Tuesday, March 22, 2011

'Animal sex buff' MP lone believer of sex video?

Harakahdaily

KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 22: While even top UMNO leaders refuse to explicitly accuse Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim of committing illicit sex in the wake of a pornographic video shown to several journalists, it appears that PKR's former member Zulkifli Noordin is the only one who believed that Anwar was the man in the video.

A PARLIAMENTARIAN'S TASTE ... A page from Zulkifli's blog

However, hours after telling reporters that he was "110% sure" that Anwar was the individual in the video, the lawyer posted on his blog that the whole episode could have been "staged" by Anwar's supporters to shift attention away from the ongoing sodomy trial.

"I know people will claim the video is fabricated, but I am sure that (the person in it) is him," said Zulkifli, urging Anwar to "repent".

The skullcap wearing Zulkifli, who left PKR last year citing his "love for Islam", even stunned visitors to his blog by posting images of animal sex, accompanied by a lengthy explanation of his conspiracy theory warning that the video could have been faked by Anwar's supporters.

One Harakahdaily reader who alerted to the page questioned whether the Kulim Bandar-Baharu parliamentarian had "only exposed his interest in bestiality". A quick check showed that a similar image showing a group of goats making out in his earlier postings on totally unrelated subjects such as the controversy over the novel Interlok. Another image of a monkey adorns an explicitly-worded posting about the sodomy charges against Anwar.

Yesterday, a special preview was arranged by one 'Datuk T' for select group of journalists to watch the video, hoping to finally show proof to back decade-old accusation by supporters of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad that Anwar was a sex addict. The heavily guarded man wanted Anwar and wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to quit politics within a week.

Anwar had since issued a strong denial, saying his alibi would prove he was not the person in the clip. Several reporters who watched the clip had earlier said that although the black-and-white facial image of the person resembled Anwar, their physiques were clearly different.

'Be wary of slander: PAS'

Claims of sex videos involving Anwar are not new, having first surfaced following his sacking and arrest in 1998. Then, key police officers and several UMNO leaders had claimed to have watched a video clip proving Anwar's illicit affairs.

Days after being stripped of the number two position in government, Anwar in several speeches at his house had revealed how Mahathir had pressured him to resign or risked being levelled with sodomy allegations. Anwar's refusal to quit later led to his sacking, arrest and a long court battle against sodomy charges, which were finally thrown out in 2004.

The latest video comes in the wake of Mahathir's claim in his recently-published book that Anwar had sex trysts with four women, an allegation immediately rubbished by Anwar.

Meanwhile, PAS has warned that the act of qazaf (accusing someone of adultery) should be immediately stopped.

Responding to discussions about the pornographic video that targets Anwar, PAS vice president Salahuddin Ayub called on the public not to draw conclusions based on such flimsy evidences.

Salahuddin reminded that Islam strongly forbids accusation of illicit sex without concrete evidences.

"We need to take this into consideration before we accuse Anwar of any wrongful conduct," he stressed.

Another PAS vice president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said several questions would prove the sex video was fake.

He said it was inconceivable that a public figure who had been hounded by sodomy allegations would seek the services of a prostitute in a hotel.

Tuan Ibrahim also questioned why 'Datuk T', the person behind the vile accusation, gave a week for Anwar to 'honourably' quit politics.


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'Anwar video' latest ploy, say leaders

Harakahdaily

KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 21: Days after the so-called "solid evidence" in the second sodomy accusation against Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim was rejected by the court, a video has surfaced purportedly showing Anwar caught in the act with another woman.

The latest video was said to be "clearer" than the infamous hotel tryst involving MCA president and then Health minister Chua Soi Lek, who later admitted to an adulterous affair and resigned his political posts, only to make a comeback three years later.

One of Anwar's lawyers, Sivarasa Rasiah, who is also PKR vice president, said the latest 'character-assasination' stunt was a ploy by none other than prime minister Najib Razak.

“After failing in his Sodomy II project, Datuk Seri Najib has changed his attack. A video which has been tampered is distributed today,” he wrote.

“BN is getting desperate. They think they can destroy DSAI and Pakatan with a false video,” he added.

It was earlier reported that a group of journalists and news editors were called to a hotel in Kuala Lumpur to be given a preview of the 'sex video', allegedly between Anwar and a 'Chinese woman'. Journalists from other media organisations, including from international news agencies, are expected to view the tape today.

Allegation not new

The claim that Anwar's illicit acts had been caught on tape is however not new. It first appeared following his sacking and arrest in 1998, when key police officers and several UMNO leaders claimed to have watched the video and therefore believed the former deputy prime minister had been guilty as claimed by then strongman Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The absence of such a video in the public realm however has lent credence to the belief that the video is either a poor fabrication or does not exist.

Days after his sudden dismissal on September 2, 1998, Anwar in several speeches at his house had revealed how Mahathir had pressured him to resign or risk being levelled with sex allegations. The threat however did not materialise despite Anwar's insistence to stay put, leading to his sacking, arrest and a long court battle against sodomy charges.

Meanwhile, sources close to top PAS leadership told Harakahdaily that the latest development was just another in a series of efforts to kill Anwar politically.

“This is already overkill,” said the source.

Meanwhile, PKR's communication director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the video claim was not surprising.

“Fitnah 1 (Sodomy 1 case in 1998) failed. Foreign agent failed. Fitnah 2 (Sodomy 2) is failing. Now a video,” he remarked.

PAS's Titiwangsa member of parliament, Dr Lo’ Lo Ghazali warned that sex allegations and other personal attacks had tarnished the country's image.

“What is happening to the country? Other people are busy building a destroyed country, we are busy tarnishing the image and credibility of the leaders. Slanders bring disaster to everyone,” she posted on Twitter.


http://en.harakahdaily.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2483:anwar-video-latest-ploy-say-leaders&catid=34:primary&Itemid=56

Malaysians urged to learn from Japanese people

Harakahdaily

KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 18: The Japanese people's resilience, ethics and discipline in facing adversity following the massive earthquake-tsunami as well as the nuclear crisis should be emulated by Malaysians.

LIFE MUST GO ON ... People in quake-hit Sendai city queue to enter a store to buy daily goods

PAS vice president Salahuddin Ayub said similarly, the Muslim majority in Malaysia should also live by examples so that they would be respected by the other communities.

“We must learn from the Japan people in facing critical situation. How they have kept to their discipline and manners in facing adversity without causing chaos,” said Salahuddin, referring to the much-talked discipline shown by the Japanese society.

"Look at how the Japanese behave themselves by queuing patiently for aid and helping each other at the relief centres in the face of disaster.

“We Malaysians, majority of who are Muslims living in a plural society, should set an example to other countries on how to govern not only in the field of economics but also in terms of ethics in facing any situation,” he said.

On the dangers posed by nuclear reactors, Salahuddin said the issue must be tackled with caution, saying nuclear energy has benefits which if abused, could be disastrous.

“If it is abused, it will bring disaster to the community and country,” he told Dewan Rakyat during a debate on the emergency motion on the situation in Japan.

Saying that what took place in Japan should not be the sole reason to reject nuclear plants, Salahuddin said both pros and cons of such a plan should be debated by taking into consideration the aspect of safety.


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Much ado about nothing in Kelantan gambling row

Harakahdaily

KOTA BHARU, Mar 18: The ban on gambling in Kelantan is not new and has been for so long accepted by all communities in the state, said DAP Socialist Youth chief Anthony Loke Siew Fook (left).

“The Chinese community has accepted PAS’s administration for the past 20 years. PAS’s principles are well known even to the non-Muslims.

"It is no longer a issue. The issue now is just about sale of lottery tickets," said Loke following a meeting with Kelantan Menteri Besar Tuan Guru Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

The meeting was also attended by Bukit Bendera member of parliament Liew Chin Tong, PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali and PKR information chief Dr Mohd Nor Manuty.

Loke said the issue over the lottery ban had more to do with legal technicalities, since sale of lottery tickets comes under the jurisdiction of the Federal government.

Loke said the state government was aware of this and agreed to study the matter.

“We respect that gambling is forbidden for Muslims. The only question now is the non-Muslims buying lottery tickets because it is allowed by the Federal government, and the state government is ready to investigate specifically on the lottery issue.

"And if it is allowed after this legal review, we will have to look on its implementation,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mustafa said the Kelantan government would leave the matter to its legal advisor.

Mustafa said the Federal government had approved lottery tickets to be sold at any place.

“Even if they sell by the river, what can we do?" he quipped.

Nik Aziz had earlier slammed UMNO-led Federal government for allowing gambling activities which made life difficult for people of all faiths.

Reiterating the state's opposition to all forms of gambling, Nik Aziz said its decision to ban premises from operating gambling activities was in accordance with its power.

He said that while his administration would continue to uphold the Federal constitution, the fact remains that "gambling brings more harm than good".


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No quick fix seen at Japan's nuclear plant

AP/Wally Santana

Recovery team members and a search dog work in an devastated area in Sendai, northern Japan, Monday, March 21, 2011, after the March 11 earthquake and AP – Recovery team members and a search dog work in an devastated area in Sendai, northern Japan, Monday, …

FUKUSHIMA, Japan – Officials are racing to restore electricity to Japan's leaking nuclear plant, but getting the power flowing will hardly be the end of their battle: With its mangled machinery and partly melted reactor cores, bringing the complex under control is a monstrous job.

Restoring the power to all six units at the tsunami-damaged complex is key, because it will, in theory, drive the maze of motors, valves and switches that help deliver cooling water to the overheated reactor cores and spent fuel pools that are leaking radiation.

Ideally, officials believe it should only take a day to get the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear under control once the cooling systems are up and running. But it could take days or weeks to get those systems working.

