal Constitution somehow seems to have been relegated to the background.

So, we have laws ...
1. Meant for the Bumiputras.  This is further sub-divided into Bumiputras (West) and Bumiputras (East).
2. Meant for non-Bumiputras [or better known as discriminatory laws]
3. Meant for Muslims [Syariah laws]
4. Meant for non-Muslims [Civil laws]
5. Meant for Sunnis
6. Meant for Shiites, Ayat Pin; and the latest ....
7. Two sets of law for the Christians.  One for Christians residing in Malaya and the other for those residing in East Malaysia.

This brings us to the 'Allah' issue which further proves my point on the state of confusion we are in.

1. The Court of Appeal said one thing supported by UMNO Baru.
2. Christian ministers said another.
3. Muslims around the world said one thing.
4. Pro-UMNO Baru NGOs said that the Arabs were ignorant of the religion, and the Indonesians are not good Muslims because they ate pork, and yet they like to copy the way the Arabs dress and even send students to the Middles East to further their religious studies.  Contradictory, isn't it?
5. To add to the already confused issue, one ISMA leader who earlier supported the CoA decision, now said it was okay for East Malaysians to use the word.  Even they themselves were not sure how the policy works.
6. Christian leaders in the BN said the government will honour the 10-point agreement but to date, not one UMNO Baru leader has stepped forward to unreservedly make that stand.
7. The head of the ISMA NGO, told East Malaysians that if they didn't like the CoA decision, they could migrate.  Where to, when the latter themselves are the natives of Sabah and Sarawak. Duh!
8. But, before we could even heave a sigh of relief that East Malaysia has been exempted from the 'Allah' ban, 2,000 copies of The Herald were confiscated at the KK airport, leaving many Catholics in the state without their Sunday paper.
9. The Home Minister then came out with a statement that the word was only prohibited in The Herald, but not the BM version of the Bible. Huh?
10. Thus, we ended up having two set of 'Allah' laws, one for East Malaysia and the other, for Malaya.
11. A group of lawyers now said there cannot be two set of laws for Christians. If the CoA decision was to be implemented, legally that is, the banning of the word was to be applied to both East and West Malaysia alike. Read the press report HERE.

The Christians in this country can only say, "Duh!?" every time a politician comes out with another statement that contradicts the early statement made by another party.

At the rate things are going, I thought it would be best to go for a check up before I start seeing a 'cuckoo' bird flying in front of me, and I am glad to report that I have been certified to be still mentally sane which means I will still be happily blogging away for a long time to come.

And while confusion reigns, WHERE THE HECK IS THE PRIME MINISTER????

Obama should have checked his facts before commenting

Suaram wrote a letter to the US president yesterday, rebutting a statement made by President Barack Obama on Oct 11 that Malaysia is a global model for "diversity, tolerance and progress".

President Obama's statement on Malaysia's "model" totally ignored the history of racism, religious extremism, corruption, electoral fraud and various other criminal activities the nation has endured while one government has ruled uninterrupted for 56 years.

Among other issues, spiralling violence, electoral fraud, corruption and serious human rights abuses that have taken place, and continue to be committed, under the leadership of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Since the election outcome, PM Najib's office has overseen the demonisation of Malaysia's non-Malays, whose 'crime' was voting for the opposition. The Malaysian government has also selectively deployed repressive legislation such as the Sedition Act 1948, the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 and the Penal Code to suppress protests against the election result by human rights defenders, opposition leaders and all the concern and peaceful Malaysians from various religions and ethnicity.

While President Obama's statement marked PM Najib's government with the word "progress", the Parliament - that the Malaysian leader dominates by gerrymandering - three weeks ago passed a Bill to amend the Prevention of Crime Act (PCA) to allow detention without trial.

Suaram reminds the US president that Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson stated that "Malaysia is taking a huge step backwards on rights by returning to administrative detention practices much like the draconian Internal Security Act" (ISA).

There is no doubt Malaysia's PM has publicly backtracked on a commitment made in 2011 to do away with detention without trial and that such a policy reversal represents anything but "progress".

Further, Malaysia's home minister recently announced that police have the right to "shoot to kill" without question any person suspected of being a criminal. Political and community leaders who have defended the minister's strategy have accused one race in particular of committing crimes against another, deliberately fanning racial tension and encouraging racial violence.

