Lulus segera akta murtad

IPOH – Akta Murtad perlu diluluskan segera bagi menyekat dan menghalang mana-mana pertubuhan agama bukan Islam mempengaruhi umat Islam supaya memeluk agama mereka.

Mufti Perak, Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria berkata, senario hari ini memperlihatkan umat Islam terlalu bertolak ansur atau berkompromi dengan pihak terbabit sehinggakan mereka berani bertindak sedemikian.

Menurutnya, kerajaan perlu tegas terhadap kumpulan yang wujud atas platform pergerakan agama, khususnya apabila cuba mengambil kesempatan mempersoalkan kesucian agama Islam serta dalam masa sama mempengaruhi orang Islam memeluk agama lain.

“Apabila kita terlalu berlembut, ia sekali gus membuka ruang kepada mereka memurtadkan lebih ramai orang Islam.

“Perkara ini perlu ditangani bagi mengelakkan ia berpanjangan seterusnya menimbulkan kebimbangan dan kemarahan umat Islam,” katanya kepada :Sinar Harian:.

Tegas Harussani, isu murtad tidak akan berlaku jika kerajaan bertegas dengan apa digariskan dalam perlembagaan, Islam sebagai agama rasmi negara, tetapi agama lain boleh diamalkan orang bukan Islam tanpa mempertikaikan kedudukan agama Islam serta mempengaruhi orang Islam memeluk agama mereka.

Katanya, peristiwa berlaku mutakhir ini menyaksikan kebangkitan badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) Islam mengadakan demonstrasi aman menyokong Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (Jais) berhubung kontroversi pemeriksaan terhadap sebuah gereja dipercayai mengadakan majlis untuk memesongkan akidah umat Islam adalah isu membimbangkan.

“Ketiadaan akta murtad menyebabkan kumpulan itu mengambil kesempatan memperdaya umat Islam memeluk agama mereka.

“Sebab itu, akta murtad perlu diwujudkan kerana Islam adalah agama rasmi negara dan hakikat ini tidak boleh dipertikaikan sesiapapun,” katanya.

Mengulas mengenai isu pemeriksaan ke gereja Methodist oleh Jais, katanya, tindakan berkenaan adalah tepat dan betul.

Dalam masa sama, menurutnya, kesedaran harus wujud dalam kalangan umat Islam bahawa mereka mesti mencintai dan menyayangi agama Islam.

Harussani juga menggesa institusi zakat supaya mengutamakan fakir miskin bagi menghindarkan golongan itu didekati pihak yang cuba mempengaruhi mereka untuk memeluk agama lain.

“Utamakan fakir miskin, selain daripada yang lain, kita tak boleh buat masjid dengan duit zakat, buat sekolah de-ngan wang zakat selagi ada fakir miskin yang memerlukannya.

“Maka itu mestilah didahulukan fakir miskin supaya jangan ada yang sampai terjual agama,” katanya.

Dengan nada kerisauan, beliau menyatakan isu murtad di Malaysia bukan perkara baru malah ia telah bermula sejak berpuluh tahun dahulu tetapi ia dijalankan secara sulit.

“Golongan sasaran mereka, belia terutama bekerja di kilang termasuk yang menyertai kegiatan muzik black metal di lokasi hiburan dan sebagainya.

“Di situ anak belia Melayu ini dipengaruhi hingga ada dalam kalangan mereka yang berjaya dipengaruhi telah ambil tindakan koyak dan membaling al-Quran,’’ katanya.

http://www.sinarharian.com.my/SH/com/content/story9447129.asp

Isu murtad: Pas pilih Jais atau DAP?

oleh MASHITAH IBRAHIM
8/12/2011 8:20:21 AM

Sekali lagi Pas berada di persimpangan, sama ada berpaksi kepada perjuangan ‘amal makruf nahi mungkar’ atau tunduk saja kepada DAP atas dasar setia kawan dalam pakatan politik untuk memenangi pilihan raya.

Kemelut Pas berhubung tindakan Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (Jais) menjalankan pemeriksaan di gereja, dipercayai cuba memurtadkan orang Islam minggu lalu, membuka pekung di dada. Rakyat, termasuk penyokong Pas sendiri mahu melihat yang mana menjadi pilihan parti bernama Islam ini.

Andainya Pas memilih dasar perjuangannya mendaulatkan Islam, mereka mesti menyokong tindakan Jais, yang bertindak atas laporan awam dan bahan bukti. Mesti berdiri tegak di belakang Datuk Dr Hasan Ali, Exco Hal Ehwal Agama Islam di Selangor, yang mempertahankan tindakan Jais mahu menyelamatkan akidah 12 Muslimin.

Setakat ini, ramai penyokong Pas, NGO dan pertubuhan Islam, menzahirkan sokongan terhadap tindakan Jais. Namun, Pas bersikap dingin dan melahirkan hasrat untuk mendapat maklumat lanjut daripada pihak gereja dan Jais sendiri. Ini sangat bertentangan dengan tarbiah Pas kepada penyokongnya untuk tidak berkompromi dalam soal perjuangan hak Islam.

Kenapa kepimpinan Pas bagaikan burung kasawari membenam kepala di dalam lubang tanah dalam soal ini? Takut menyinggung perasaan penganut Kristian dan DAP? Apakah Pas tidak percaya dengan Hasan atau meragui kesahihan maklumat diperoleh Jais? Apa pula kuasa Pas untuk mengarah sebuah agensi kerajaan negeri untuk beri maklumat kepadanya? Mahukah sebuah gereja Kristian disoal selidik oleh parti Pas?

Lebih teruk, Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim sudah pun memohon maaf kepada pihak gereja atas tindakan Jais, walaupun belum dapat laporan lengkap kedudukan sebenar. Ini seolah-olah Jais sudah bersalah. Nampaknya Menteri Besar sudah hilang kepercayaan kepada Exco dan jabatan agamanya sendiri. Kini, beliau dilaporkan mahu mendapat nasihat Sultan Selangor pula. Nasihat terbaik untuk Khalid ialah siapa korek lubang, dialah yang timbus.

Ramai ketahui Exco paling berpengaruh di Selangor ialah yang dipegang pemimpin DAP. Selain Hasan, Pas hanya ada dua wakil dalam kerajaan negeri, dianggap lemah dan junior. Sejak 2008, banyak isu berkaitan Islam dan Muslimin yang diperjuangkan Pas ditentukan oleh DAP. Ini termasuk konsert rock terbesar di Shah Alam, penjualan arak dan premis rumah urut, penggajian orang Islam di premis jual arak, serta pembukaan ladang babi terbesar di Malaysia. Exco-Exco DAP bukan Islam ada pengaruh besar ke atas Menteri Besar, melebihi Exco-Exco Pas Islam.

Pas sudah tersepit dengan konsep tahaluf siyasinya kerana mahu terus berdamping dengan DAP bagi memperoleh kuasa, ia menjadi pengecut dan tidak berani lagi mempertahankan prinsip Islam. Sudahlah dasar perjuangannya selama ini – negara Islam, hudud – sudah dibuang, pemimpinnya sendiri dikritik hebat kerana melaksanakan tanggungjawab. Semuanya gara-gara takut kepada DAP.

Saya cuma terbayang, andai Jabatan Agama Islam Kedah (Jaik) juga mendapat laporan sahih berlaku usaha memurtadkan orang Islam di sebuah gereja di Alor Setar, tidakkah Jaik pergi menyiasat? Atau kena tunggu arahan DAP dulu? Jika pemeriksaan dibuat, adakah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Razak kena mohon maaf juga?

Hasan kini diarah tutup mulut oleh Menteri Besar. Karpal Singh kata Hasan sudah ‘melampaui batas’. Lim Kit Siang tegur Hasan supaya ‘ikut garisan’ dan jadi ‘pemain pasukan’. Pemimpin Pas Selangor juga kritik Hasan. Ada yang tuduh beliau ejen UMNO, cuba sabotaj hubungan Pas-DAP. Hasan kata dia sedia dipecat kesemua jawatan dalam kerajaan mahupun parti. Sebelum ini, beliau sudah dipecat sebagai Pesuruhjaya Pas Selangor selepas gagal pertahan Naib Presiden dalam muktamar ke-57.