"We have experienced a very huge disaster that has caused very large damage at a nuclear power generation plant on a scale that we had not expected," Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director general of Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, told reporters late Monday.

The nuclear plant's cooling systems were wrecked by the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan on March 11. Since then, conditions at the plant have been volatile; plumes of smoke rose from two reactor units Monday, prompting workers to evacuate units 1-4.

The crews resumed the work early Tuesday, plant spokesman Motoyasu Tamaki said.

In another setback, the plant's operator said Monday it had just discovered that some of the cooling system's key pumps at the complex's troubled Unit 2 are no longer functional — meaning replacements have to be brought in. Tokyo Electric Power Co. said it placed emergency orders for new pumps, but it was unclear how long it would take for them to arrive.

If officials can get the power turned on, get the replacement pumps working and get enough seawater into the reactors and spent fuel pools, it would only take a day to bring the temperatures back to a safe, cooling stage, said Ryohei Shiomi, an official with the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

And if not?

"There is nothing else we can do but keep doing what we've been doing," Shiomi said.

Click image to see photos of quake, tsunami damage


Reuters/Tokyo Electric Power Co.

In other words, officials would continue dousing the plant in seawater รข€” and hope for the best.

An official of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in Washington that Units 1, 2 and 3 have all seen damage to their reactor cores, but that containment is intact. The assessment dispels some concerns about Unit 2, where an explosion damaged a pressure-reducing chamber around the bottom of the reactor core.

"I would say optimistically that things appear to be on the verge of stabilizing," said Bill Borchardt, the commission's executive director for operations.

What caused the smoke to billow first from Unit 3 and then from Unit 2 on Monday was under investigation, nuclear safety agency officials said. In the days since the earthquake and tsunami, both units have overheated and seen explosions outside their reactor cores.

Workers were evacuated from the area to buildings nearby, though radiation levels remained steady, the officials said. It was a setback in efforts to rewire the plant, where officials had hoped to finish connecting all six reactor units to the grid on Tuesday.

Problems set off by the disasters have ranged far beyond the shattered northeast coast and the wrecked nuclear plant, handing the government what it has called Japan's worst crisis since World War II. Rebuilding may cost as much as $235 billion. Police estimate the death toll will surpass 18,000.

Traces of radiation are tainting vegetables and some water supplies, although in amounts the government and health experts say do not pose a risk to human health in the short term. That has caused the government to ban sale of raw milk, spinach and canola from prefectures over a swath from the plant toward Tokyo. The government has just started to test fish and shellfish.

Tokyo Electric said radioactive iodine about 127 times normal levels and radioactive cesium about 25 times above the norm were detected in seawater 100 yards (meters) off the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Despite that concentration, a senior official at the International Atomic Energy Agency said the ocean was capable of absorbing vast amounts of radiation with no effect and that — comparatively — the radioactivity released so far by the plant was minor.

"The quantities are tiny compared to the reservoir of natural radioactivity in the oceans," said Graham Andrew, senior adviser to IAEA chief Yukiya Amano.

The Health Ministry has advised Iitate, a village of 6,000 people about 19 miles (30 kilometers) northwest of the plant, not to drink tap water due to elevated levels of iodine. Ministry spokesman Takayuki Matsuda said iodine three times the normal level was detected there — about one twenty-sixth of the level of a chest X-ray in one liter of water.

"Please do not overreact, and act calmly," Chief Cabinet spokesman Yukio Edano said in the government's latest appeal to ease public concerns. "Even if you eat contaminated vegetables several times, it will not harm your health at all."

Edano said Tokyo Electric would compensate farmers affected by the bans on milk, spinach and canola.

The World Health Organization said Japan will have to do more to reassure the public about food safety.

"Walking outside for a day and eating food repeatedly are two different things. This is why they're going to have to take some decisions quickly in Japan to shut down and stop food being used completely from zones which they feel might be affected," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said.

The troubles at Fukushima have in some ways overshadowed the natural catastrophe.

The World Bank said Monday that Japan may need five years to rebuild from the disasters, which caused up to $235 billion in damage, saying the cost to private insurers will be up to $33 billion and that the government will spend $12 billion on reconstruction in the current national budget and much more later.

All told, police estimate around 18,400 people died from the 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami. More than 15,000 deaths are likely in Miyagi, the prefecture that took the full impact of the wave, said a police spokesman.

Police in other affected prefectures declined to provide estimates, but confirmed about 3,400 deaths. Nationwide, official figures show the disasters killed more than 8,900 people and left more than 12,600 missing, but those two lists may have some overlap.

The disasters have displaced another 452,000, who are in shelters.

___

Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo. Associated Press writers Jeff Donn, Shino Yuasa, Mayami Saito and Elaine Kurtenbach in Tokyo, and Matthew Daly in Rockville, Md., contributed to this story.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110322/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_earthquake

Yemen leader loses more of his eroding power base


A Yemeni army officer reacts holding up his AK-47 as he and other officers join anti-government protestors demanding the resignation of Yemeni Preside AP – A Yemeni army officer reacts holding up his AK-47 as he and other officers join anti-government protestors …

SANAA, Yemen – A top military commander and at least 18 other senior officers defected Monday to the opposition movement demanding the ouster of Yemen's embattled president, depriving the U.S.-allied ruler of most of his power base.

The looming collapse of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime throws into doubt the American campaign against a major al-Qaida wing that plotted attacks in the United States.

Monday's defections led to rival tanks being deployed in the streets of Yemen's capital, Sanaa, creating a potentially explosive situation and prompting Saleh's defense minister, Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, to announce the military remained loyal to the longtime leader.

The armed forces will counter any plots against the government, Ahmed declared on state television, following a meeting of the National Defense Council, which is led by Saleh and includes Ahmed, the prime minister and the intelligence chief.

The defection of Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a longtime Saleh confidante and commander of the army's powerful 1st Armored Division, was seen by many as a turning point. It followed a major escalation in the regime's crackdown on demonstrators, when more than 40 people were killed in bloody clashes Friday.

Speaking in Paris, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe called Saleh's resignation "unavoidable" and pledged "support to all those that fight for democracy."

Tanks, armored vehicles and soldiers directed by al-Ahmar fanned out around the Sanaa square that has become the epicenter of the opposition movement, moving in for the first time to protect demonstrators.

Al-Ahmar also sent tanks to the state television building, the Central Bank and the Defense Ministry. Just miles away, at least a dozen tanks and armored personnel carriers belonging to the Republican Guards, an elite force led by Saleh's son and one-time heir apparent, Ahmed, were deployed outside the presidential palace.

The deployment of al-Ahmar's troops in Sanaa was greeted by wild jubilation from protesters, many of whom posed with soldiers for photographs, greeted them with military style salutes or offered them roses.

Calling Al-Ahmar's defection "a turning point," Edmund J. Hull, U.S. ambassador to Yemen from 2001 to 2004, said it showed "the military overall ... no longer ties its fate to that of the president."

"I'd say he's going sooner rather than later," Hull said.

In a sign of the Obama administration's growing alarm over the regime's crackdown on demonstrators, State Department spokesman Mark Toner called on the Yemeni leader to refrain from violence.

"We abhor the violence. We want a cessation of all violence against demonstrators," Toner said, calling on Saleh to "take the necessary steps to promote a meaningful dialogue that addresses the concerns of his people."

The 65-year-old president and his government have faced down many serious challenges in the past, often forging fragile alliances with restive tribes to extend power beyond the capital. Most recently, he has battled a seven-year armed rebellion in the north, a secessionist movement in the south and an al-Qaida offshoot that is of great concern to the U.S.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, formed in 2009, has moved beyond regional aims and attacked the West, including sending a suicide bomber who tried to down a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day with a bomb sewn into his underwear. The device failed to detonate properly.

Yemen is also home to U.S.-born radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who is believed to have offered inspiration to those attacking the U.S., including Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, who is accused of killing 13 people and wounding dozens in a 2009 shootout at Fort Hood, Texas.

Saleh has been a key, though not entirely reliable, U.S. ally in the fight against al-Qaida, frustrating his Washington backers with the delicate balancing act he has undertaken to maintain the goodwill of powerful tribes providing refuge to operatives from the terror network.

He has also earned a reputation for milking the "al-Qaida card," demanding millions of dollars in military aid that he has used to bolster the capabilities of units loyal to him rather than take on al-Qaida.

A Saleh successor would not be much different since Yemen's complex tribal system would stay intact after he is gone.

Al-Ahmar and two other senior army officers who defected Monday belong to Saleh's Hashid tribe and a tribal leader said it was rallying behind al-Ahmar as a possible replacement for Saleh, eager to keep the president's job for one of its own. The leader spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

A key Hashid leader, Sadeq al-Ahmar, said he and his supporters were also joining the protest movement. Speaking to Al-Jazeera television from Sanaa, he said the death of scores of protesters on Friday made him decide to back the opposition after weeks of trying to mediate between Saleh and the protesters.

"The demands of the protesters are the demands of the Yemeni people," he said. "I can no longer fool myself, it is not the custom of men or tribes to do so."

Monday's defections included at least 15 other top military figures. Among them were Sanaa's military commander, a former defense minister who served as a presidential adviser and a military police brigadier who is a member of the president's personal security detail.

Several top diplomats also said they were joining the opposition, including Yemen's ambassadors to Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Japan and the Arab League. Lawmakers, editors of state-owned newspapers, parliament's deputy speaker and the governor of the southern province of Aden also quit their jobs to join the opposition and urge Saleh to step down.