On the religious front, we have a judiciary that remains infamously compliant to the BN government. On Oct 14, the politically driven judgment that day by Malaysia's Court of Appeal banned non-Muslims from using the word 'Allah' in Malay-language publications. This appeal against an earlier High Court verdict was lodged by the Malaysian government.

Suaram urges President Obama to revisit an ill-considered and dangerous complicity with PM Najib's regime.

In light of the gravity of the issues raised in the letter, Suaram fully expects the office of the president of the United States of America to formally reply to our letter, which was written on behalf of millions of long-suffering Malaysians.

NALINI ELUMALAI
Executive Director
Suaram

What the late Tun Mohamed Suffian Hashim said ....

In the Braddell Memorial Lecture that was delivered at the National University of Singapore in 1982, former Lord President and one of our greatest judges, Mohamed Suffian Hashim, described his fellow judges as follows:

"In a multi-racial and multi-religious society like yours and mine, while we judges cannot help being Malay or Chinese or Indian; or being Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu or whatever, we strive not to be too identified with any particular race or religion - so that nobody reading our judgment with our names deleted could, with confidence, identify our race or religion, and so that the various communities, especially minority communities, are assured that we will not allow their rights to be trampled underfoot."

Our three CoA judges have failed us miserably.

A test case on UMNO Baru's new directives on the 'Allah' issue

Now, let's see what cock and bull story UMNO Baru is going to come with in not returning Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill's CDs.

Sarawakian Christian Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill’s lawyer urged Putrajaya today to return his client’s CDs bearing the word “Allah”, after ministers said last week’s court ruling was restricted to the Catholic Church’s newsletter the Herald.

Annou Xavier said “simple logic” dictated that CDs and other publications, which refer to God as “Allah” in non-Muslim creeds, should then be allowed for importation and distribution in Malaysia.

“If you say it’s the Herald, then all other publications and CDs and materials can be used,” Xavier told The Malay Mail Online today, referring to the Catholic Church’s weekly, the Herald.

 

“If it’s only confined to the Herald, then return the CDs. The CDs are not Herald. Simple logic,” added the lawyer.

On May 11, 2008, the Home Ministry confiscated eight Christian CDs from Jill Ireland at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) airport in Sepang, prompting the Melanau Christian to challenge its decisions in court.

The CDs, which Jill Ireland had bought on a trip to Indonesia for personal use, bore names such as “Cara Hidup Dalam Kerajaan Allah”, “Hidup Benar Dalam Kerajaan Allah” and “Ibadah Yang Benar Dalam Kerajaan Allah”.

Ministers Tan Sri Joseph Kurup and Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said yesterday that last week’s Court of Appeal decision — which found that the home minister had acted well within his powers to prohibit the Herald from using the word “Allah” in its Bahasa Malaysia section — was limited to the church newspaper.

Last Monday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak also reassured Christians in Sabah and Sarawak that they could continue describing God as “Allah” in their religious practices, pointing to the 10-point solution, which his government issued in 2011, that allows Christians to publish, import and distribute Malay-language bibles containing the Arabic word.

The Court of Appeal ruling, however, has cast doubt over how the judiciary will rule on Jill Ireland’s case, and on another similar suit brought by Sabah Sidang Injil Borneo (Borneo Evangelical Church) against the Home Ministry for confiscating its Malay-language Christian education publications, which contain the word “Allah”, in 2007.

Xavier said recently that Jill Ireland’s case differed from that of the Herald, as his client’s case revolved around her right to worship and education, while the latter was about a publication permit.

In August 2008, Jill Ireland filed for a judicial review of the Home Ministry’s actions and a return of the CDs, besides a declaratory relief saying that she has a legitimate expectation to exercise the right to use “Allah”, and to continue to own and import such materials.

In August 2010, Jill Ireland’s lawyers had also filed an application to cross-examine the then Home Minister Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar, but the application was dismissed by the High Court on July 12, 2011.

The Bumiputera Christian then appealed to the Court of Appeal in April 3, 2012, but the appellate court dismissed the appeal on getting Syed Hamid to appear for cross-examination on May 10 the same year.

According to Xavier, Jill Ireland’s case will come up in the High Court for mention soon.

Although the High Court granted Jill Ireland leave for judicial review in May 4, 2009, the hearing for the legal challenge has yet to start.

The Court of Appeal ruling on the Herald has earned censure from religious scholars and international publications, while lawyers have said that the court decision has created a precedent for a future ban on non-Muslims from using the word “Allah”.