Presiden Pas Datuk Seri Hadi Awang berkata, keputusan selepas Raya Puasa. Andai Hasan dipecat sebagai Exco menjelang Aidiladha nanti, bermakna ada pemimpin Pas Selangor dan DAP yang akan berhari raya awal – dengan Hasan sebagai korban kambing hitamnya.

http://www.sinarharian.com.my/sh/kolumnis/content.asp?ID=368

Mashitah tegakkan benang yang basah?

Posted by admin on August 20th, 2011

Saudara Pengarang,

Saya berhajat untuk membalas tulisan Dr Mashitah Ibrahim bertajuk “Isu Murtad: PAS Pilih JAIS atau DAP?” Artikel beliau disiarkan di dalam Sinar Harian pada 12 Ogos 2011.Secara mudahnya, Mashitah cuba memberi gambaran bahawa PAS telah membuang perjuangan Islam kerana tidak menyebelahi JAIS. Mashitah juga cuba menyebar fitnah kononnya sikap dingin PAS terhadap murtad adalah kerana hubungan PAS dengan DAP.

Lupakah Mashitah parti yang beliau wakili telah meluluskan Akta Kesalahan Jenayah Syariah (Wilayah-Wilayah Pesekutuan) 1997 (Akta 559). Sesiapa yang merujuk kepada Akta tersebut akan melihat bahawa “Murtad” tidak menjadi salah satu dari kesalahan jenayah Syariah di dalam Wilayah-Wilayah Persekutuan.

Siapakah yang telah meluluskan Akta Jenayah Syariah ini? Adakah DAP? Adakah Ambiga? Adakah Gereja Methodist Damansara Utama?
Atau, bukankah yang meluluskannya adalah Umno?

Maka, bolehkah kita katakan Umno sendiri penyokong kepada murtad secara sukarela memandangkan murtad dihalalkan di Wilayah2 Persekutuan.

Tidak hairanlah Lina Joy tidak boleh didakwa di Mahkamah Syariah atas jenayah murtad memandangkan Lina Joy dibaptiskan di sebuah gereja di Brickfield (yang berada di dalam Wilayah Persekutuan).

Malahan, kalau saya mahu pergi jauh ke lubuk sejarah, Umno telah bersikap dingin terhadap murtadnya Natrah.

Allahyarham Haji Ahmad Fuad menulis dalam bukunya yang bertajuk “Ulamak Malaya Belum Bersatu dan Belum Punya Persatuan” di mana beliau menyifatkan kedudukan ulamak ketika itu umpama sampah yang tidak dihargai kerana tiada kekuatan.

Lebih-lebih lagi ketika itu ulamak telah muak dengan sikap Umno yang mengabaikan isu permurtadan Natrah, penganjuran judi loteri, fun fair, kaberat dan lain-lain.

Dan menjadi maklumat umum, usaha Allahyarham Tuan Haji Ahmad Fuad menubuhkan Persatuan Ulama Malaya telah membawa kepada tertubuhnya Partai Islam Setanah Melayu, ringkasnya PAS.

Dengan kata lain, PERMURTADAN NATRAH adalah salah satu faktor yang membawa kepada perpecahan dalam Umno yang telah membuahkan PAS. PAS ditubuhkan atas sikap Umno yang dingin dan senyap dalam isu murtadnya Natrah.

Peristiwa Natrah mengajar kita betapa tingginya toleransi Umno terhadap jenayah murtad. Sehingga sejarah mengajar kita kebangkitan orang Islam di Singapura dalam peristiwa Natrah dipimpin oleh bekas Presiden PAS (Allahyarham Burhanuddin Helmi) serta Allahyarham Karim Ghani. Umno pada masa itu bersikap senyap sunyi dan dingin.

Jangan juga kita lupa betapa Umno beberapa kali menghalang usaha PAS untuk membentangkan rang undang-undang pribadi yang bakal mengharamkan murtad. Kalau Umno ikhlas menangani murtad sudah tentu Umno yang akan membentang rang undang-undang murtad di Parlimen sekaligus mengharamkan murtad sama sekali.

Namun, Akta Jenayah Shariah yang diluluskan oleh Umno untuk Wilayah Persekutuan sendiri tidak mengharamkan murtad.

Jelaslah Umno selama ini bertoleransi dengan murtad. Rekod Umno di dalam memerangi murtad adalah amat buruk dan sangat-sangat dikesali.

Maka, apakah hak Mashitah untuk mengkritik PAS hanya kerana PAS bersikap hati-hati dengan JAIS? Bukankah JAIS sendiri tidak konsisten di dalam menangani gejala murtad?

Mengapa gereja DUMC yang kesnya tidak jelas boleh diserbu sebegitu namun Masjid Qadyani di Kampung Nakhoda terus dibiarkan beroperasi sehingga sekarang?

Amat tidak wajar bagi Mashitah memburuk-burukan PAS sebegini.

Lebih-lebih lagi UMNO sendiri mempunyai rekod yang tersangat buruk dari segi murtad.

Pembaca anti-murtad

http://www.kl-today.com/2011/08/mashitah-tegakkan-benang-yang-basah/

Mentega Golden Churn NZ saja tak halal

Posted by admin on August 20th, 2011

Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim) memutuskan hanya mentega jenama ‘Pure Creamery Butter – Golden Churn Butter’keluaran syarikat Ballantyne Food Pty (New Zealand) tidak halal.Ketua Pengarahnya, Othman Mustapha berkata keputusan itu dibuat hasil perbincangan Jakim dengan Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri, Koperasi dan Kepenggunaan, Jabatan Kimia Malaysia, Bahagian Keselamatan dan Kualiti Makanan, Kementerian Kesihatan, Jabatan Agama Islam Sarawak serta Jabatan Agama Islam Johor pada 8 Ogos lepas.
Sehubungan itu, Jakim menegur media yang menyiarkan maklumat atau memaparkan gambar produk selain keluaran syarikat beralamat di Allen Street Morrinsville 3340, New Zealand berkenaan, katanya dalam satu kenyataan hari ini.

Pada 19 Julai lepas, Jabatan Agama Islam Sarawak mengisytiharkan produk itu, yang digunakan segelintir pengusaha kek lapis, sebagai tidak halal kerana dikesan mengandungi DNA babi, menyebabkan industri makanan berkenaan terjejas.

http://www.kl-today.com/2011/08/mentega-golden-churn-nz-saja-tak-halal/

Rally Bersih tidak sama rally Totenham

Posted by admin on August 20th, 2011

Aspan Alias

Muhyiddin Yassin telah menyamakan rally Bersih sama seperti apa yang berlaku di Britain 2 minggu lepas dalam mana rakyat yang tinggal di kawasan yang melata seperti di Tottenham, Brixton (gambar) dan beberapa tempat jenayah lain melakukan “looting” dan mengancam keselamatan masyarakat di sana.Dalam kejadian di Tottenham itu beberapa orang anggota polis telah cedera. Saya pun sudah lupa berapa tempat lagi yang amok yang di lakukan oleh pemuda-pemuda di Britain itu. Beberapa buah bangunan dan kereta telah dibakar dalam kejadian itu.

Untuk menyamakan apa yang berlaku di London dengan apa yang di lakukan oleh Bersih adalah tidak berasas dan tidak mempunyai kebijaksanaan langsung. Ianya akan hanya menunjukan sikap Muhyiddin untuk memperbudak-budakan kita semua sahaja.

Walauipun beliau seorang Timbalan Perdana Menteri tetapi bila keluar kenyataan seperti ini dari mulut dan pemikiran beliau, maka beliau telah merendahkan mertabat beliau kepada hanya seperti kutu jalanan berfikir.

Jika itu adalah keyakinan Muhyiddin sendiri maka Muhyiddin boleh kita anggap sebagai seorang yang tidak bijak menilai keadaan dan suasana kedua-duanya kejadian itu, iaitu rally anjuran Bersih dan pengganas di London itu. Bagi saya Muhyiddin menganggap kedua-dua kejadian itu adalah sama nilainya ialah untuk menutupi segala kesilapan kerajaan dalam mengendalikan rally anjuran Bersih itu.