Meanwhile, in a sign of the deepening divisions in the armed forces, gunfire broke out late Monday between the central security force protecting the presidential compound in the port city of Mukalla and the Yemeni army outside, security officials said. The compound, where Saleh stays when he is in town, is about a half-mile (kilometer) from where hundreds of protesters have been camping out to call for is ouster.

Maj. Gen. al-Ahmar has been close to Saleh for most of the Yemeni president's 32 years in power. He has close associations with Islamist groups in Yemen that are likely to raise suspicions in the West about his willingness to effectively fight al-Qaida operatives active in the country.

He is a veteran of the 1994 civil war that saw Saleh's army suppress an attempt by southern Yemen to secede. Al-Ahmar also fought in recent years against Shiite rebels in northern Yemen.

His support for the opposition was welcomed by protesters, but the warm reception may not guarantee him a political career in a post-Saleh Yemen given his close links to the president.

"He comes from the very heart of Saleh's ruling dynasty," Yemeni analyst Mansour Haiel said of al-Ahmar, who has sometimes been seen as a rival to the president and his son, Ahmed.

"He could easily become the head of the next ruling dynasty."

In the southern port city of Aden, Muslim militants set fire to a jazz club and a bar, objecting to their serving alcohol, a security official said. The men were part of an Islamist group taking advantage of the city's security void, as police were busy dealing with demonstrations, the official said.

___

Hendawi reported from Cairo.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110321/ap_on_bi_ge/ml_yemen

U.S. action in Libya raises big questions

After an air strike by coalition forces, a rebel fighter looks at a burning vehicle belonging to forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

Mon Mar 21, 5:15 pm ET

International alliance divided over Libya command



President Barack Obama, speaking in Santiago, Chile on Monday, defended his decision to order U.S. strikes against Libyan military targets, and insisted that the mission is clear.

And like a parade of Pentagon officials the past few days, Obama insisted that the United States' lead military role will be turned over—"in days, not weeks"—to an international command of which the United States will be just one part.

The only problem: None of the countries in the international coalition can yet agree on to whom or how the United States should hand off responsibilities.

The sense of urgency among White House officials to resolve the command dispute is profound: with each hour the U.S. remains in charge of yet another Middle East military intervention, Congress steps up criticism that Obama went to war in Libya without first getting its blessing, nor defining precisely what the end-game will be. (On Monday, Obama sent Congress official notification that he had ordered the U.S. military two days earlier to commence operations "to prevent humanitarian catastrophe" in Libya and support the international coalition implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1973.)

Below, an explainer on the military mission in Libya, the dispute over who should command it after its initial phase, and whether the military is concerned about mission creep.

What is the U.S. military task in Libya?

The military mission in Libya is implementing U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973, which calls for Gadhafi's forces to pull back from rebel-held towns, and the establishment of a no-fly zone to protect Libyan civilians from attack by Gadhafi, and for civilians to be allowed access to food, water and other humanitarian supplies.

Is the U.S. military trying to kill Gadhafi?

No, the U.S. military is not authorized to kill Gadhafi, said Gen. Carter Ham, the commander of U.S. African Command at a press conference in Stuttgart, Germany, Monday. Ham's command is currently leading the first phase of the international coalition effort to establish a no-fly zone in Libya, together with the United Kingdom and France. Nor is the U.S. military currently coordinating with anti-Gadhafi rebels or authorized to provide them military support, Ham said.

The main objective, Ham stressed, is to protect civilians from attack. "The military mission is very clear, frankly. What is expected of us to do is establish a no fly zone to protect civilians, to get withdrawal of regime ground forces out of Benghazi," Ham said. "What we look forward to is the transition to designating the headquarters" of the command of the next phase of operations.

How can the coalition reconcile a military mission that could leave Gadhafi in power with the many calls for his removal?

On Monday, Obama answered this by underlining the language of UN Security Council resolution 1973, which calls for protecting civilians from attack. That narrow military mission is distinct, Obama said, from the larger political goal of seeing Gadhafi step down—a call that Obama himself has repeatedly echoed, along with other major Western diplomatic players such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The international community has other non-military tools to achieve that goal, Obama said, such as economic sanctions, diplomatic isolation, international war crimes investigation, and cutting off the Gadhafi regime's access to financial assets abroad.

"First of all, I think it is very easy to square our military actions and our stated policies," Obama said in Chile Monday. "Our military action is in support of an international mandate from the UN Security Council that specifically focuses on the humanitarian threat posed by Gadhafi to his people."

Who is currently commanding the international military coalition?

U.S. African Command (AFRICOM), the U.S. regional military command dealing with the continent of Africa, and its commander Gen. Carter Ham, are leading the first phase of what the Pentagon has dubbed "Operation Odyssey Dawn" to suppress Libya's air defenses to establish a no-fly zone over Libya.

Other early members of the international coalition imposing a no-fly zone over Libya include France and the United Kingdom, joined Monday by Belgium and Canada.

Ham and other Pentagon officials have said the U.S. is eager to turn over the lead role in the operation to international coalition partners, but as yet the command of the next phase has not been agreed.

What's really at issue in the dispute over who should command the next phase of the international mission over Libya?

Put simply, the members of the international coalition are at odds over whether the international coalition command should be led by NATO, or not.

The French, Turks, and Germans reportedly object to NATO running the operation, all for their own reasons. The Italians, the UK, and the United States, among others, think that NATO is best equipped to be able to take swift control of the mission.

"There is not only one problem. Each player has its own perspective, sensitivity, priority," said one European defense official on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the dispute Monday. "You have the weak, the prudent, the strong, the opportunists."

"The problem is, the Italians are calling for it to be a NATO operation, but it's not clear all members of NATO support this," said Anthony Cordesman, a veteran defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It's also clear that the French initiated part of this operation. And behind it is the reality that it is only the United States that has the combination of satellite targeting and precision strike capabilities in terms of cruise missiles that are critical to overall command and control and situational awareness."

Why do the French and others object to a possible NATO command structure?

"There are technical considerations and political ones," said Justin Vaisse, of the Brookings Institution Center for the United States and Europe. Sarkozy has two basic objection, Vaisse explains: "One, NATO is radioactive in the Arab world and seen as a tool of US imperialism. And two, there's also the question of not having Turkey and Germany [who have expressed reservations about the Libya military mission], impede" the international mission in Libya, given that NATO is a consensus organization.

Turkey reportedly resents that French president Sarkozy did not invite Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to his Paris summit on Libya Saturday with other world leaders. (The perceived insult is "completely absurd," a French official said, explaining that the summit was open to any country interested in implementing the Libya UN resolution, and France did not "send 200 invites to all members of the UN." A Turkish official said the Ankara would have gladly sent a representative had they been invited.)

Germany reportedly is not interested in participating in a military mission in Libya, but could opt-out but approve NATO being otherwise involved.

NATO ambassadors met in Brussels Monday to debate the issue.

When is the command issue likely to be resolved?

U.S. officials insist it has to be resolved soon--"days, not weeks," as Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes said Sunday.

"I would not put a date certain on this," Gen. Carter Ham said Monday. "The first thing that has got to happen is identification of what that organization is. We have been from the start planning how to effect this transition once that follow-on headquarters is established. It's not so simple as to have a handshake and say, 'you're now in charge.' "

Does the top U.S. commander worry about mission creep?

"No, I don't worry too much about mission creep," Ham said after a pause Monday. "I think the mission is clear, and moving forward and achieving the military objectives consistent with our mission."

(A group of protesters angry about international intervention in Libya blocked the path of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon as he left a meeting at the Arab League.: Nasser Nasser/AP)


http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theenvoy/20110321/ts_yblog_theenvoy/international-alliance-divided-over-libya-command

Umno akui ramai pensyarah anti kerajaan BN

M Faqih

KOTA BHARU, 21 Mac: Seorang ahli Majlis Tertinggi (MT) Umno mengakui ramai pensyarah di universiti utama di negara ini tidak menyenangi kerajaan Barisan Nasional (BN).

“Parti keramat Umno tidak pernah membuang biar pun ramai pensyarah yang bersikap anti-kerajaan di beberapa universiti awam di negara ini.

“Ramai pensyarah yang lawan kerajaan ada di UKM, UIAM dan UM, kita tetap kekalkan juga pensyarah macam itu,” kata Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim pada Wacana Perdana siri ketujuh anjuran kerajaan negeri di Kelantan Trade Centre malam kelmarin.

Tiga lagi ahli panel iaitu Naib Presiden Perkasa, Dr Asraf Wajdi Dusuki, anggota parlimen Shah Alam, Ir Khalid Samad dan Prof Madya Dr Abu Hassan Hasbullah dari UM.

Prof Madya Dr Muhamad Agus Yusof dari UKM bertindak sebagai moderator. Wacana itu hangat sepanjang dilangsungkan apabila kedua-dua panelis mewakili Umno menjadi mangsa kepada penonton.

Orang ramai seperti tidak puas hati apabila Abdul Azeez acap kali mengungkapkan Umno sebagai sebuah parti keramat.

Sebelum itu Pengerusi Kelab Putera 1Malaysia itu mencabar dua pensyarah yang berada pada wacana tersebut dengan mengatakan sepatutnya berterima kasih kepada Umno sehingga membolehkan mereka melanjut pelajaran ke luar negara.

Tidak puas hati dengan hujah itu Dr Abu Hassan meminta laluan daripada moderator dengan menjelaskan beliau dan Dr Agus melanjut pelajaran bukan hasil bantuan Umno.

“Tidak ada satu sen pun duit Umno digunakan kerana segala pembiayaan melanjut pelajaran ditanggungjawab kerajaan dan bukan Umno.Ia adalah tanggungjawab kerajaan,” katanya. Jawapan itu menyebabkan suasana dewan menjadi gamat.