[Source: MM Online]

An inspiring moment at the Ellen DeGeneres Show

Press Statement from Daniel John Jambun, President of the Borneo's Plight in Malaysia Foundation [BOPIM]

KOTA KINABALU: In response to the court decision to disallow the use of the name "Allah" the Borneo's Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BOPIM) had repeated its call for the secession of Sabah and Sarawak from Malaysia.

 

In a stern statement here, BOPIM's President, Daniel John Jambun, said that there are countless reasons why such a step is now justified and the Christians of the Borneo states are now regretting joining Malaysia because they are now having their rights to religious freedom trampled on by the Malays who they now see as the colonialists.

 

"The call by Malay supremacist, Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia president Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman for Christians to leave Malaysia if they cannot accept the supremacy of Islam in the country is a clear challenge to use to secede," Jambun said. "All this while we had been complaining abut the economic injustices of the federal government, robbing Sabah of its wealth but Abdullah Zaik may have just accelerated the great social disintegration in Malaysia. 

 

"This arrogance is revolting to say the least and marks the true attitude of the Malay supremacists who believe a large chunk of the Malaysian population simply cannot ask for their human rights. Abdullah Zaik must be totally ignorant about what human rights are, why the Suhakam was formed, what the United Nation's Declaration of Human Rights is and what Malaysia is all about," Jambun added. "And because of this ignorance and his abominable supremacist attitude, he is also blind to the provisions in the Federal Constitution guaranteeing us our humans rights as Malaysians. For instance, Article 12 provides that 'there shall be no discrimination against any citizen on the grounds only of religion, race, descent or place of birth'."

 

Jambun said that Adbullah Zaik must now wake up to the reality that the strident call for secession from the federation is everywhere in the Borneo states, and those making the call are not interested to migrate but to pack up and leave the federation for good.

 

He pointed out that the federal leaders must also now be aware of the hilarious irony of the 20 Points, in which Point 1 says "While there was no objection to Islam being the national religion of Malaysia there should be no State religion in North Borneo, and the provisions relating to Islam in the present Constitution of Malaya should not apply to North Borneo" while Point 7 says "There should be no right to secede from the Federation."

 

"Do they realize that if they say Point 1 cannot be applied because the 20 Point is no longer valid, they are also saying Point 7 is also no longer valid, hence we now have the right to secede?" Jambun stressed. "So now the federal leaders from the Peninsular has to decide whether the 20 Point is valid or not, in which case we either can reject an official religion in Sabah, or we can leave the federation. They just can't have it both ways and use either of the two points anytime according to the convenience of the moment. I challenge the Prime Minister to state the BN government's firm and clear stance on this thorny issue.

 

"It is also extremely disappointing that the Prime Minister is again playing dumb on another very critical issue which is threatening to tear the nation apart. He cannot just continue being ambivalent or speak his pro-Islamist bents just because of the forthcoming Umno general assembly. He needs to show that he is the Prime Minister of all Malaysians and not just of the Malaysia at this critical time," he said.

 

Jambun said that all this while the non-Malays had accepted the Malay's position in the governance of Malaysia, but that doesn't mean they can trample on our rights and dignity of Christians as and when they like as if Christians have no contributions to Malaysia.

 

"Keep in mind that without Sabah and Sarawak there would have been no Malaysia and the Peninsular wouldn't have enjoyed great infrastructural developments without our taxes and natural resources," he said. "This is why the call by Nasharuddin Mat Isa for an end to the 'special' privileges granted to Christians in Sabah and Sarawak a totally laughable presumptuousness which betrays his utter ignorance of our incalculable contributions to the wealth and development of the Malays.

 

"Anyway, I wonder what special privileges have we been having other than the right to practice our religion as guaranteed by the federal constitution. Is he saying that we should be forbidden from worshipping from now on?" Jambun asked.

 

He said the Malay supremacists must stop raising controversies using the issue to prop up their names in politics and instead take heed the warning by Bolly Lapok, the Anglican archbishop for Southeast Asia, that, "Proscribing the use of the word ‘Allah' would instantly turn these native Bumiputeras into law breakers in the very land of which they are sons of the soil. This is not only abhorrent but wholly unacceptable."