Inilah masalahnya pemimpin-pemimpin kita. Mereka sudah menjadi kebiasaan cuba merperbodohkan orang ramai seolah-olah orang ramai di bawah ini semuanya adalah dari gulungan “tolol” yang tidak pandai sedikit pun untuk membuat penilaian terhadap sesuatu yang berlaku.

Sikap dan kenyataan Muhyiddin itu hanya akan menjadi “self defeating” bagi beliau dan beliau tidak boleh menyalahkan sesiapa jika orang yang mempunyai pemikiran memandang beliau sabagai seorang politikus murahan dan tidak bernilai.

Tottenham merupakan kawasan yang di diami oleh masyarakat yang kebanyakanya miskin dan tempat itu adalah tempat di mana berlakunya jenayah yang banyak. Begitu juga di Brixton serta beberapa tempat dan daerah lain yang dihuni oleh masyarakat yang agak melata jika di bandingkan dengan daerah dan kawasan sebelah barat kotaraya Metropolitan London.

Berjalan kesaorangan di kawasan Tottenham itu tidak begitu selesa kerana tempat itu terkenal dengan kawasan yang banyak kejadian jenayah. Begitu juga di kawasan Brixton, Barking dan sebagainya.

Huru hara yang berlaku yang bermula di Tottenham ini telah dilakukan oleh penjenayah yang menembak dan membakar bangunan dan kenderaan kerana memprotes di atas kematian rakan mereka di tangan polis.

Dalam masa 24 jam huru hara telah berlaku di tempat lain di sekitar London seperfti di Enfield dan sebagainya. Yang melakukan huru hara ini adalah dari gulungan yang melata dan miskin dan mereka ini adalah dari gulungan yang tidak mampu mendewasakan diri mereka untuk hidup menempa kemajuan dan mereka adalah dari gulungan yang tertinggal dalam serba serbinya.

Rally anjuran Bersih baru-baru adalah jauh kelainannya. Rally Bersih di anjurkan oleh kumpulan 62 Badan Bukan Kerajaan (NGO) dan penganjur telah memohon kebenaran untuk berjalan secara aman tetapi dipermain-mainkan oleh pihak berkuasa. Bersih merupakan isu transformasi dalam sistem pilihanraya yang ramai beranggapan belum jelas kebenaran dan ketelusannya.

Pihak penganjur telah mengadap Kebawah Duli Tuanku Yang di-Pertuan Agong dan telah berunding dengan pihak pemerintah walaupun akhirnya rundingan itu gagal.

Jadi jika seorang Timbalan Perdana Menteri boleh menyamakan “hooliganism” di Britain dan Rally anjuran Bersih itu maka saya tidak dapat hendak meletakan Muhyiddin ini sebagai apa. Kalaulah pemimpin tertinggi kerajaan boleh membuat penialaian dan intrepetasi sebegini maka semakin terbuktilah kekurangan keupayaan beliau untuk berfikir

Cara berfikir sebeginilah yang kadang-kadang rakyat merasa muak kerana mereka merasakan seolah-olah mereka dipermainkan dengan perbahasan yang membosankan. Saya berharap pemimpin tertinggi Umno yang lain tidak meletakan diri mereka begitu rendah pemikiran kerana kata-kata itu mudah di nilai oleh rakyat yang ramai.

Dengan kenyataan Muhyiddin itu sekarang rakyat sudah yakin yang pihak pemerintah telah merasakan dan mengakui yang rally anjuran Bersih itu telah menempa kejayaan besar yang menyebabkan pemimpin pemerintah hari ini tidak dapat lagi melupakan isu walaupun rally itu sudah lama berlalu. Ramai di antara pemimpin kita masih lagi bercakap merapu dan merepek tentang isu rally anjuran Bersih ini seolah-olah seperti berjalan dijadikan tongkat dan jika tidur dijadikan bantal.

Saya mencadangkan supaya pihak kerajaan tidak lagi menyebut isu ini kerana ianya akan hanya memberikan markah yang lebih tinggi kepada pembangkang. Yang perlu dilakukan oleh pihak yang berwajib ialah untuk memperbaiki sistem pemilihan di dalam pilihanraya nanti.

Pihak kerajaan misalnya mesti memperuntukan masa yang sama banyak untuk kedua-dua belah pihak, pemerintah dan pembangkang untuk menggunakan media massa perdana. Perlu diingat yang wang ringgit yang digunakan untuk mewujudkan Radio dan Telivisyen Malaysia misalnya adalah dari wang cukai yang dibayar oleh semua rakyat termasuk pemimpin dan ahli pembangkang.

Kalaulah ahli-ahli parti pembangkang dan pemimpinnya tidak diberikan kemudahan yang sama maka elok dicadangkan supaya semua ahli parti pembangkang dikecualikan dari membayar cukai kepada kerajaan.

Rakyat sudah jemu dengan dakyah dengan niat kotor digunakan oleh parti pemerintah kepada pihak lain yang sama-sama membiayai badan-badan penyiaran itu.

— aspanaliasnet.blogspot.com

http://www.kl-today.com/2011/08/rally-bersih-tidak-sama-rally-totenham/

Iklan raya seksi Nurul?

Posted by admin on August 20th, 2011

Pihak pengurusan penyanyi Nurul Wahab meminta maaf berhubung isu penyiaran iklan promosi hari Raya pusat pengurusan badan, Glow-Glamour yang memapar penyanyi itu berpakaian terdedah.Menurut pengurusnya, Badrul Hashim, Nurul yang merupakan duta Glow-Glamour tidak mengetahui mengenai iklan tersebut termasuklah gambar yang dipaparkan oleh pihak pengeluar produk itu.

“Memang sebelum ini Nurul ada mengambil beberapa gambar termasuklah gambar yang dijadikan sebagai iklan Hari Raya bagi tujuan promosi Glow-Glamour pada masa akan datang.

“Tetapi Nurul tidak tahu gambar yang terdedah pula menjadi pilihan untuk dipaparkan pada iklan tersebut,” katanya di sini, Jumaat.

Tambah Badrul, dia telah pun berjumpa dengan pihak Glow Glamour untuk bertanyakan isu tersebut dan pusat pengurusan badan itu meminta maaf atas kesilapan memilih gambar yang tidak sesuai untuk iklan promosi raya.

“Setelah berbincang, mereka telah meminta maaf dan tidak tahu perkara ini boleh menjadi sensitif dan tidak sesuai bagi tujuan promosi Ramadan dan Aidilfitri, tambah pula ada gambar masjid pada paparan iklan Hari Raya itu.

“Malah pusat pelangsingan badan itu telah menarik balik iklan tersebut dan membuat permohonan maaf menerusi laman web mereka dan di akaun Facebook,” jelasnya.

Ditanya apakah reaksi Nurul apabila isu iklan tersebut dibangkitkan, penyanyi itu yakin dia tidak bersalah dengan hal itu cuma risau reputasinya tercalar.

Nurul kini berada di Sandakan, Sabah, bagi menghadiri sebuah sidang perniagaan.

http://www.kl-today.com/2011/08/iklan-raya-seksi-nurul/

MCMC acts ‘thugs’ during investigation

Posted by admin on August 20th, 2011

The Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) today questioned a journalist over a picture she had taken during the Bersih 2.0 rally.But according to Lawyers For Liberty (LFL) coordinator, Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, the officials had behaved like thugs in their intimidation and harassment of both her and her client.Fadiah had accompanied her client, Yusriah Yusof, a photographer with opposition mouthpiece Suara Keadilan, to the MCMC headquarters earlier this afternoon.

Yusriah was being questioned over her picture of Anwar Ibrahim’s bodyguard, Fayyadh Afiq Albakqry, taken after he was hit in the face with a tear gas canister while shielding Anwar.

The picture of his bloodied face were among the many circulated online in the aftermath of the rally as evidence of police brutality.

When the investigating officer (IO) met them at the entrance, Fadiah introduced herself and said that she was accompanying her client into the investigation room. The IO denied her entry and an argument ensued.

“He said that lawyers were not allowed to be present during the questioning,” she told FMT. “I told him that under the Federal Constitution my client had the right to have her lawyer present and asked him what his basis was in disallowing that right.”