Sekali lagi Azeez terduduk apabila setiap hujahnya dipatah dengan mudah. Beliau pada awalnya menolak menyertai wacana tersebut, sehingga tempatnya digantikan Dr Asraf Wajdi.

Bagaimanpun di saat akhir beliau menyatakan persetujuan untuk hadir. Bekas Naib Canselor UiTM, Tan Sri Prof Dr Ibrahim Abu Shah pula menarik diri dan tempatnya diganti Azeez, yang menyatakan persetujuan kali kedua di saat-saat akhir.

Bagi menegakkan hujah Azeez berkata, pada suatu masa nanti pensyarah yang anti-kerajaan BN akan tahu kedudukan sebenar.

Azeez yang agak selamba pada awalnya ketika berhujah akhirnya seperti merajut apabila beberapa kali menegur penonton yang mengboo setiap hujahnya.

”Baik kita baliklah, dari mula saya cakap tadi sudah diboo, ini bukan budaya dalam Umno, baik kita balik..” katanya.

Dr Asraf, sarjana pengajian Islam berhujah politik dan agama berbeza kerana politik yang menggunakan agama hanya mahu menang dalam pilihan raya semata-mata.

”Sedangkan Islam lebih tinggi daripada politik. Politik hanya untuk menang dalam pilihan raya sahaja,” katanya.

Beliau juga menyebut PAS tidak akan menjadi parti dominan dalam Pakatan Rakyat sekiranya mampu menguasai kerajaan pusat memandangkan hanya bertanding 67 kerusi sahaja.

Sebaliknya ketika menjawab persoalan tersebut Khalid berkata, kesemua kerusi parlimen yang ditandingi Umno akan diisi calon Melayu daripada PAS dan PKR.

”Jadi kita tidak perlu risau kalau kerusi Melayu tidak dimenangi Umno, calon Melayu dari PAS dan PKR boleh ganti.

”Ini bermakna kuasa Melayu tetap tidak hilang seandainya Umno tewas kesemua kerusi yang ditandingi,” ujarnya.


http://www.harakahdaily.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31452:umno-akui-ramai-pensyarah-anti-kerajaan-bn&catid=1:utama&Itemid=50

Mahathir berhutang pada sejarah hidup sendiri

Harakahdaily

KUALA LUMPUR, 22 Mac: Tun Mahathir Mohamad menjadi seorang tua yang berhutang pada sejarah hidupnya sendiri dan merasai penuh kekesalan dan kekecewaan.

Lantas, kata Ketua Dewan Muslimat PAS Pusat, Ustazah Nuridah Mohd Salleh (gambar), bekas perdana menteri itu cuba memperbetulkan kesilapan-kesilapannya melalui penulisannya.

Justeru, katanya di antara motif utama yang dapat disimpulkan dari tindakan Mahathir pada memoirnya kali ini adalah ingin mempengaruhi padangan umum (public opinion) terhadap kes Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Ini, tambahnya kerana tindakan pertamanya dulu semasa berkuasa untuk melumpuhkan Anwar telah gagal.

“Motif sebenarnya, hanya Allah dan dia sajalah yang tahu.

“Cuma sebagai seorang Islam, kita mestilah meyakini bahawa segala apa saja tindak-tanduk yang kita lakukan sama ada dalam bentuk percakapan, penulisan dan sebagainya, semuanya akan dicatat oleh malaikat raqib dan atiq.

“Dari catatan itu kelak kita akan dipertanggungjawabkan oleh Allah di akhirat kelak,” ujarnya.

Justeru itu, kata beliau jika pada catatan ada unsur-unsur penipuan atau pembohongan maka kita akan menerima akibat azabnya daripada Allah di akhirat nanti.

“Mungkin beliau boleh membohongi ramai orang dan dirinya sendiri, tapi tiada siapa yang dapat membohongi Allah. Allah Maha Mengetahui.

“Tetapi apa yang perlu kita sedari juga bahawa sesuatu pembohongan itu walau dalam bentuk apa sekalipun akhirnya kebenaran akan datang,” ujarnya lagi.

Malah, menurutnya sejak di dunia lagi manusia tidak dapat menerima pembohongan.

Kebenaran itu, jelasnya adalah yang hakiki dan Allah tidak akan redha serta akan ada manusia yang berjuang untuk menegakkan kebenaran walaupun ia akan memakan masa yang lama.

Kata pepatah Inggeris, You can fool some people some times but not all people all the times – kamu boleh menipu sesetengah orang pada sesuatu masa tapi tidak semua orang setiap masa.

Sehubungan itu, katanya adalah amat malang sekali bagi seorang tokoh negarawan seperti Dr. Mahathir menulis memoirnya mempertikaikan sejarah.

Beliau berkata, Mahathir seolah-olah cuba memperbetulkan kesilapan-kesilapannya dari kaca-matanya sendiri yang menjadikan memoirnya sangat kontroversial ataupun memang beliau sengaja mencari kontroversi.

“Dari kontroversi yang tercetus itu adalah amat malang sekali bagi beliau dalam usia lanjut melihat dan memikul persepsi buruk yang bertimpa-timpa pada hasil kerja buatnya yang terdahulu,” katanya.


http://www.harakahdaily.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31459:mahathir-berhutang-pada-sejarah-hidup-sendiri&catid=1:utama&Itemid=50

Setelah semuanya gagal, kini datang video palsu?

Harakahdaily

KUALA LUMPUR, 21 Mac: Setelah gagal dengan projek Fitnah II apabila mahkamah menolak DNA yang dicuri, BN didakwa cuba menghancurkan Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dengan video yang didakwa palsu.

Peguam yang juga naib presiden PKR, Sivarasa Rasiah dalam Twitternya secara langsung menghalakan serangannya kepada Presiden Umno, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

"Setelah gagal dengan projek fitnah II, Datuk Seri Najib mengubah hala serangannya. Video yang ditokok tambah mula disebarkan hari ini," tulis Sivarasa dalam Twitternya.

Hari ini, tiga kumpulan wartawan ditayangkan video seks yang didakwa antara Anwar dengan seorang wanita Cina yang dikatakan dirakam di sebuah bilik hotel.

Ia ditayangkan di hotel mewah, Carcosa Sri Negara pagi ini di depan kumpulan para wartawan kumpulan demi kumpulan.

Berikutan itu, pihak yang mendedahkan rakaman tersebut mendesak ahli politik berkenaan meletak jawatan dalam tempoh seminggu jika tidak mahu klip video didedahkan kepada umum.

Berdasarkan modus operandinya, tekanan ini dikenakan kepada Anwar agar beliau berundur dari politik dan jangan mengganggu gugat kepimpinan BN yang ada. Jika Anwar bersetuju berundur, video ini dikatakan tidak akan dilepaskan kepada umum.

Selain tekanan ini, beberapa siri tekanan lain juga dikatakan akan terus dikenakan ke atas Anwar sehingga beliau berhenti dari memberikan gugatan kepada pemimpin BN yang ada.

Harakahdaily pernah dimaklumkan perkara ini sebelum ini. Ketika dibincangkan dengan beberapa pemimpin kanan PAS, mereka yakin, tekanan terhadap Anwar sudah terlalu berlebihan untuk memusnahkan beliau.

"Ia sudah over done," kata seorang pemimpin kanan PAS.

Video seks

Pagi ini, wartawan menonton video selama 20 minit itu secara bergilir mengikut kumpulan.

Menurut laporan media, klip video itu lebih jelas daripada rakaman video presiden MCA Dr Chua Soi Lek yang juga dirakam melakukan hubungan seks dengan seorang wanita di sebuah hotel di Batu Pahat dan diedarkan sekitar Disember 2007.

Wartawan yang telah menyaksikan video itu berkata lelaki dalam video itu kelihatan seperti pemimpin utama pembangkang tersebut.

Wartawan kanan dan editor akhbar dari Utusan Malaysia, New Straits Times dan Berita Harian adalah kumpulan pertama yang melihat klip tetapi enggan mengulasnya ketika ditanya mengenainya.

Wartawan juga diminta menyerahkan semua alat-alat elektronik seperti telefon bimbit dan kamera serta pen mereka dan buku nota mereka.

Mereka seterusnya diminta memakai jubah atas pakaian mereka sebelum mereka dibenarkan masuk ke bilik rakaman tersebut ditayangkan.

Kumpulan kedua pula terdiri daripada wartawan The Malaysian Insider, Free Malaysia Today, dan seorang editor kanan dari agensi berita nasional, Bernama.

AFP telah diberitahu bahawa rakaman video tersebut akan ditayangkan kepada media antarabangsa pada jam 2 petang ini.

BN sangat tersepit

"BN mesti sangat tersepit. Mereka fikir boleh musnahkan DSAI dan Pakatan dengan video palsu," tulis Sivarasa yang juga anggota Parlimen Subang lagi.

Pengarah Perhubungan PKR, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad dalam twitter juga mengulas isu itu.

"Fitnah 1 gagal. Agen asing gagal. Fitnah II sedang gagal. Sekarang, video," tulis beliau dalam Twitternya.

Anggota Parlimen dari PAS dari Titiwangsa, Dr Lo' Lo' Mohamad Ghazali juga memberikan ulasan dalam Twitternya.

"Apa nak jadi negara kita. Orang lain sibuk nak bina semula negara yang musnah, kita sibuk nak musnahkan maruah dan kredibiliti pemimpin. Fitnah bawa punah pada semua," kata beliau.

Seorang pemimpin PAS ketika mengulas isu ini pula berpendapat, strategi BN silap dalam isu ini kerana gagal memahami saikologi orang Melayu dalam menilai isu seks.