 

He said that also important to consider is the warning by James Masing, a BN leader,   that the Appeals Court's decision will have a negative impact on non-Muslims beyond Sabah and Sarawak. Opposition politician Baru Bian, the head of PKR Sarawak, had expressed shock at the ruling, saying, “I am stunned by the decision. We have produced very clear facts that we were promised a guarantee by our forefathers when Sabah and Sarawak helped form Malaysia. The ruling appears to go against the fundamental rights that were promised," he had said, calling it repugnant and oppressive.

 

Jambun said the challenge for the federal government now is how it is going to implement the prohibition of the use of "Allah" which had been going on for over a century because the Christians in the Borneo states have decided to defy it and will continue to use the term regardless of the ruling.

 

"Are they going to send observers and spies into each and every Christian worship service from now on? Are they going to confiscate all Alkitabs containing the term and other Malay Christian publications?  And is the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka an institution to promote the Malay language only for Malays or all Malaysians? Why are Christians prohibited from using 32 words of the language? Is the Malay language now an instrument of the Malaysian government to oppress its own people? Note also that this court decision had instantly raise the ire, and ignited hatred of non-Muslims in Sabah and Sarawak against the federal government. So there goes 1Malaysia!"

 

Jambun also said that even Muslims are clearly against it, including PAS whose central committee member Khalid Samad who had said "The government should educate Muslims regarding all the verses of the Quran which mentions non-Muslims discussing about Allah with the Prophet Muhammad, and using the word freely without any hindrance whatsoever.” The Shah Alam MP said the government seems to be very proud that "we are the only Muslim nation that practices this ban – that we are going beyond even what the Prophet Muhammad had done. Islam allows non-Muslims to use the word in the first place," Khalid said.
 

"As far as BOPIM is concerned, the real issue now is not 'Allah' but secession. In fact we don't even have to call for such a move because it is already in the minds of a lot of Sabahans. If the government doesn't believe this I challenge it to undertake a referendum in Sabah and Sarawak immediately."

After the Pakistanis, now it is the turn of the Turks

Mustafa Akyol

Five days after the Court of Appeal ruled on the 'Allah' issue the controversial decision is still drawing ridicule from some Muslims worldwide as, among others, "bizarre" and "grossly wrong".

"Now, as a fellow Muslim, I will be honest to the Malaysians who have given this verdict or those who support it: This is one of the most illogical, insensible and childish decisions I have heard in my life. It is sheer nonsense," wrote a columnist for Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News today.

Mustafa Akyol, who appears to write for several Turkish and international publications, called the verdict that The Herald cannot use the word 'Allah' as it leads to confusion amongst Muslims and brings the threat of propagation "grossly wrong", "un-Islamic" and "irrational".

"Why? Well, first of all, the word 'Allah' simply means 'the God' in Arabic, and it certainly is not exclusive to Islam," he wrote, mirroring the much repeated explanation that seems to fall on deaf ears amongst the local Muslims in authority.

He added in his commentary that Islam itself in fact encourages others of the Abrahamic religions to embrace the term.

"...If Malaysian Muslims should have done anything about the word 'Allah', it should have been to call on Christians to use the term freely," he argued quoting from Quranic verses.

Commenting on Muslim "confusion" over the Christians' use of 'Allah, Akyol said, "Well, nobody’s 'confusion', or lack of comprehension, can justify the destruction of other people’s freedom.

"Otherwise, should Christian countries ban the usage of terms such as 'Jesus' or 'Mary', which are prominent in the Quran, by their Muslim minorities?"

The columnist did not mince his words that those who advance such ideas of a "Muslim copyright for 'Allah'" does nothing but "reveal the burning lack of intellectual self-confidence among Muslims".

"Why, otherwise, does the slightest chance of 'the propagation of other religions' provoke so much fear - and so much compulsion?" he concluded.

Note:
Akyol writes regular columns for two Turkish dailies, Star and Hürriyet Daily News. He has criticized both Islamic extremism and Turkish secularism, which he likens to Jacobinism and fundamentalism. His articles are often friendly to the incumbent Justice and Development Party.

Over the years, he has given seminars in several universities or think-tanks in the U.S. and the U.K. on issues of Islam, politics, and Turkish affairs. He also spoke at TED, giving a lecture on Faith versus Tradition in Islam.