“I even asked him why she was being questioned and whether there was a report made against her. The IO said of course there is a report but he wasn’t going to divulge it to me.”

When Fadiah pointed out that even the police released reports to lawyers, the IO apparently shot back, “That is the police, we are MCMC.”

He, however, eventually reluctantly allowed Fadiah into the investigation room but then told her that he wanted to take her statement too.

“I refused and told him that I am merely accompanying my client and I’m not the party under investigation,” she said. “We continued arguing until he shouted ‘you’re a Malay, right? you’re a Muslim, right?… stop asking questions!’”

“I told him not to bring religion into this and to respect the law. He shouted back that if I wanted to talk about the law then I should go to the court because this was his office and he didn’t want to talk about it.”

Before a stunned Fadiah could respond, two more officers entered the room and shouted to her to leave. While she argued with them, the IO began taking Yusriah’s statement, disregarding the photographer’s obvious distress.

“I turned my back on the two and focus on my client,” Fadiah said. “These men were in the baju Melayu complete with the sampin and they were behaving like thugs. They were talking like the law didn’t apply to them.”

“I am shocked by MCMC’s arrogance and ignorance. Even when they called my client in for questioning they never sent her an official notice. Just a casual phone call.”

The two officers threatened to lodge a police report against her, but when she she asked for their names in return, they replied that she had no right to know as she was in their office.

Fadiah added that the line of questioning was to determine the authenticity of the picture and if copies had been distributed to other publications.

“It was obvious that they want to send out a warning that the public and journalists who take and distribute such pictures will be hauled in for quesitioning,” she said.

“It is pure harassment of journalists, particularly my client because they couldn’t even tell her the basis of the investigation or what law she had breached.”

Yusriah is the first journalist to be questioned over this picture. The Suara Keadilan editor is expected to be called in next as are the other media that have published the image.

http://www.kl-today.com/2011/08/mcmc-acts-like-thugs-during-investigation/

Sekeluarga huni surau

Oleh Nur Lela Zulkipli
am@hmetro.com.my

SHAH ALAM: Ketika umat Islam sibuk menyediakan persiapan menjelang Aidilfitri tidak lama lagi, lima beranak di Padang Jawa terpaksa menumpang teduh di surau apabila rumah mereka musnah dalam kebakaran bulan lalu.

Kehidupan mereka umpama pelarian apabila surau kecil yang tidak digunakan lagi menjadi dapur dan tempat tidur mereka.

Mohd Rezhal Abbas, 40, berkata dia dan keluarganya hampir pasti akan menyambut Aidilfitri tidak lama lagi di surau berkenaan memandangkan rumah barunya masih di peringkat awal pembinaan dan dia tidak memiliki wang mencukupi untuk menyiapkannya.

“Selepas kejadian itu, saya sekeluarga sebenarnya tidak tahu mahu ke mana. Bagaimanapun atas keprihatinan, penduduk membenarkan kami tinggal sementara di surau ini,” katanya yang bekerja sebagai pemandu lori dengan pendapatan RM1,500 sebulan.

Mohd Rezhal menetap di surau itu bersama isterinya, Siti Suhaila Samingan, 35, serta anak mereka, Nur Nazatul Gaquyah, 14; Mohd Idham Hafiz, 13, dan Nor Farah Farhana, 9, sejak tragedi kebakaran itu yang berlaku empat hari sebelum Ramadan.

Menceritakan semula kejadian malang itu, Mohd Rezhal berkata, kebakaran kira-kira jam 6 petang pada 28 Julai lalu itu hampir memusnahkan semua harta-benda di rumah yang baru dibelinya tahun lalu.

Akibat kebakaran itu, mereka sekeluarga tinggal sehelai sepinggang. Peralatan sekolah termasuk buku serta baju sekolah tiga anak Mohd Rezhal turut hangus.

Sehingga proses membaiki rumahnya selesai apabila sudah cukup wang, Mohd Rezhal menyatakan dia lima beranak tidur dalam keadaan berjaga-jaga kerana bimbang keselamatan tinggal di dalam surau yang senang dimasuki sesiapa yang berniat jahat.

Sementara itu, Siti Suhaila yang mengambil upah menjahit, berkata dia bersyukur kejadian malang itu tidak membabitkan kemalangan jiwa walaupun ketika ini mereka terpaksa bergelandangan.

“Pada hari kejadian, saya hanya mampu berdoa keluarga selamat apabila melihat rumah saya sudah dipenuhi asap ketika saya sampai rumah,” katanya.

Menurutnya, pada hari kejadian dia sibuk membantu berniaga ikan kering di pasar malam berdekatan.

Beliau berkata, dia dan suami kini gigih mengumpul wang bagi memulihkan keadaan tanpa terlalu mengharapkan simpati orang ramai, namun jika ada pihak yang mahu membantu boleh menghubunginya di talian 017-2669762.

http://www.hmetro.com.my/articles/Sekeluargahunisurau/Article

China bans Ramadan, continues clampdown on Uyghur Muslims

Eurasia Review

BEIJING, Aug 12: China is placing restrictions on its Muslim Uyghur population during the fasting month of Ramadan, following a string of violent attacks in its northwestern region of Xinjiang.

Chinese Muslims face unnecessary restrictions from the authorities especially during Ramadan

Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress, said Ramadan, which runs roughly from Aug. 1 to 30 this year, has brought a fresh clampdown on Muslims in the wake of violent attacks in the Silk Road cities of Kashgar and Hotan.

The group has said that more than 100 Uyghurs were detained in the wake of an attack on a market in Kashgar last weekend. Most of those detained as suspects were committed Muslims who attended mosque and whose wives wore veils, residents say.

Raxit said the chief restriction lies in a ban on mosques from advertising Ramadan-linked events or in encouraging people to observe the month-long fast.

“If any religious figure discusses Ramadan during the course of religious activities, or encourages people to take part, then they will lose their license to practice,” Raxit said.

“The more serious cases will result in arrests for incitement to engage in illegal religious activity,” he said.

Ramadan restrictions

During Ramadan, Muslims who are able should take no food, water, or cigarettes during daylight hours. Restaurants in Muslim countries close during the day, re-opening to break the fast after sunset.

However, government campaigns in previous years have forced restaurants to stay open, and required Uyghur government cadres throughout Xinjiang to sign “letters of responsibility” promising to avoid fasting, evening prayers, or other religious activities.

Officials have also targeted Muslim schoolchildren, providing them with free lunches during the fasting period.

Raxit said similar restrictions were in place for government cadres, who risk losing pensions and other benefits. Private companies are offering lunches to Uyghur Muslims, and any who refuse to eat could lose their annual bonus, or even their job, he added.

According to the Beijing-based Uyghur Online website, the government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) has announced a ban on any religious activities during the Muslim holy month.

The restrictions were being imposed “to preserve social stability,” the website reported.

An employee who answered the phone at a local government neighborhood committee office in the regional capital Urumqi, which saw deadly ethnic rioting in July 2009, confirmed the restrictions.

“Fasting during Ramadan is a traditional ethnic custom, and they are allowed to do that,” she said. “But they aren’t allowed to hold any religious activities during Ramadan.”

And she added: “Party members are not allowed to fast for Ramadan, and neither are civil servants.”

Mosque guidelines

An employee who answered the phone at a mosque in Urumqi said people from out of town are banned from attending mosques in Urumqi for prayers during August.

Left: The Id Kah mosque in Xinjiang, China

Everyone attending prayers has to register with their national identity card, he added.

“They have to register,” he said. “[After prayers] they aren’t allowed to [congregate and] talk to each other.”

Foreigners have been barred from entering mosques in the region, mosque officials said.

A Uyghur resident of Beijing said students under 18 are forbidden from fasting during Ramadan.

And an employee who answered the phone at a Muslim restaurant in Urumqi said it would remain open all month.

Kashgar prefecture Communist Party chief Cheng Zhenshan vowed to fight “separatists,” “religious extremists,” and “terrorists” with “iron fists,” following the weekend violence in the Silk Road city that left at least 14 people dead and 40 others injured.

The attacks in Kashgar and those in the nearby city of Hotan two weeks ago in which 20 people were killed are the bloodiest violence in a year in Xinjiang, where Muslim Uyghurs chafe under Chinese rule.