"Sepatutnya seks biasa dulu, lepas itu barulah liwat....ini tidak terbalik kot...," kata beliau.


http://www.harakahdaily.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31441:setelah-semuanya-gagal-kini-datang-video-palsu&catid=1:utama&Itemid=50

Radioaktif: Penduduk Kuantan sokong halang Lynas

Khairil Abdul Rahim

KUANTAN, 21 Mac: Usaha Pakatan Rakyat menghalang operasi sebuah kilang dari Australia yang memproses nadir bumi (rare earth) atau logam lathanides yang mana sisanya boleh mengeluarkan radioaktif di kawasan industri Gebeng di sini, mula mendapat sokongan ramai.

Kelmarin, kempen “Halang Lynas! Selamatkan Kuantan” yang diketuai Naib Presiden PKR Fuziah Salleh yang bermula di Pasar Tani Kuantan berjaya mengutip 500 tandatangan orang ramai.

(gambar) Fuziah Salleh ketika kempen Halang Lynas! Selamatkan Kuantan di Pasar Tani Kuantan.

Sementara dialog pada sebelah petangnya di Kuantan Comfrim Centre dihadiri lebih 300 penduduk tempatan.

Lynas Corporation Ltd merupakan syarikat milik penuh Australia yang akan beroperasi hujung tahun ini memproses lathanides iaitu bahan yang digunakan sebagai bahan pembuatan mentol lampu jimat tenaga, bateri kering serta pelbagai produk teknologi moden.

Manakala bahan mentah pula akan dibawa masuk dari kuari milik Lynas di Pergunungan Weld, New South Wales sebelum diproses di Gebeng.

Fuziah yang juga Ahli Parlimen Kuantan berkata, jika kilang tersebut beroperasi, jika berlaku sesuatu kebocoran sisa radioaktif itu bakal membahayakan penduduk serta generasi akan datang.

”Apa yang tidak diketahui kebanyakan orang bahawa elemen-elemen sumber asli itu sebenarnya berpotensi menghasilkan kadar radiasi peringkat rendah dan sederhana akibat penghasilan sisa radioaktif. Sebab itulah pihak pemaju industri ini memerlukan lesen khas dari Lembaga Perlesenan Tenaga Atom (AELB) sebelum memulakan operasinya”.

“Persoalannya mengapa Lynas yang sebelum ini beroperasi di negeri China telah pun terpaksa beralih tempat untuk memproses bahan tersebut sehingga terpaksa mencari lokasi baru. Kenapa Lynas juga enggan memprosesnya di negara mereka sendiri, Australia. Kenapa? Kerana kedua-dua negara tersebut telah sedar kesan buruknya. Kenapa mereka sanggup membawa bahan tersebut ke Malaysia?”.

Menurut Fuziah, sebelum ini pada bulan Julai 2007 Kerajaan Negeri Trengganu telah menolak untuk membenarkan kilang tersebut beroperasi di Telok Kalong, Kemaman, selepas mengkaji isu-isu keselamatan yang membabitkan nyawa manusia serta maklumbalas daripada pelbagai badan NGO.

Namun begitu pada 24 Ogos 2007 MIDA mengenalpasti lokasi baru di Gebeng, Kuantan dan Kerajaan Pahang pula menjadi pak sanggup menerima projek tersebut.

Menurut Fuziah lagi, sejarah hitam industri pemerosesan lathanides telah pun berlaku sekitar awal 1990an di Bukit Merah, Perak di mana syarikat usahasama dari Jepun yang mendakwa menggunakan teknologi pemperosesan bahan tersebut telah gagal menguruskan sisa buangan industri mereka dan mengakibatkan pencemaran alam sekitar.

Akibat radiasi sisa buangan radioaktif tersebut, kata Fuziah, telah meningkatkan kadar kejadian kanser, kelahiran bayi pramatang dan cacat malah kes keguguran bayi meningkat secara mendadak melebihi kadar purata yang direkodkan di peringkat kebangsaan. Justeru penduduk setempat telah menjadi mangsa serta hidup merana. Setelah puas menentang, akhirnya mahkamah membatalkan lesen syarikat terbabit.

”Memanglah syarikat-syarikat seperti itu menjanjikan keselamatan masyarakat dan kebersihan alam sekitar menjadi keutamaan mereka. Pernah saya jumpa Menteri Besar Pahang dulu bila saya utarakan persoalan ini, beliau juga yakin kebocoran tidak akan berlaku”.

“Tapi apakah mustahil setelah lama beroperasi kemungkinan kejadian-kejadian seperti pelupusan sisa secara haram dilakukan. Malah, kemudahan penyimpanan sisa buangan sementara seperti yang dituntut peraturan juga mungkin tidak lagi menjadi keutamaan. Sisa-sisa mungkin akan dibiarkan secara terbuka dan mendedahkan bahaya kepada masyarakat dan alam sekitar”.

“Kita sudah ada bukti timbulnya masalah sebelum ini di Bukit Merah Perak di dalam industri yang sama. Tambahan pula di negara kita ini penguatkuasaan memang menjadi masalah. Masalah pembuangan sampah merata-rata pun kita susah nak buat penguatkuasaan. Jadi saya khuatir bagaiamanakah kita mampu melaksanakan penguatkuasaan dalam kes ini yang melibatkan sisa radioaktif merbahaya”.

Fuziah mengandaikan jika berlaku kebocoran di tempat penyimpanan sisa buangan sudah tentu akan mencemarkan Sungai Balok yang kemudiannya akan mencemarkan ikan-ikan dilaut China Selatan.

“Kuantan merupakan pengkalan penangkapan ikan yang terbesar didalam Negara. Ikan-ikan dari Kuantan dihantar ke Pasar Borong di Selayang yang kemudiannya di hantar ke pasar-pasar dan ke restoran-restoran seluruh negara”.

“Saya sendiri membangkitkan perkara ini di parlimen baru-baru ini memandangkan projek ini yang begitu sensitif terhadap keselamatan orang awam dan berisiko tinggi, saya menggesa Ketua Pengarah Kementerian Sumber Asli dan Alam Sekitar supaya mengarahkan satu kajian Detailed Environmental Impact Analysis (DEIA) yang kemudiannya perlu pula dipamerkan kepada orang awam selama 40 hari untuk maklum balas”.

“Walaupun projek ini mungkin tidak memerlukan DEIA dilakukan tetapi demi memastikan keselamatan awam tidak rugi sekiranya pihak Kementerian membuat kajian yang lebih teliti sebelum projek ini dimulakan. Keselamatan orang awam, bayi dalam kandungan dan generasi akan datang yang terancam tidak boleh di gadaikan,” katanya.



ww.harakahdaily.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31442:radioaktif-penduduk-kuantan-sokong-halang-lynas&catid=1:utama&Itemid=50


Science Dictionary
lanthanide (lฤn'thษ™-nฤซd') Pronunciation Key
Any of a series of 15 naturally occurring metallic elements. The lanthanides include elements having atomic numbers 57 (lanthanum) through 71 (lutetium). They are grouped apart from the rest of the elements in the Periodic Table because they all behave in a similar way in chemical reactions. Also called rare-earth element . See Periodic Table.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lanthanides

How tragedy in Japan may shape our world

Yoshikatsu Hiratsuka grieves in front of wreckage where the body of his mother is buried in Onagawa, northern Japan. (AP Photo/Yomiuri Shimbun, Hiroto Sekiguchi)

Japan tragedy seared into the world's imagination


FILE - In this March 12, 2011 file photo, the town of Minamisanriku is submerged in water after a strong earthquake-triggered tsunami in Miyagi prefec AP – FILE - In this March 12, 2011 file photo, the town of Minamisanriku is submerged in water after a strong …

TOKYO – There are events in history that sear themselves into the world's collective imagination, and enter the realm where myth meets heartbreaking reality.

Japan's tragedy is one of those events. Already, it seems reasonable to surmise it could prove one of the most significant calamities of our time — one that shapes policies, economies, even philosophies for decades to come in an increasingly interconnected world.

There is the sheer, surreal force of the images emerging from afflicted zones: cars perched on rooftops, ships sitting in rice paddies, helicopters in a David-and-Goliath battle against radiation-spewing nuclear reactors.

And the way it haunts us with some of our most basic fears: Death by water. Or rubble. Or nuclear fallout.

Add to that, it's a crisis with an impact that will be felt around the planet: Japan is one of the most advanced countries in the world, its third-largest economy, its most successful car-seller and its second-most generous giver of foreign aid.

"This event has the potential to be the most globally disruptive natural hazard in modern times," said Rob Verchick, a disaster expert at Loyola University in New Orleans. "And it may just be, in the context of globalization, of all time."

The Asian tsunami of 2004 killed more people. The fall of the Twin Towers launched two wars. The collapse of the Berlin Wall spelled the end of an empire.

But in this event, psychological, even philosophical, shock over the confluence of human tragedy and nuclear catastrophe yields some fundamental questions. If a technological power like Japan can be so vulnerable, who's safe? Is even minimal risk, as with nuclear power, too much risk? Do we need to rethink the role of government in protecting the public?

Shaking us from modern-day hubris, we're forced to think about whether even the most advanced societies, with almost obsessively meticulous safety backstops, are still pitifully at the mercy of the elements.

But amid tragedy, Francis Fukuyama, the eminent Stanford philosopher and author of "The End of History and the Last Man," sees the possibility for the crisis to become a galvanizing force for political change in the world.

"It does seem to me a natural disaster like this, because it reminds everybody of how commonly vulnerable they are, could be used as an opportunity to reshape the whole tone and character of politics," Fukuyama told The Associated Press.