Mustafa Akyol's articles on Islamic issues, in which he mostly argues against Islamic extremism and terrorism from a Muslim point of view and defends the Islamic faith, have appeared in publications like Foreign Affairs, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Forward, First Things, Huffington Post, The Weekly Standard, The Washington Times, The American Enterprise, National Review, FrontPage Magazine,^[8] Newsweek^[9] and Islam Online.

Akyol is also author of the English-language book Islam Without Extremes: A Muslim Case For Liberty (W.W. Norton). This, according to the publisher, is "a desperately needed intellectual basis for the reconcilability of Islam and religious, political, economic, and social freedoms."

Unbelievable! After attacking the Christians here, now Ibrahim Ali trains his barrel at the Arabs and Indonesians.

Datuk Ibrahim Ali has slammed Arab scholars who criticised the Court of Appeal’s ban on Christian usage of “Allah” as ignorant, saying that not everyone in the Middle East, Islam’s birthplace, understood the religion well.

The Perkasa chief also blasted Western critics as having vested interests, while accusing detractors from Indonesia, a country with the largest Muslim population in the world, as worse than the Arabs, pointing out that some Muslims in the neighbouring country even consume pork.

“Why should we be bothered if there are Arab countries or Indonesia criticise the Malaysian courts on the Allah issue. Don’t think that every Arab knows or understand Islam. That there is no one ignorant there.

“Those (from the Arab world) that support the US are socialists and Christians. So when we say Arab we must consider who is talking, in the media that belongs to who and which Arab? Don’t be easily swayed by what they said,” Ibrahim told The Malay Mail Online yesterday.

On Indonesia, Ibrahim said: “The same can be said about Indonesia...it is far worse. Those who don the ‘songkok’ are not necessarily a Muslim...there are those who consume pork. It’s all possible in Indonesia”.

He further pointed out that even though Indonesia has a large Muslim population, it has so far produced very few respected Islamic scholars.

“So why should we follow what others say?” he said.

Perkasa is one of the most vocal groups calling for the Arabic word to be barred to non-Muslims here.

Iranian-American religious scholar Dr Reza Aslan said recently that the Court of Appeal’s ruling barring non-Muslims from referring to God as “Allah” showed Malaysia’s folly.

The ruling was also censured in several international publications, such as Indonesian daily Jakarta Post, which wrote an editorial yesterday that “those who claim exclusivity to God undermine their own faith, and inadvertently or not, preach polytheism”.

International current affairs magazine The Economist pointed out that Christians in the Middle East commonly refer to God as “Allah”, and called the court verdict an “unhelpful contribution” to religious discourse between Muslims and Christians.

Nesrine Malik, a commentator with UK newspaper The Guardian, wrote last Wednesday that the appellate court ruling was as “ridiculous as the UK passing a law saying that ‘God’ was a Christian designation, and therefore other religions had to find their own words for their own deities”.

She also said that the Muslims’ claim of a monopoly on “Allah” was paradoxical as it creates separate gods for separate religions, thus directly contradicting Prophet Muhammad’s message.

But Ibrahim argued that Malaysian Muslims should not heed the criticism.

“We have our own laws, rules and culture. That is why we don’t need to entertain and care about what those on the outside say, what else if coming from Arab countries which are in chaos themselves,” he said in what appeared to be a reference to the turmoil in Syria and Egypt.
“Malaysia is great, my beloved country,” Ibrahim added, ending his text message to The Malay Mail Online.

On Monday, the Court of Appeal ruled against a 2009 High Court decision allowing the Catholic Church to refer to the Christian god with the Arabic word “Allah” in the Bahasa Malaysia section of its weekly paper, the Herald.

The court adjudged the usage of the word “Allah” as not integral to the Christian faith and said that allowing such an application would cause confusion in the Muslim community.

The Catholic Church has said that it will make an appeal to the Federal Court, the country’s highest court.

[Source: Yahoo]

The Pakistanis add to the voices of discord

A newspaper in Muslim-majority Pakistan has joined in the chorus of criticism against Putrajaya over  the use of the word Allah by non-Muslims.

The English-language Daily Times, in its editorial piece in conjunction with the Eid-al-Adha celebrations, was critical of the controversial ruling by the Court of Appeal which reversed a previous High Court ruling, allowing Catholic weekly Herald to use Allah in its Bahasa Malaysia section.

 It lamented that the problem with Muslims is that they looked at their religion like it was an "insecure entity" that needed to be protected with special care and attention lest it gets smeared and nullified.