Deadly riots in Xinjiang’s regional capital of Urumqi left at least 200 dead in July 2009 following clashes between Han Chinese and Uyghurs.

Chinese commentators say the slew of recent attacks in Xinjiang show that Beijing’s policy on ethnic minorities has gone badly wrong.

http://en.harakahdaily.net/index.php/berita-utama/world/3329-china-bans-ramadan-continues-clampdown-on-uyghur-muslims.html

Got questions about Islam? Call now

Houston Chronicle

NEW JERSEY, Aug 19: Like many American Muslims, Asim Khan is tired of the prejudice against his religion.

A billboard advertises a hotline that encourages people to call in and ask Muslims questions about Islam.

The president of the New Jersey chapter of the Islamic Circle of North America welcomes the curiosity. But he wishes those with questions about Islam would ask him or other Muslims before jumping to conclusions.

"Rather than absorb knowledge from Fox News, we invite people to come hear it from the horse's mouth. We invite them to ask us what our faith is about," Khan said. "There is a lot of curiosity about Islam but also misinformation, uncertainty and a sense of fear in approaching us."

As the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, asking a Muslim about Islam is now as simple as making a phone call. Two new 48-foot billboards along the New Jersey Turnpike direct drivers with questions about Islam to dial 877-949-4752 — a 24/7 toll-free hotline sponsored by the Islamic Circle of North America.

The New Jersey billboards are among more than 50 going up on highways across the country. The ads - which began appearing on the Aug. 1 start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan - encourage anyone with questions about Islam to speak to those who experience the faith firsthand.

One of the New Jersey billboards features a U.S. flag and a message: "Islam? Get the Facts -877-Why-Islam." The other reads: "Ramadan - 1.57 Billion Celebrating. Find Out Why."

Callers may find themselves on the line with Nahela Morales, a Union City, N.J., resident and one of eight volunteers answering the phone. Morales, 35, was born in Mexico City, grew up in California and moved to New York two months before 9/11. On that day, she began asking questions about Islam and searching for answers online.

"My curiosity started with 9/11. I couldn't believe that a religion that's called 'peace' could kill so many people," Morales said, referring to one of the meanings of the word 'Islam.' "I wish I had known about WhyIslam then."

Morales, who grew up Catholic, started befriending Muslim women on Myspace and turned her questions to them. She got answers and converted to Islam five years later.

Now Morales is the one taking questions, often from Spanish-speaking callers.

"Today I got a call from a woman asking what Shariah is," she said, referring to Islamic law. "She was very curious, and told me, 'I want to understand.' I told her that Shariah is a code of conduct. We have rules. Like, if you see a sign that says 30 miles per hour, you stick to it."

WhyIslam was founded in 1999. Calls to the hotline skyrocketed after 9/11 and later dropped to an average of 400 a month. One of the initiative's founders, Tariq Amanullah of Metuchen, N.J., was killed during the 9/11 attacks while working at the World Trade Center.

WhyIslam has launched similar advertising campaigns in the past with ads on subways, buses, radio and TV. The turnpike billboards are the first such initiative in New Jersey.

Every ad campaign has led to a huge volume of calls, Khan said. "We're not here to convert people," Khan said. "We're here to educate people."

http://en.harakahdaily.net/index.php/berita-utama/world/3362-got-questions-about-islam-call-now.html

Millions paid by government for BBC documentaries about Malaysia

Ian Burrell and Martin Hickman / The Independent

August 18, 2011

The BBC has launched an investigation into how it broadcast to millions of people around the world programmes made by a company that had received millions of pounds in payments from the government of Malaysia.

It has suspended all programming from the London-based production company, FBC, which since 2009 has made at least four BBC documentaries dealing with Malaysia and controversial issues such as the country's contentious palm oil industry and its treatment of rainforests and indigenous people.

In a statement, the BBC said: "FBC has now admitted to the BBC that it has worked for the Malaysian government. That information was not disclosed to the BBC as we believe it should have been when the BBC contracted programming from FBC. Given this, the BBC has decided to transmit no more programming from FBC while it reviews its relationship with the company."

An investigation by The Independent has established that entries in the Malaysian government's Supplementary Budget 2010 show that FBC Media (UK) was allocated 28.35m Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) – nearly £6m – for work on a "Global Strategic Communications Campaign" ordered by the Malaysian government in 2009. A similar sum (MYR29.34m) was designated to the company the previous year. Concerns over the arrangements have been raised in the Malaysian parliament.

Documents filed with the United States government's House of Representatives in 2008 (right) show that FBC Media (UK) contracted the Washington-based American lobbying company APCO Worldwide, which it paid more than US$80,000 (£50,000) in 2008 for the purpose of "raising awareness of the importance of policies in Malaysia that are pro-business and pro-investment as well as [showing] the significance of reform and anti-terrorism efforts in that country".

The BBC's guidelines on conflict of interest state: "Independent producers should not have inappropriate outside interests which could undermine the integrity and impartiality of the programmes and content they produce for the BBC."

Having obtained this information on the Malaysian payments, the BBC is conducting an investigation into whether any of the FBC material it broadcast was in breach of BBC guidelines on impartiality. At the same time, CNBC, a business channel owned by the giant American NBC network, has withdrawn "indefinitely" its weekly show World Business, which was made by FBC and featured Malaysia on many occasions. In a statement issued to The Independent, the broadcaster said: "In light of serious questions raised two weeks ago, CNBC withdrew the programme World Business indefinitely and immediately initiated an examination of FBC and its business practices. CNBC has made a formal inquiry to FBC for its explanation in relation to the allegations that have been made."

FBC denies any impropriety in its programmes for any broadcaster and said via its lawyers that "at no time have the television programmes made for the BBC ever been influenced or affected by our client's commercial activities". Its lawyers said that FBC ran both production and commercial divisions, which "are and always have been quite separate and distinct". They added: "Our client, having reviewed its procedures, is now taking steps to ensure that even the merest appearance of bias or overlap is fully avoided."

Last night, media regulator Ofcom said: "Ofcom is currently assessing this matter in accordance with our published procedures. We will shortly decide whether to launch a full investigation of the content in question under the broadcasting code."

The BBC and palm oil

With its lush vegetation and smiling workforce dressed in polo shirts, the footage from the Tuan Mee palm oil estate, to the north of Kuala Lumpur, gave no obvious reason for BBC viewers to think they were being shown anything more than an exotic travelogue and an intriguing business story.

But the coverage of the workings of one of Malaysia's most important industries, shown on BBC World News's Third Eye series this summer under the title "The Power of Asia", formed part of a much bigger picture.

The programme was made for the BBC by a London-based company called FBC Media, which has been hired by Malaysia to conduct a Global Strategic Communications Campaign, and has paid American lobbyists to raise "awareness of the importance of policies in Malaysia that are pro-business and pro-investment".

In the Third Eye programme, one of several productions made on Malaysia for the BBC in the last three years, viewers were told of the key role of the Malaysian palm oil industry in meeting the growing demand for food in countries such as China and India. "Once an efficient production centre for rubber, Malaysia over the years has increasingly turned to oil palm," said the voiceover. "The country is now one of the world's biggest exporters, producing 40 per cent of global supply, and is reaping the economic benefits of higher demand from Asia."

Azman Abdul Majid, of the Tuan Mee estate, was happy to tell his positive story. "The market now is so high that plantation in palm oil is a very good business in terms of profit, in terms of our benefit," he said. The BBC show also featured Kuala Lumpur Kepong, another Malaysian palm oil business, and other Malaysian business figures.

Najib Razak is interviewed by FBC Group's chairman and founder Alan Friedman

The programme dealt with the growing food crisis in Asia and the economic instability and social unrest that may result. It highlighted failures in harvesting rice in China and contrasted that with the successful Malaysian palm oil industry. "There are now more than 200,000 smallholders depending on the sale of palm oil," the programme stated.

It noted that "stocks in Asia's food companies from Mumbai to Kuala Lumpur are now hotly traded", but stressed the need to expand to meet the vast food demand. Indian companies were anxious to invest in Malaysian palm oil plantations "but land prices are now too high".