The unbelievable sight of rich Japan — famous for trains running like clockwork, state-of-the-art gadgets, concern for safety and order — laid low by a freak force of nature beyond human control has been a terrifying wake-up call. On Friday, Japan's government acknowledged that the triple blow of quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster completely overwhelmed even its elaborately laid out, and fastidiously practiced, emergency response systems.

"The unprecedented scale of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan, frankly speaking, were among many things that happened that had not been anticipated under our disaster management contingency plans," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.

There's another great earthquake that changed the world: Lisbon, 1755. The tsunami-churning temblor flattened the Portuguese city, killed tens of thousands of people, and caused Enlightenment thinkers to re-imagine the role of government and community.

Experts say this crisis could become another historical turning point that may alter mankind's perception of its relationship to the world, and societies' relationship with one another in an age of globalization.

"What the Lisbon earthquake experience contributed to Western history (was) this move of government being responsible to its people and protecting them in a community-driven way," said Verchick. "Is there anything like that that might happen as a result of the Japan tsunami and earthquake and nuclear disaster? I think that the answer is yes. It's related to the idea of global community."

Already the crisis is triggering an urgent rethink of nuclear power around the world, from China to Germany, where pressure is building to sharply accelerate a plan to phase out nuclear energy.

"Fukushima, March 12: 15:36: The End of the Nuclear Age," read the cover of the Germany's prestigious Der Spiegel magazine — referring to the exact time an explosion rocked the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant where workers are racing to prevent a meltdown.

While the Asian tsunami and last year's earthquake in Haiti triggered an enormous outpouring of worldwide sympathy and aid, the Japan catastrophe is one where people in industrialized countries can more easily see themselves in the victims' shoes.

"One of the things that make this a unique situation is that it is a catastrophic event with incredible terrifying loss that's occurring in a country that is also wealthy," said Verchick, author of the book Facing Catastrophe: Environmental Action for a Post-Katrina World.

Verchick said that in New Orleans, many people who lived through Hurricane Katrina are watching the scenes in Japan with a sense of gut-wrenching familiarity, with some even experiencing symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Japan tsunami will go down in history as the more significant disaster, according to James Orr, professor of East Asian studies at Bucknell University. Not because of any difference in suffering, but because its effects will be felt around the planet in a more direct way. "Katrina was very much a regional disaster," he said.

And that global punch is given more force from the historic speed with which the images of devastation reached every corner of the planet.

"People all over the world have the ability to almost immediately see the disaster on the ground," said Verchick. "And that actually produces psychological and social changes in people and communities all over the world."

  • Japan hit by huge earthquake, tsunami Slideshow:Japan hit by huge earthquake, tsunami
  • American Teacher Found Dead in Japan Play Video Earthquakes Video:American Teacher Found Dead in Japan ABC News
  • Japan teen speaks of survival Play Video Earthquakes Video:Japan teen

  • http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_earthquake_global_tragedy

    Gagal bangun insan, tak capai matlamat negara membangun


    Wednesday, 10 Rabi'ul Akhir 1432

    Ucapan Datuk Seri Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang semasa membahaskan titah Yang di-Pertuan Agong di Dewan Rakyat pada 14 Mac lepas.

    Tuan Yang Dipertua dan Ahli-ahli Yang Berhormat, pertama-tama saya bersama dengan rakan-rakan, Ahli-ahli Parlimen seluruhnya sama ada di pihak kerajaan ataupun Pakatan Rakyat mengucapkan takziah kepada negara Jepun, kerajaan dan rakyat di atas bencana alam tsunami yang menimpa negara tersebut.

    Bagi melahirkan simpati kepada mangsa dan negara yang ditimpa bencana itu, adalah baik pihak kerajaan menghantar rombongan kemanusiaan sebagai simbolik simpati kemanusiaan walaupun kita menyedari negara Jepun mempunyai kemajuan dan kemampuan teknologi dan tenaga manusia untuk menangani dan mengatasi bencana yang menimpa mereka. Akan tetapi sifat-sifat kemanusiaan mengatasi perbezaan kaum dan agama perlu diserlahkan dengan cara yang nyata dan terbuka melalui penghantaran rombongan tersebut.

    Seterusnya saya ingin menyertai perbahasan Titah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Saya hendak memberi penekanan kepada perkara-perkara pokok dan dasar yang diucap dan dititahkan.

    Baginda menegaskan supaya semua pihak menjunjung kedaulatan undang-undang dan keluhuran Perlembagaan. Kedaulatan Raja-raja Melayu, kedudukan Islam sebagai agama bagi Persekutuan, kedudukan istimewa orang-orang Melayu serta anak negeri Sabah dan Sarawak serta kepentingan sah kaum-kaum lain, meliputi hal kewarganegaraan dan hak asasi sebagaimana yang termaktub dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

    Hendaklah tidak dipersoalkan bagi mengelak perpecahan. Amaran supaya langkah diambil bagi mengelak perpecahan, menandakan di sana ada tanda-tanda negatif yang tidak sihat, yang boleh menjejaskan kewibawaan negara yang berdaulat yang berasaskan kepada Perlembagaan tersebut.

    Kita perlu menyedari betapa Perlembagaan masih lagi mengalami kelemahan-kelemahan yang perlu dibaiki. Berhajat kepada pindaan.

    Kita menyedari sejarah Perlembagaan dilahirkan daripada Suruhanjaya Reid. Mereka yang terlibat di dalam menggubal Perlembagaan itu tidak ada seorang pun daripada anak negeri ini.

    Oleh kerana itu masih banyak perkara yang perlu dikaji semula, melakukan muhasabah dengan menyedari bahawa di dalam Perlembagaan itu sudah disebut perkara-perkara yang menjadi rukun, tonggak kepada negara yang sangat penting.

    (i) Islam agama Persekutuan;

    (ii) keluhuran Perlembagaan; dan

    (iii) kedaulatan undang-undang, kedaulatan Raja-Raja, hak istimewa Melayu dan bumiputera, hak bangsa lain.

    Akan tetapi mengapa masih wujud gejala-gejala yang menyebabkan Baginda telah menyampaikan titah amaran tersebut? Bagi orang Islam dan rakan-rakan yang bukan Islam menyedari kedudukan Melayu, orang Islam di dalam negara ini adalah golongan majoriti yang semua pihak, kaum lain menerima hakikat bahawa Melayu yang beragama Islam adalah majoriti yang berada di dalam tonggak kepimpinan negara. Soalnya sejauh mana Islam dapat menjadi roh kepada perlembagaan. Apa yang berlaku, kefahaman kita terhadap Islam itu sendiri masih lagi terlalu sempit, masih lagi belum merdeka, masih lagi dijajah.

    Perlembagaan tiada roh Islam

    Kita tidak menjadikan Islam sebagai agama yang menangani cara hidup termasuk kepada negara dan segala amalannya menyebabkan Perlembagaan kita tidak ada roh. Kita perlu menyedari perbezaan amalan negara yang berasaskan kepada Islam dengan negara yang lain.

    Ini kerana tidak ada pemisahan di antara perhitungan dosa dan pahala dengan amalan negara. Inilah yang diajar oleh Islam. Inilah yang memelihara keadilan yang dapat menyatupadukan rakyat dan memberi hak kepada semua rakyat yang menjalinkan hubungan yang baik di kalangan mereka. Adakah keluhuran Perlembagaan itu masih wujud?

    Di sana masih terdapat percanggahan-percanggahan di antara kuasa negeri dan pusat. Bukan sahaja di dalam urusan pentadbiran yang mencelarukan bahkan kadang-kadang di dalam urusan agama Islam itu sendiri. Walaupun dinyatakan di dalam Perlembagaan bahawa bidang kuasa agama yang disebut Enakmen Pentadbiran Agama adalah di bawah kuasa negeri tetapi negeri tidak boleh melaksanakan kuasa agama Islam yang luas kerana bercanggah dengan kuasa Perlembagaan pusat.

    Ini menimbulkan kecelaruan di dalam melaksanakan Islam melalui konsep Perlembagaan itu sendiri. Bahkan terdapat percanggahan undang-undang Syariah di kalangan negeri-negeri itu sendiri padahal semua negeri menganut Mazhab Shafie. Sepatutnya diselaraskan, menandakan masih wujud kelemahan di dalam Perlembagaan itu sendiri yang menyebabkan kelemahan kepada urusan pentadbiran agama Islam di negeri-negeri. Ada pun kedaulatan undang-undang, kita melihat kedaulatan undang-undang agak terjejas dengan tidak adanya pemisahan kuasa di antara penggubal undang-undang mahkamah dan pentadbiran.

    Masih wujud kecelaruan dan campur tangan, masih wujud sistem keadilan yang tidak stabil dengan cara yang tepat. Peristiwa-peristiwa yang menyayat hati dan boleh memalukan kita. Contohnya Teoh Beng Hock yang mati dalam siasatan dan kes Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim yang disebarkan melalui media dengan cara yang memalukan.