 

"The recent example of this attitude is displayed in Malaysia where the government has gone so far as proscribing Christians from using Allah as their God’s name."

"Who has given Muslims the liberty to copyright the name of Allah? It is His name, and He is the God of the universe, as He has said in the scriptures," the editorial stressed.

On Monday, a three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, in its judgment, ruled that "the word was not an integral part of the Christian faith and practice and that such usage if allowed, will inevitably cause confusion within the community".

The editorial questioned why Malaysia would deny people of other faiths to "own God in all His attributes", pointing out that every religion believed in the existence of God.

"Is this how piety in Islam is preserved or managed? In fact, being Muslim is no guarantee that we have reached that threshold.

"Is this what the glory of Islam had been all about, something that we want to revert to and long for?" it questioned.

The spirit of tolerance, sacrifice, patience, devotion and simplicity, Daily Times noted, was where Islam's glory lay, adding that these were the attributes that the prophets of the Quran had left for the Muslims to "cherish and follow".

"With retrogressive steps such as prohibiting Christians from using the name of Allah or destroying churches and killing Shias or Ahmedis, we cannot attain that goal," it said.

On Monday, The National - a United Arab Emirates daily - called the Malaysian court ruling "wrong", pointing out that the word Allah was never exclusive to Islam but both Christians and Jews used the word to refer to God even before the coming of Islam.

"The Malaysian decision overlooks not merely the theology, but also the etymology of the word. The word 'Allah' is derived from the Arabic 'al-ilah', the God. It has found its way across the world and entered Malay from Arabic," the editorial added.

Voices of Discord from near and far

The 'Allah' hearing by the Court of Appeal is over.  Judgment has been delivered and instead of life returning to normal, wave after wave of criticisms on the verdict continue unabated in the court of public opinion both local as well as international.  The heat must have so great that BN leaders like Nancy Shukri and Joseph Kurup have to go into damage control mode saying that the court's decision is only confined to The Herald and not a blanket application affecting the Christian community as a whole.  Many people think otherwise.  Now the latest to join in the damage control with the same reasoning, the Malaysian Muslim Lawyers Association.

In the meantime, WHERE IS THE PRIME MINISTER?  His elegant silence is undoubtedly deafening.  What is even more amazing is that there is not even a squeak from any of the Christian BN leaders.  Have they been told to toe the line?

However, my posting today is to highlight the people who believe that our judges have erred and the decisions made were flawed.

Syahredzan Johan, a lawyer, "Stop being judges if you can't uphold the constitution. Judges need only to apply the law, but in Malaysia they have other extraneous duties to the people (and) to the politicians "  Read full news article here.

Zaid Ibrahim, ""Now we have Muslim judges who are experts in Christian religion and theology. They must have spent sometime in the Vatican".

The National [Emirati editorial], UAE, "Allah is not exclusive to Islam."

The BBC, "Christians not surprised at Allah ban, it was UMNO trying to gain favour." Read full  news article here.

Dr Abdul Aziz Bari, constitutional lawyer, "Wan Junaidi ignorant of law of Allah decision."  Read full news article here.

Dr Faizal Hazis, UNIMAS, "The decision was unIslamic and portrayed Malaysia as stupid." Read full news article here.

Iranian-American religious scholar Dr Reza Aslan also weighed in on the controversial court verdict, pointing out the folly that it attaches to Malaysia in the eyes of the world. “How stupid has Malaysia just become? This stupid: Malaysian court bans use of ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims,” Reza tweeted early this morning, referencing an Al-Jazeera news report on the court case. “In honor of Malaysia banning the word Allah by non-Muslims I suggest US ban the word ‘twerking’ by anyone over age of 17. Your suggestions?” mocked the religious scholar and author of two books on Islam and one on Christianity. Aslan, has a PhD in the sociology of religions.

Dr Reza Aslan, is  an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside, a Research Associate at the University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy, and a contributing editor for The Daily Beast. His books include the international bestseller No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, which has been translated into 13 languages, and Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, which offers an interpretation of the life and mission of the historical Jesus.

Mohamad Hanipa Maidin, PAS MP for Sepang, "Is Allah issue interpreting the Constitution or a will?"  Read full news article here.

Nesrine Malik, a Sudanese-born writer based in London, "Allah ban is about subordination, not theology."  Read full news article here.

Endy M Bayuni, Editor of The Jakarta Post, "Those who claim exclusivity to God undermine their own faith, and inadvertently or not, preach polytheism."  Read full news article here.