Only a brief reference was made to the reasons why the palm oil industry is the subject of fierce debate. Environmental groups complain that its spread has caused devastating levels of deforestation which harm biodiversity, threaten the livelihoods of indigenous people and put at risk the survival of the orang-utan.

The programme took the view that production needed to be stepped up fast: "Asia is now experiencing rising demand and rising prices for grains and oils but production is lagging, as is investment and increases in yield." It concluded with a sense of urgency: "Asia is going to have to grow its way out of trouble – and the clock is ticking."

It was not the first time that BBC viewers had shown programming on Malaysia produced by FBC. In February 2011, BBC World News broadcast on its One Square Mile programme a piece from Sarawak in which presenter Rian Maelzer, who describes himself as the "South East Asia Correspondent" for FBC's CNBC programme World Business, explored the lifestyle of the tribal Iban people and took a boat ride to visit a traditional longhouse.

"Tourism not only brings in money, it also encourages youngsters to keep alive skills that might otherwise have died out," he reported. "For the past 40 years, the Malaysian government has practised an affirmative-action policy aimed at raising the living standards of indigenous groups." The attractive portrayal of Sarawak, and the fight to preserve traditional culture, is at odds with the area's reputation among environmentalists, who have highlighted the battle of indigenous people in Sarawak to preserve the rainforest against logging and the development of palm oil plantations.

Similar subjects were examined in FBC's Develop or Die documentary for the BBC in March 2009. The programme opened with a cartoon that drew comparisons between colonialists who asked "Are the natives friendly?", and modern-day environmentalists who ask "Are the natives eco-friendly?" It examined the benefits of the Malaysian palm oil industry and its value to the economy, quoting smallholders whose lives have been transformed for the better by palm oil production. While it quoted environmentalists, it reported that "the major players in the industry resent the sweeping nature of environmental campaigns". The programme concluded by pointing out the pressure on nations such as Malaysia to develop. "Now that their economies are more likely to fuel global growth in the next few years, they are more than ever questioning why they should be punished by Western-imposed standards." As part of its Develop or Die series, BBC World News also screened an FBC co-production, "World Debate: Islam and Democracy in 2009", featuring Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak sitting alongside the host on the panel.

FBC's 'blue-chip service'

FBC is a media company with offices in London, Mumbai and Rome. It told The Independent that the programmes it has made "have always been fair, balanced and impartial". It also said that it was no longer working for Malaysia.

When The Independent first questioned the company about its business at the end of last month, it denied that it had ever done work for Malaysia. Confronted with evidence of contractual arrangements listed in Malaysian public records, the company's lawyers said they had made an "error", having "failed to spot an amendment made by our client to a draft letter that we had prepared".

It stated: "It is no secret that FBC received funds and performed consultancy work and media-buying for the Malaysian government in the past." Of its hiring of American lobbyists to promote Malaysia, it said: "The object of that work involved showing the economy of Malaysia to be attractive to investors and committed to battling terrorism."

After FBC was contacted by The Independent, most of its website was replaced with a single page, giving only the most basic of information. In its online promotional material for potential clients – now removed from the internet – FBC boasted: "We control blue-chip television editorial time-slots" and can "guarantee controlled messaging from A to Z on the world's leading news channels". Telling would-be customers that "FBC is not a traditional PR firm", it stated that it "can guarantee that your message is endorsed by prestige third-party ambassadors".

FBC also talked of its "broadcast news feeds" and informed clients that "by facilitating independent editorial coverage, broadcast news feeds can raise awareness amongst a highly targeted audience". In another statement on its former website, it said: "FBC specialises in the planning and execution of strategic communications and branding campaigns, helping raise awareness across the international media landscape". It then promised "an elite audience via" and listed a series of prestigious media brands including BBC World (now BBC World News), CNN, CNBC Europe and a number of print publications including The Economist, the Financial Times, Business Week, the Wall Street Journal and the International Herald Tribune.

FBC says that its company is split into two distinct divisions, one for television production and the other for branding. It says its references to "time-slots" were "to paid advertising commercial spots and paid advertorial programming that is clearly labelled as such".

The founder and chairman of the FBC Group, which is the 100 per cent owner of both FBC Branded Content and FBC Media (UK), is Alan Friedman, an award-winning journalist and former banking correspondent at the Financial Times. Friedman was credited as the "executive producer" of three of the FBC programmes featuring Malaysia made for the BBC.

Before the BBC broadcasts, it is understood that FBC, which has made 20 programmes for the BBC, signed the BBC's standard producer guidelines which guarantee to "not accept money or other services or benefits from any individual, company or organisation with a view to endorsing or promoting such services and/or products in the series or series publicity or which could lead to doubts about the subjectivity or impartiality of the series".

In a statement to The Independent, the BBC said: "All independent TV companies who produce programmes for BBC World News have to sign strict agreements to ensure programmes meet the BBC's editorial guidelines, including avoiding any conflict of interest."

BBC World News attracts 78 million viewers a week, is available in more than 200 countries and reaches around 300 million households and more than 1.8 million hotel rooms. The channel's content, which includes advertising, is also available on 57 cruise ships, 42 airlines, 35 mobile phone networks and a number of major online platforms including bbc.com/news.

The American-owned business channel CNBC has also begun an examination of "FBC and its business practices" and "withdrawn indefinitely" the programme the company produces, World Business. In the past two years, FBC has made at least 10 programmes for CNBC's World Business featuring Mr Razak. In other editions, the previous prime minister, Abdullah Badawi, appeared as well as senior figures from Iskandar Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines and palm oil company Sime Darby.

In March this year, the channel showed Deforestation in Sarawak, which was syndicated to other broadcasters, including US state broadcaster PBS. The programme featured Sarawak leader Taib Mahmud talking positively about the condition of the state's rainforests and highlighted the area's attraction to tourists.

Eckart Sager, the president of FBC, is a former producer with CNN who, since joining FBC, has personally conducted interviews with Mr Razak, and separately his wife Rosmah Mansor, for CNBC's World Business. Friedman, who is an American and lives in Rome, has also personally interviewed Razak. FBC is also linked to another award-winning journalist, John Defterios, the host of CNN show Marketplace Middle East, since 2007.

Defterios, the former group president of FBC Media, last month conducted an exclusive interview for CNN with Mr Razak during his official visit to London. During the interview, Defterios questioned the Prime Minister on recent mass street protests by democracy campaigners in Malaysia. "Some would say you had 1,600 arrests of some 20,000 protesters. Are you satisfied with the security response to that particular round of protests, yourself?" he asked. Razak responded: "It was quite mild, you know, because although they were taken in, they were released after eight hours and they were treated very well. There was no undue use of force."

CNN issued a statement to say it had "never had an editorial relationship with FBC" and that FBC Media had not been involved in setting up interviews. "FBC has released a public statement that John Defterios resigned from the company," it said.

"While we appreciate that John Defterios's relationship with FBC during his tenure with CNN could present the appearance of an editorial conflict, we have been reviewing the situation and have found no indication that CNN's editorial standards were – or are in any way – compromised by that prior relationship."

The movers and shakers at the TV company

Alan Friedman, chairman and founder of FBC Group: The award-winning journalist, who studied at Johns Hopkins University, New York University and the London School of Economics, describes himself as a "media entrepreneur". He has worked for the Financial Times, the International Herald Tribune and the Wall Street Journal. In FBC material he is described as "one of Europe's most respected economic and political commentators". He is the author of books on the Italian industrialist Gianni Agnelli, and on America's arming of Iraq. Friedman was the executive producer of many of FBC's programmes for the BBC and has conducted some of FBC's interviews, including with Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Eckart Sager, president and head of production for FBC: German-born and educated in the US, Sager is a former senior producer for CNN, based in London. He previously worked for CNN in New York, travelling the world profiling leading business figures. He is the executive producer of many of FBC's documentaries and also "provides key strategic communications advice and support on behalf of FBC clients". Sager has also personally interviewed Mr Razak for FBC.

John Defterios, former group president of FBC Media from 2000-2011: Since 2007, he has been the presenter of CNN International's Marketplace Middle East programme and is a journalist with 25 years' experience. He is a CNN news anchor and former Reuters bureau chief. In July this year he conducted an exclusive interview with Mr Razak for CNN during the Malaysian Prime Minister's visit to London, CNN said the interview did not involve FBC. Defterios resigned from FBC in March, the company has told CNN.