    Mengikut kaedah perundangan Islam dan kaedah perundangan Islam ini diamalkan oleh undang-undang British kerana orang-orang British ketika menjajah negara umat Islam, mereka bukan sahaja mengumpulkan hasil bumi. Mereka juga mengumpulkan hasil ilmu Islam melalui kitab undang-undang yang dikarang oleh ulama’-ulama’ Islam dalam segala mazhab sehingga mereka memakai kaedah orang yang dituduh tidak bersalah selagi tidak disabitkan. Apa yang berlaku hari ini, menunjukkan orang dituduh telah bersalah dan dihukum. Mati dalam tahanan walaupun dia seorang yang bukan Islam. Allah mengajar kita adil kepada semua manusia. Firman Allah SWT yang bermaksud, “Sesungguhnya Allah, menyuruh kamu supaya menyerahkan amanah kepada orang yang adil dapat menunaikannya”. Sama ada amanah politik ataupun amanah kehakiman dan pentadbiran. Apabila melakukan urusan hukuman di kalangan manusia tidak disebut Islam dan bukan Islam juga tidak disebut bangsa yang tertentu di kalangan manusia hendaklah berlaku adil. Apa yang berlaku hari ini, kita tidak boleh menunjukkan contoh kebaikan Islam daripada Islam yang kita jadikan sebagai agama persekutuan. Ini satu hal yang perlu disedari oleh pihak kerajaan sebelum banyak lagi perkara buruk yang berlaku. Insiden-insiden undang-undang yang berlaku dalam negara kita.

    Kedaulatan Raja-raja, Raja-raja adalah sebahagian daripada negara kita. Nabi kita Muhammad SAW telah meletakkan garis panduan dalam hal ini yang bermaksud, “Apabila Allah mengehendaki keadaan seseorang raja itu menjadi baik, maka Allah jadikan di sisi raja itu menteri-menteri yang benar dan baik. Sekiranya raja itu lupa diperingatkan. Sekiranya raja itu ingat ditolong raja itu. Sekiranya Allah mengehendaki raja itu dalam keburukan maka Allah jadikan di sisinya menteri yang jahat dan bohong. Sekiranya raja itu lupa, tidak diperingatkan. Sekiranya raja itu ingat tidak ditolongnya”.

    Apa yang berlaku dalam negara ini? Melahirkan pengampu-pengampu kepada Raja-Raja kita. Dia bukan menjadi penasihat yang baik apabila kita merasakan kedudukan kita terancam, defend on Perlembagaan. Perlembagaan bukan untuk memperbaiki Institusi Raja-raja tetapi mendapat kuasa laksana kuasa tikus membaiki labu. Ini keadaan yang berlaku.

    Hak istimewa orang Melayu

    Hak istimewa orang Melayu, Islam, dan bumiputera diakui oleh semua kaum yang ada dalam negara ini kerana mereka menyedari bahawa majoriti rakyat negara ini adalah orang Melayu Islam dan bumiputera. Kerana menyedari bahawa majoriti orang miskin dan ketinggalan dalam hak berekonomi dan hidup dengan selesa adalah orang Melayu dan bumiputera.

    Mereka menyedari hakikat ini, dalam masa yang sama sangat baik. Kita telah letak dalam Perlembagaan. Hak kaum lain juga hendaklah dipelihara, dijaga, dan mengikut Islam sama adil dengan puak orang Islam.

    Hak untuk hidup dan juga ekonomi. Oleh kerana jumlahnya Melayu bumiputera lebih besar, maka kita letakkan atasnya. Bahkan kami dalam Pakatan Rakyat atau konvensyen telah memutuskan satu resolusi menerima apa yang termaktub dalam Perlembagaan.

    Akan tetapi apa yang merisaukan kita ialah hak istimewa ini tidak dijaga dengan cara yang baik dan betul menyebabkan fanatik kepartian berlaku di dalam parti yang memerintah sendiri. Sepatutnya parti yang memerintah hendaklah menjadi contoh kepada seluruh rakyat.

    Para ulama’ mengatakan...bermaksud, “Rakyat mengikut langkah pemimpin-pemimpin mereka”.

    Apa yang berlaku hari ini, hak bumiputera yang dipentingkan ialah Bank Bumiputera yang menyokong Umno dan parti yang memerintah di Sabah dan Sarawak. Kemudian, ditambah lagi kroni-kroni pemimpin yang tertentu.

    Dalam parti yang sama pun dinafikan. Ini merupakan kemalangan yang berlaku dalam apa yang disebut dengan hak istimewa orang Melayu dan bumiputera. Ia tidak dilaksanakan dengan betul.

    Saya ingin mengulangi apa yang disebut dalam Dewan ini. Bank Bumiputera yang telah ‘meninggal dunia’. Di mana ada Bank Bumiputera di situ ada pejabat Umno. Mengapa Bank Bumiputera telah ‘meninggal dunia’? Siapa yang mematikan bumiputera atau pun jadi anak angkat kepada bank lain? Ini kerana pengurusan dan cara yang tidak betul. Apabila kita orang Islam Melayu telah diterima sebagai tunggak kepimpinan negara, apa yang penting kita mesti menunjuk satu contoh yang baik. Modul ajaran Islam yang bersih daripada rasuah dan menyalahgunakan kuasa. Apa yang berlaku hari ini, pimpinan utama Umno sendiri Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad telah menyebut dalam kenyataan yang terbuka bagaimana parti yang memerintah dihujani oleh penyakit rasuah di dalam pemilihan-pemilihan mereka. Bagaimana kita dapat mewujudkan sebuah kerajaan menjadi model mengikut ajaran Islam daripada orang Melayu yang beragama Islam ini?

    Sekiranya dalam pemilihan kepimpinan kita berdasarkan kepada politik wang dan politik wang ini diketahui oleh umum. Ia dilakukan dalam masa pilihan raya sehingga rakyat tidak boleh menjadi hakim yang adil.

    Demokrasi

    Ini kerana mengikut amalan demokrasi yang sebenar rakyat adalah hakim untuk menghukum parti yang memerintah. Sekiranya parti memerintah dalam keadaan yang baik, rakyat terus menyokong. Sekiranya parti yang memerintah dituduh dengan tuduhan yang tidak betul, dia boleh bela dan membersihkan diri. Apa yang berlaku hari ini? Rakyat tidak boleh menjadi hakim yang betul kerana media yang menjadi saksi kepada rakyat untuk pilihan raya untuk membuat laporan yang tidak sepenuh dan berat sebelah. Demokrasi ialah untuk memilih kerajaan yang sihat dan kuat.

    Di Amerika tidak selama-lamanya Republican atau Democrat. Di Britain tidak selamalamanya Conservative, Parti Liberal atau Parti Buruh. Mereka bertukar dan beralih bila satu parti mengalami kelemahan dalam kepimpinan negara. Ia didedahkan oleh media. Pemimpin parti memerintah tidak boleh jawab, rakyat hukum dalam pilihan raya dan kepimpinan parti memerintah itu menerima hakikat dia dihukum oleh rakyat. Dia tunggu pulih diri dia, setelah dia baik barulah dia menang pilihan raya balik. Apa yang berlaku dalam negara kita hari ini? Mahu memerintah sehingga nyanyuk dan kiamat walaupun kita mengalami kelemahan-kelemahan.

    Apa yang membimbangkan Tuan Yang di-Pertua ialah gejala perpecahan. Perpecahan di dalam masyarakat kerana titah Baginda menyebut tentang perpecahan di kalangan rakyat.

    Islam menganjurkan perpaduan, perpecahan perkara biasa berlaku di kalangan manusia kerana mereka mempunyai pandangan-pandangan yang berbeza, tetapi mereka boleh disatukan dengan semangat dan roh yang ada dalam diri mereka. Islam menganjurkan perpaduan di kalangan orang Islam dan perpaduan di kalangan sesama manusia yang berbagai-bagai agama. Ia menganjurkan perpaduan dari semua kalangan ini. Perpaduan di kalangan orang Islam, Allah menyatakan perpaduan mereka ialah dengan tali Allah. Firman Allah bermaksud, “Berpeganglah kamu semua dengan tali Allah, jangan kamu berpecah belah”. Perpaduan di kalangan manusia Allah menyatakan bermaksud, “Wahai manusia, sesungguhnya Kami telah menciptakan kamu daripada seorang lelaki dan seorang perempuan, berbangsa-bangsa, dan berpuak-puak supaya kamu berkenalan di antara satu sama lain”.

    Perpaduan di kalangan manusia lita’arafu, supaya berkenalan di kalangan manusia dan bertukar-tukar kepentingan di antara satu sama lain.

    Dalam sejarah Islam pernah berlaku perbezaan pendapat yang mencetuskan pergaduhan. Akan tetapi boleh disatukan, boleh didamaikan dan boleh diselesaikan walaupun melahirkan berbagai-bagai mazhab, mazhab dalam ilmu fiqah, bahkan mazhab di alam politik.

    Kalangan Sunni, Syiah dan Khawarij, ini alam mazhab dalam politik yang lahir di kalangan umat Islam. Ada yang betul dan ada yang salah dalam mazhab ini. Timbulnya gejala perpecahan dalam politik setelah wafatnya Nabi SAW. Quran tidak menentukan siapa penggantinya.

    Nabi Muhammad SAW tidak menentukan siapa penggantinya menyebabkan timbul berbagai-bagai pandangan dan mereka bermusyawarah.

    Ada kalangan yang mengatakan bahawa ketua negara mestilah dari kalangan Ansar, dari kalangan orang Madinah kerana mereka tuan punya tapak kepada negara Islam yang awal itu. Ada yang mengatakan ketua negara mestilah dari kalangan Ahlul-Bait, keluarga Nabi SAW. Ada yang mengatakan kepimpinan negara mestilah dari kalangan seorang pemimpin yang berwibawa, yang paling kuat pengaruhnya di kalangan rakyat. Akhirnya mereka menerima bahawa kepimpinan negara mestilah dari kalangan yang berwibawa di kalangan rakyat yang mempunyai bangsa yang majoriti yang hebat di kalangan kaum yang ada dalam negara itu.