Dr Asri Zainul Abidin, former Mufti of Perlis, "What about Christian Arabs who come to Malaysia? Will they be forced to stop themselves from saying ‘masya Allah’ (God has willed it) and instead, replace it with ‘masya God’?” Read full news article here.

The list is not exhaustive, but this is just a sample of the voices of discord, loud and clear, made by both Muslims and non-Muslims alike to express their anger, frustrations and disbelief at the way our leaders behave in the handling religious matters.

"If God Is For Us, Who Can Be Against Us?" [Romans 8:31]

All not so quiet on the eastern front

In reacting angrily to the Court of Appeal ruling against the use of 'Allah', Sarawakians have crossed political and spiritual lines to display rare unity in the defence of religious freedom.
 

Hundreds of comments have appeared in newspapers, news portals and blogs, and on Facebook and Twitter .

Some expressed regret that Sarawak had been betrayed into joining Malaya, Sabah and Singapore into forming the Federation of Malaysia, while others called for a ban on leaders of Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia, Perkasa other religious fanatics from entering the state.

Yet others told Christian Dayaks and Malaysian Chinese to quit the BN as a mark of protest. Christians account for more than 70 percent of the population of 2.6 million in the state.

Other comments include:

Jeffrey Kitingan, State Reform Party chairperson
It is not the Court of Appeal ruling but the non-action and continued policies of the Umno/BN ruling regime that will cause the ultimate demise and break-up of Malaysia unless (the prime minister) and Umno/BN show a genuine and sincere all-encompassing transformation of government and politics of inclusiveness and reconciliation.

The PM and his federal government need to be reminded that the issue started with the then home minister in banning the reference to 'Allah', arising from discretionary powers under the Printing

Presses and Publications Act 1984. It was an unequivocal act of the ruling (federal) government.
From there, the downward spiral of race relations quickened with Umno's political strategy to play the 'race and religion' card to regain its Malay heartlands. It shook the very foundation of the official 'Malaysia - Truly Asia' and the PM's own '1Malaysia' rhetoric and hollow slogans.

There is no other possibility, other than a most probable break-up of Malaysia if the race and religion division is allowed to continue.

The federal government has forgotten that it is the government for all Malaysians and not only the Malays or only in the peninsula.

It has forgotten that it is not the Federation of Malaya that they are ruling but the Federation of Malaysia where the founding fathers of Sabah and Sarawak were promised religious freedom.

Religious freedom is so important that the natives in the interiors of Sabah erected a Stone Monument, known today as the Batu Sumpah, in Keningau, to etch into perpetuity such freedom.
If not for these promises, there is no Malaysia today.

The use of 'Allah' in the Borneo states, or even in neighbouring countries, pre-date the formation of the Federation of Malaya and the Federation of Malaysia. There has been no turmoil or any threat of racial disruption.

On the contrary, in Sabah and Sarawak, there has been tranquillity of racial and religious harmony without the rhetoric of '1Malaysia'.

There is no need for a Muslim-Malay NGO to declare that 'Christians are our brothers and sisters' because in true life in Sabah and Sarawak, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives are Christians and Muslims and of other religions ...

... Lest it be forgotten, no Christian Malaysian is questioning or challenging that Islam is the official religion of the federation. It is the treatment of the minority faiths and the actions and policies of the ruling government that is the root cause of marginalisation and disenfranchisement.

If the PM accepts the reasoning of the Muslim NGO, it is time to start disengagement talks and allow Sabah and Sarawak to depart Malaysia and the peninsula can revert back to Persekutuan Tanah Melayu by itself.

There is no point in retaining Sabah and Sarawak within the federation when the ultra-Malays in Malaya keep trying to break it up and without any appropriate response or with the silent acquiescence from the federal government.

James Masing, Parti Rakyat Sarawak president
The judges of the Court of Appeal have made two faulty judgments based on ignorance of Sarawak and Sabah socio-religious conditions - the Bisi Jinggot native customary rights land case and the ban on the use of 'Allah' in the space of two months.

We cannot afford to have members of the judiciary, the interpreters of our legal system, to be ignorant of aspects of the case in which they are tasked to make judgments. Political masters must take this matter seriously.

John Brian Anthony, DAP central committee member
There is no more religious freedom in Malaysia and our forefathers' concerns over religious freedom during the formation of Malaysia 50 years ago have now come true.