The money trail

• Malaysian budget records show that MYR28.35m (nearly £6m) was allocated to FBC Media (UK) for a "Global Strategic Communications Campaign" in 2009. A similar allocation was made in 2008. FBC Media (UK) is a subsidiary of FBC Group Ltd
• Documents filed with the United States House of Representatives show that FBC Media (UK) hired the Washington lobbyists APCO Worldwide in 2008 for the purpose of "raising awareness of the importance of policies in Malaysia that are pro-business and pro-investment as well as the significance of reform and anti-terrorism efforts in that country"

The palm oil industry's history of misleading claims

The Malaysian palm oil industry has a history of offending the authorities by making false claims on BBC World.

Three years ago, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) criticised a campaign from the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) for carrying "misleading" claims about its impact on the environment. The advertising from the MPOC, which was not made by FBC, appeared on BBC World in 2007 and showed a palm oil plantation interspersed with shots of a rainforest and wildlife. In a voiceover, it asserted that "its trees give life and help our planet to breathe, and give home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna. Malaysia palm oil: a gift from nature, a gift for life." The MPOC also claimed that palm oil had been "sustainably produced" since 1917.

A second advert showed a man running through a forest, cut with shots of a palm oil plantation and wildlife. The voiceover said of the palm oil industry: "Its trees give life and help our planet breathe. Its fruit provides vitamins for our bodies and energy for our daily lives." But the ASA upheld a complaint from Friends of the Earth International and Friends of the Earth Europe that the advert was misleading on the grounds that much palm oil was produced in a way that was not socially or environmentally sustainable. The advert was made before the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil completed a verification system for sustainable palm oil.

The ASA ruled that the advert "was likely to mislead viewers as to the environmental benefits of palm oil plantations compared with native rainforest". It also said viewers were misled "because there was not a consensus that there was a net benefit to the environment from Malaysia's palm oil plantations".

In July this year, another campaign from the MPOC was banned by the advertising watchdog in Belgium for once again claiming that the production of palm oil is "sustainable". The Jury d'Ethique Publicitaire ruled that production had impacts on the environment and the campaign was in breach of its environmental advertising code.

This report was published August 17 in UK daily The Independent.

http://en.harakahdaily.net/index.php/berita-utama/3357-millions-paid-by-malaysian-government-for-bbc-documentaries-about-malaysia.html

BBC drops film-maker over bribery expose in Malaysia

BBC

LONDON, Aug 18: The BBC is investigating how it aired programmes made by a company that allegedly received millions of pounds in payments from Malaysia's government.

The BBC has suspended all programming by UK-based production company FBC, which has made documentaries on controversial issues in Malaysia.

The BBC said it has strict agreements with independent producers "including avoiding any conflict of interest".

FBC has denied any wrongdoing in its programme-making for any broadcaster.

FBC told the UK newspaper The Independent via its lawyers that "at no time have the television programmes made for the BBC ever been influenced or affected by our client's commercial activities".
'Strict agreements'

FBC has made several documentaries for the BBC about Malaysia since 2009, examining controversial issues such as the palm oil industry and its treatment of indigenous people.

The most recent programme was aired on BBC World News this summer.

A BBC spokesman said: "FBC has admitted to the BBC that it has worked for the Malaysian government. That information was not disclosed to the BBC as we believe it should have been when the BBC contracted programming from FBC.

"Given this, the BBC has decided to transmit no more programming from FBC while it reviews its relationship with the company."

"All independent TV companies who produce programmes for BBC World News have to sign strict agreements to ensure programmes meet the BBC's editorial guidelines, including avoiding any conflict of interest."

US broadcaster CNBC has suspended its weekly show World Business, which was made by FBC, and says it has asked the company to explain the allegations against it.

Related:

Millions paid by government for BBC documentaries about Malaysia

CNBC drops programme amid bribe revelation involving BN leaders

http://en.harakahdaily.net/index.php/berita-utama/3356-bbc-drops-film-maker-over-bribery-expose-in-malaysia.html

Defence ministry's multi-billion deal involving Sapura questioned

Harakahdaily

Aug 19: Parti Keadilan Rakyat today questioned a deal between the Defence ministry and private telecomunication firm Sapura Secured Technologies worth billions of ringgit to improve the armed forces' NCO programme, saying a similar system was already in place.

PKR communication director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the NCO programme, meant to integrate applications, control systems as well as weaponry would cost RM2 billion in the course of several years.

“We understand that ATM already has a similar system in place developed a few years back. Furthermore, the project had drawn flak from the entire ATM officers themselves, and their concern has been ignored by those who instructed the project to be continued," he stated.

Adding to the worry is the fact that the contract was being negotiated directly with Sapura, said Nik Nazmi, who added that Sapura did not possess the technical expertise to implement the project.

“Their ability to fulfill this project should rightly be questioned,” he said.

He said until a full inquiry is established to determine the need for a new system, any such negotiation with Sapura should be stopped.

“If the NCO programme is proven as a necessity for ATM, the Defence Ministry must choose the most qualified party to implement the project through open tender,” said Nik Nazmi.

Sapura Secured Technologies, an amalgamation of six Sapura subsidiaries which includes Sapura Defence, Sapura Research, Sapura-LTAT Communications Technologies, Sapura Transmission, Sapura Advanced Systems and Sapura Thales Electronics, is headed by Rodzlan Akib Abu Bakar.

In 2007, the company denied that it was in discussion to supply 3,000 surveillance cameras to the government in a contract said to be worth RM1 billion.

http://en.harakahdaily.net/index.php/berita-utama/3364-defence-ministrys-multi-billion-deal-involving-sapura-questioned.html

PR vows to end rice and sugar monopoly

Posted by admin on August 19th, 2011

Pakatan Rakyat has promised to end national rice company Bernas’s control over the industry as part of its budget plans in a bid to stimulate yields and create competitive prices to improve income for farmers.“Pakatan will end Bernas’ monopoly and its position as the sole rice importer will be reviewed and import licence will be opened to create competition,” PKR leader Tian Chua told reporters here.

Bernas, under the control of tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, had a commercial chokehold on the country’s staple food.

This, according to Tian, who sits in Pakatan’s budget committee, allowed the company to manipulate prices.

This meant that paddy farmers had to sell yields according to Bernas’ fancy and being the sole importer, import rice prices could also be manipulated to increase the company’s profit margin.

Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, PAS’ representative in the committee, said that rice was among the basic food items with controlled prices.

“So it is obvious that only local rice will be subject to price control and not imported rice,” he said, adding that this would mean Bernas as the sole importer of rice had absolute pricing power.

Tian also said that Pakatan would seek to overhaul the subsidy structure for rice farmers.

As the subsidy for rice went straight to Bernas, PKR chief strategist Rafizi Ramli said this begged the question as to how much of the aid actually landed in the farmers’ hands.

“We will ensure that the subsidy will go directly to the recipients,” he added.

Pakatan would also stretch the anti-monopoly policy to the sugar industry.

Malaysia imports almost all of its raw sugar requirement through four companies via import quotas set by the government based on their past sales.

The four include Gula Padang Terap Sdn Bhd and Central Sugar Refinery Sdn Bhd – both owned by Tradewinds, Malayan Sugar Manufacturing Company (MSM) and Kilang Gula Felda Perlis Sdn Bhd.

A record budget deficit in 20 years forced Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s administration to cut sugar subsidy by 25 sen in retail price per kg to RM1.90 causing inflation to rise and voters fuming.

Sugar importers denied allegations that they had chalked up profits from the subsidy cut.

They said that rising global sugar prices kept revenues relatively low, insisting that Malaysians still enjoyed among the lowest prices.

http://www.kl-today.com/2011/08/pr-vows-to-end-rice-and-sugar-monopoly/

Mirzan dikait beli Esso Malaysia murah?