    Ini pendapat umum yang diterima oleh para sahabat Radiallah Anhu walaupun pendapat Ansar menjadi pandangan golongan Khuwarij dan pandangan Ahlul-Bait menjadi pandangan golongan Syiah yang ditolak oleh ilmu politik dan fiqah politik Islam. Tidak dinafikan dan kita telah menerima semangat itu.

    Bahkan dalam Perlembagaan ini sudah ada kita meletakkan hak keistimewaan orang Melayu kerana menerima hakikat orang Melayu adalah majoriti orang Islam yang wujud dan diakui oleh kaum lain. Akan tetapi, kita mesti ingat bahawa jati diri orang Melayu dan kewibawaan mereka terletak kepada sejauh mana mereka berpegang dengan ajaran Islam itu.

    Allah SWT memberi amaran yang bermaksud, “Jika sekiranya kamu yang berbangsa, yang menganut Islam itu berpaling daripada ajaran Islam, maka Allah menukar kaum yang lain daripada kamu.”

    Dalam sejarah Islam, yang memimpin pemerintahan bukan sahaja orang Arab, bertukar ke bangsa Kurdish, bertukar ke bangsa Turki dan bangsa-bangsa yang lain apabila bangsa yang telah menganut Islam itu tidak kuat dan kukuh berpegang dengan ajaran Islam. Di sinilah Islam meletakkan kepimpinan, bukan ketuanan.

    Ini kerana kita tidak boleh memperhambakan di kalangan rakyat. Kepimpinan boleh beralih. Kepimpinan Melayu hendaklah diwujudkan dengan kita berpegang dengan jati diri yang berlandaskan kepada ajaran Islam. Ini sangat penting. Melayu selamat kalau Islam ditegakkan. Kalau Islam tidak ditegakkan, Melayu akan lebur sebagaimana bangsa lain yang lebur dalam dunia ini.

    Allah SWT telah menyebut, bangsa yang mempunyai tamadun yang hebat dalam sejarah manusia, mereka hancur lebur walaupun mempunyai pembangunan yang hebat dengan bangunan-bangunan yang mencakar langit. Firman Allah Taala bermaksud, “Adakah kamu tidak tahu, kamu tidak melihat apa yang telah menimpa kaum ‘Ad yang telah mendirikan bandar Iran dengan bangunan-bangunan pencakar langit? Adakah kamu tidak melihat kaum Tsamud yang telah memahat bukit-bukit batu pejal untuk dijadikan bangunan? Adakah kamu tidak melihat kaum Firaun yang mendirikan Piramid, yang mendirikan bangunan Piramid yang hebat dan bala tentera yang ramai apabila mereka telah melakukan fasad, melakukan kejahatan.”

    Kejahatan itu sama ada maksiat ataupun kezaliman dalam pemerintahan. Maksiat ataupun kezaliman. Kemungkaran berlaku, maka Allah memusnahkan kaum itu walaupun mempunyai pembangunan kebendaan yang sangat hebat.

    Tanpa dinafikan bahawa peranan manusia di atas muka bumi bukan sahaja mengabdikan diri kepada Allah, dalam masa yang sama manusia ditugaskan untuk membangunkan bumi dengan pembangunan-pembangunan yang menggunakan bahan-bahan yang dikurniakan oleh Allah kepada mereka dia atas muka bumi. Akan tetapi untuk melakukan pembangunan itu, hendaklah dibina insan. Dalam ucapan Seri Paduka Baginda disebut pembangunan insan. Akan tetapi, tidak disebut apakah acuan pembangunan insan itu.

    Kemusnahan negara-negara yang maju di abad yang lalu dan yang terkini seperti Soviet Union ialah kerana gagal dalam pembangunan insan walaupun mempunyai muka bumi yang luas, kekayaan yang melimpah ruah, pembangunan kebendaan yang begitu hebat, bangunan yang mencakar langit seperti di Dubai sekarang, bangunan pencakar langit banyak tetapi orang tidak ada.

    Pembangunan yang tidak berasaskan kepada pembangunan insan dalam erti kata yang sebenar untuk membangunkan insan bukan sahaja mengilmukan mereka dalam bidang sains dan teknologi yang sangat diberi penekanan. Tidak dinafikan bahawa pengilmuan dalam sains dan teknologi adalah penting. Akan tetapi, manusia yang mengendalikan pembangunan sains dan teknologi itu hendaklah dibina roh dan akal mereka. Kalau roh dan akal mereka tidak dibina dengan tepat, maka sains dan teknologi membawa kemusnahan kepada diri mereka sendiri.

    Dengan sebab itu maka Islam menganjurkan bahawa bagi membangun diri manusia hendaklah mengikut acuan fitrah, naluri dan sifat semula jadi manusia yang disebut dengan Maqasid al-Syariah, tujuan hukum syariah diturunkan oleh Allah kepada manusia tepat dengan ciri-ciri dan sifat keperluan yang ada bagi diri manusia. Mereka memerlukan enam perkara yang penting:

    (i) agama;

    (ii) nyawa;

    (iii) akal;

    (iv) maruah;

    (v) keturunan; dan

    (vi) harta.

    Ini tiga rukun. Dalam kehidupan manusia, manusia tidak boleh hidup dengan tepat, dengan baik sekiranya tidak memenuhi ketiga-tiga rukun ini. Pertama, agama. Islam meletakkan agama menjadi dasar dan payung kepada pembangunan insan. Meletakkan manusia menjadi hamba kepada Allah. Pimpinan negara adalah menunaikan amanah bukannya tuan yang memperhambakan rakyat dan mana-mana kaum. Ini yang diajarkan oleh Islam.

    Segala projek pembangunan yang dilakukan oleh kerajaan memberi kesenangan kepada rakyat hendaklah ditunaikan dengan amanah dan di atas sifat menunaikan amanah, dia tidak boleh berbangga dengan apa yang dia buat dengan hendak menunjuk-nunjuk sahaja ini aku buat, ini aku buat, ini aku buat seolah-olah harta dia, dia yang punya. Apabila merasakan ini dia yang punya, harta dia, maka berlakulah salah guna, berlakulah mengambil kesempatan, berlakulah tidak ada perhitungan dosa dan pahala, berlakulah tidak boleh mengawal tamak dan haloba dalam kegiatan politik dan ekonomi. Pembangunan itu bukan sahaja tidak memberikan kebahagiaan kepada rakyat, bahkan menjadi kemusnahan kepada negara dengan sebab pengurusan ekonomi tidak teratur, perjalanan tidak teratur dengan cara yang baik.

    Islam menjadikan agama pengawas kepada kegiatan-kegiatan yang lain. Oleh sebab itu Islam meletakkan perhitungan dosa dan pahala dalam semua tindak-tanduk yang dilakukan oleh manusia. Bukan sahaja di masjid, bukan sahaja atas tikar sembahyang, bukan sahaja di Makkah termasuklah bila dia menjadi ketua negara, menjadi pemimpin negara, di office bergaul dengan rakyat, segala tindak-tanduknya ada kaitan dengan agama. Apa yang berlaku hari ini seolah-olah agama tidak ada kaitan dengan masalah hidup. Kita buat macam-macam, berbagai-bagai langkah, rasuah, menyalah guna kuasa, selepas itu pergi umrah. Selesa dengan itu sahaja, seolah-olah cukup dengan umrah sahaja dengan tidak melakukan muhasabah bahawa semua tindakan adalah dihisab. Bukan umrah itu sahaja.

    Ini kerana kita memisahkan agama dengan urusan kehidupan. Kedua menjaga nyawa. Nyawa adalah penggerak kepada anggota yang bertugas bagi diri manusia. Nyawa hendaklah dipelihara dengan cara yang baik. Oleh kerana itu Islam menjadikan hak nyawa bukan sahaja hak Allah Taala termasuk juga hak manusia. Maka Islam meletakkan hukuman qisas dalam memelihara nyawa.

    Firman Allah Taala yang bermaksud, “Dan bagi kamu dalam melaksanakan hukuman qisas itu, membawa kehidupan wahai orang-orang yang mempunyai akal fikiran yang betul supaya kamu bertakwa kepada Allah.”

    Qisas ini yang berkait dengan kesalahan membunuh, termasuklah kesalahan mencederakan dengan sengaja dan tidak sengaja, semuanya ada dalam Islam termasuklah undang-undang kemalangan jalan raya. Berkait dengan qisas. Di mana undang-undang Islam lebih berkonsepkan mendidik bukan untuk mendera dan memungut hasil.

    Saman ekor

    Apa yang berlaku hari ini contohnya saman ekor. Saman ekor adalah satu undang-undang di atas nama mengapa tidak saman kepala terus? Saman ekor sahaja. Di atas nama hendak mengawal keselamatan jalan raya tetapi undang-undang ini tidak bersifat mendidik lebih bersifat mendera, lebih bersifat mencari duit. Setelah diumumkan ramai yang beratur hendak bayar saman ekor diberitahu berapa juta dapat minggu ini. Termasuklah undang-undang yang berkait dengan dadah. Ini juga undang-undang yang mendidik. Apa yang berlaku hari ini kita gagal dalam menangani masalah dadah. Ini sangat mendukacitakan. Maka perlu dikaji semula, dibawa undang-undang takzir yang mendidik rakyat supaya menangani masalah dadah.

    Kesimpulan Tuan Yang Dipertua, sekiranya kita tidak dapat membangunkan insan mengikut acuannya yang tepat, maka kita gagal mencapai matlamat negara yang membangun, mencapai kebahagiaan dunia dan akhirat, menjadi wawasan kepada umat Islam dan ketamakan manusia seluruhnya. Sekian, terima kasih.


    http://www.harakahdaily.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31372:gagal-bangun-insan-tak-capai-matlamat-negara-membangun&catid=83:presiden&Itemid=127

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