Ultra Muslims think this land is entirely theirs, and as such they do not respect the rights of Christians to practise their religion.

All Dayak political leaders who are Christians should resign from the BN in order to send a clear message that to the ultra Muslims that this country does not only belong to them.

It is sad day for Malaysia when the prime minister is so weak that he cannot hold Malaysia together after this.

Daron Tan, Sarawak Ministers' Fellowship chairperson
The court decision was erroneous and in breach of the constitutional guarantee of freedom to bumiputera Christians to practise, preach and propagate faith in accordance with the biblical mandate.
They will be deemed to be law breakers, and the offence they would be committing by merely addressing God in their own language, a practice they had have adhered to for hundreds of years.

Rev Eu Hong Seng, Christian Federation of Malaysia
This is yet another erosion and infringement of the constitutional protection to the freedom of religious communities to profess and practise their faith and to manage their own affairs.
The decision might encourage and fuel further misunderstanding and mistrust between the Muslim and Christian communities which will further undermine the unity of Malaysians.

Assistant Bishop Aeries Sumping Jingan, Kuching Anglican diocese
Our Muslim brothers here have no problem at all with using the word 'Allah' in our worship and prayers. (We have been doing so) freely for the last 165 years and suddenly we are told that we can't use it in case we might confuse our Muslim friends.

If this is not an infringement of the constitutional rights of the Christians, I don't know what is.

Archbishop Bolly Lapok, Association of Churches Sarawak chairperson
For an outsider to say that the use of 'Allah' is not integral to the Christian faith is excessive, utterly irresponsible and grossly demeaning, to say the least.

The Church does not need an apologist from outside to decree what is integral or not regarding Her faith.

[Source: Mkini]

Unbelievable but it is true. MCMC cannot act against those behind the Hate Christian FB page

A Facebook page insulting Christians has provoked netizens into complaining that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) was quick to clamp down on content that insulted Islam, but appeared reluctant to act when such offensive content involved other religions.

The page titled "Harimau Malaya Anti Kristian Sabah Sarawak" was created on September 23. It was taken down on Monday but not before garnering 185 "likes" and drawing criticism from users who found it offensive and lodged complaints with the administrator.

MCMC strategic communications director Sheikh Raffie Abdul Rahman had reportedly told Yahoo! Malaysia that the page had only 185 likes and that it was not an issue.

He advised Malaysians not to get “emotional” over such content.

Sheikh Raffie had also said it would take time for MCMC to nail the culprits as they did not know the owner of the page, and investigations could take years.

Instead, he said that it was up to Facebook to remove the page, and suggested that complaints be channelled directly to the social network administrator.

"You can't get rid of all of this. We will investigate and catch them, yes. We take this very, very seriously, but we have to find the culprits," he said, adding that MCMC would usually send out warnings directly to the owner of the page.

Sheikh Raffie said in the case of the infamous "bak kut teh" post by sex bloggers Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee, action could be taken because the personalities were known, Yahoo! Malaysia reported.
"Here, we don't know the owner of the page. Investigations can sometimes take years," he said.

The sex blogger couple found themselves in hot water after they posted a Ramadan greeting on Facebook showing them eating bak kut teh (herbal pork soup) with a halal logo beside it.

This posting caused an uproar among Muslims, and eventually led to the couple being charged in July for offences under the Sedition Act, Film Censorship Act and Penal Code.

Even Tan's mother was summoned by MCMC as they wanted to take a statement from her, it was reported.

The "Harimau Malaya Anti Kristian Sabah Sarawak" Facebook page had carried an image of the face of popular Tv character Mr Bean superimposed on the image of Jesus, as well as another image of two dogs mating with the face of Jesus superimposed on one of them.

There was also an image of a priest and two scantily clad women in their nun headgear, who were smoking, gambling and stripping.

It was reported that those who complained to Facebook that they found the page offensive received replies that the page did not violate its "community standards".

This is not the first case of Christian-bashing on the internet in Malaysia.

On August 7, a Facebook page allegedly containing comments insulting Sabahans and Sarawakians as well as Christians in the country led to a police report lodged against the creator of the "Semenanjung Malaysia Anti Sabah and Sarawak" page.

The report was lodged by Tuaran Upko Youth members who urged that action be taken against administrators of the social webpage.

[Source: MSN]