Posted by admin on August 19th, 2011

Kerajaan Malaysia perlu menyiasat pengambil alihan aset hiliran Esso Malaysia oleh San Miguel Corp dari Filipina baru-baru ini jika mereka benar-benar serius mahu memupuk budaya urus tadbir korporat yang tegas dalam negara ini.Ketua Umum PKR, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim membuat gesaan itu susulan pengambil alihan aset hiliran Esso Malaysia pada harga USD610 million yang jauh lebih rendah daripada nilai pasarannya.

Beliau juga menggesa agar Suruhanjaya Sekuriti dan kumpulan pemerhati pemegang saham minoriti meneliti urusniaga itu untuk memastikan kepentingan pemegang saham minoriti tidak diabaikan.

Menurut Anwar, San Miguel Corp sebelum ini mempunyai Mirzan Mahathir (gambar), anak mantan Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr Mahathir sebagai salah seorang pengarahnya selepas Mirzan memperolehi 19.9 peratus saham dalam konglomerat itu pada harga RM2.9.

Walaupun Mirzan kini bukan lagi pengarah dalam syarikat itu, beliau kekal sebagai Pengarah Petron Corporation, syarikat bersekutu San Miguel Corp yang memiliki rangkaian loji penapis dan pengedar petrol di Filipina.

“Oleh itu, persoalan akan timbul samada pengambilalihan aset hiliran Esso itu berlaku pada harga yang sebegitu rendah bagi pihak Mirzan?

“Ini menjadi lebih penting kerana abangnya, Mokhzani Mahathir memperolehi sekian banyak manfaat daripada sektor huluan industri gas dan minyak melalui Kenchana Petroleum; terutamanya apabila bapa mereka merupakan penasihat Petronas,” kata Anwar.

Katanya lagi, sektor korporat Malaysia perlu bebas dari amalan urusniaga ‘bawah meja’ yang dibudayakan BN DAN menjejaskan kepentingan orang ramai.

Penguasaan Mirzan dalam sektor korporat tanahair dengan bantuan kerajaan Umno BN bukan satu perkara baru.

Beliau juga adalah Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Kumpulan Kencana Petroleum yang memperolehi subsidi daripada kerajaan Umno sebagai pembekal tenaga bebas (IPP) dalam negara.

http://www.kl-today.com/2011/08/mirzan-ada-kaitan-beli-esso-malaysia-murah/

Pitfalls in the zakat system

Posted by admin on August 19th, 2011

The distribution of zakat (tithe) has come under fresh scrutiny following the Selangor Islamic Religious Authority’s (JAIS) raid on Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) two weeks ago.Following the raid, mainstream Malay dailies such as Berita Harian and Harian Metro had carried reports alleging that Christian organisations were secretly trying to convert impoverished Muslims by offering welfare aid.

The zakat distribution system’s pitfalls have drawn criticism from prominent cleric Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin for its immense red tape. Even Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had “sounded” the institutions managing zakat distribution to be more proactive in identifying the needy to prevent them from seeking assistance from “others”.

FMT spoke to several experts who agree that there are many pitfalls to the system which does not readily and efficiently assist needy Muslims, thus allowing them to be susceptible to the persuasion of other religious groups.

Ustaz Ahmad Awang who was the president of the Malaysian Ulama Association (PUM) for 17 years (1982-1999), agreed that there were many pitfalls in the welfare distribution system.

The former civil servant, who was one of the the directors in Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim or Islamic Development Department of Malaysia) since its creation in 1974 until 1991, said these pitfalls were not new as they have faced these issues for about 20 years.

Although not directly involved in the zakat distribution process, through his experience, many people have approached him and complained about the inconsistencies of the system.

“There is a lot of bureaucratic red tape. The states oversee the collection and distribution of zakat. Within the institutions, there are many divisions involved. If you are seeking aid, first you would have to find the right division, then fill up the application form, then be interviewed, and then wait for the officers to visit you and check if you qualify.

“In some cases, it takes the officers up to two months before they come to investigate. And even when someone makes it past the red tape, welfare is not provided consistently as it may be stopped after one or two months.”

When asked why, he said that the institutions were not sincere in helping the needy as they did their jobs “bagaikan melepaskan batuk di tangga” (doing something half-heartedly). Comparatively other religious NGOs were ever-ready and consistent in providing aid.

“When I was giving a speech in Masjid Jamek many years ago, a woman stood up and said that for eight years, a church has been assisting her in bringing up her child who was then seven years old,” he said.

He said that there was cause for concern over the possibility of proselytisation of the Muslim aid receivers.

“I once had a fresh graduate who wanted to start a business; the church had readily offered him the fund. So he sought my advice if he could accept the aid. I told him that he could but he had to think about the consequences.

“Because if you accept aid from a party, then after a few years you may feel obliged and finally you may convert…,” he said, adding that the student finally declined to take the offer.

He said that the organisations were also inefficient when it came to aid distribution.

“They are effective when it comes to collecting zakat… in some cases up to RM100 million, but when it comes to distribution, they are incompetent.”

“One-eighth of the allocation should be going to people who are in debt, but when you look at the reports, very few are given the aid,” he said. “This has to be changed by officers seeking out the needy groups in order to disperse aid.”

International Islamic University (UIA) professor Dr Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman from the Faculty of Economics and Management Science, said that the amount allocated for the poor was not sufficient and the urban poor are more susceptible to conversion due to the “pressures of living in big towns”.

“Years of my research have shown that the rural poor are generally more pious and they are reluctant to ask for aid because they think there are others more deserving of help.

“On the other hand, the urban poor, because of the pressures of city living, are also generally less pious but are more vulnerable…,” he said, adding that it was difficult for to make ends meet with an aid of around RM200.

Abdul Rahim, who has been researching the zakat system for the past 20 years, said that officers need to be proactive in seeking out the needy instead of waiting for them to approach them.

Director of the Centre for Islamic Developement Management Studies, Professor Muhammad Syukri Salleh, said that the system may not be perfect but caution must be exercised in linking the pitfalls of the zakat system with proselytisation.

“You must remember: you need data and research to back up the claim that there has been proselytisation among Muslims as a result of the pitfalls in the zakat system. That kind of research I don’t think anyone has conducted,” he said. “Without proper research, one must be cautious when making statements about proselytisation.”

Free Malaysia Today

http://www.kl-today.com/2011/08/pitfalls-in-the-zakat-system/

Pakatan desak bajet RM15.86 bilion JPM dicantas

Pakatan desak bajet RM15.86 bilion JPM dicantas

S Pathmawathy
Ogos 19, 11
5:05pm

Peruntukan dana bagi Jabatan Perdana Menteri (JPM) telah meningkat dengan ketara sejak tahun 2008 - dan Pakatan Rakyat berhasrat mengurangkan jumlah itu agar dana negara dapat diketepikan untuk "keutamaan negara yang lebih mendesak".

Sehubungan itu, Pakatan pada sidang media hari ini menuntut Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak menjelaskan peningkatan mendadak bajet JPM sepanjang tempoh tiga tahun yang lalu.

"Sepanjang tempoh Rancangan Malaysia ke-8 (2001-2005), belanjawan pembangunan untuk JPM ialah RM7.2 bilion, atau 4.3 peratus daripada jumlah keseluruhan peruntukan bagi tempoh tersebut.

"Bajet pembangunan jabatan itu menyaksikan peningkatan empat kali ganda dalam Rancangan Malaysia ke-9, menjadikannya RM29.6 bilion, ataupun 13.5 peratus daripada jumlah peruntukan Rancangan Malaysia ke-9," kata ahli parlimen DAP bagi kerusi Bukit Bendera Liew Chin Tong (di atas) hari ini.

Bagi Liew, bajet JPM bagi tahun 2009 dianggapnya sebagai "keji", kerana ia adalah dua kali ganda daripada bajet RM7.1 bilion bagi tahun sebelumnya berbanding RM14 bilion.

Tidak sihat

Bagi tahun 2010, JPM telah diperuntukkan RM12.1 bilion, rendah sedikit daripada jumlah bagi tahun 2009.

Bagi tahun 2011, pula JPM telah diperuntukkan RM15.86 bilion - RM10.78 bilion untuk pembangunan dan RM5.76 bilion untuk operasi.

Menurut Liew apa yang dilakukan selama ini oleh kerajaan BN adalah tidak sihat kerana peruntukan bajet hanya ditentukan oleh Najib sahaja.

“Bila Perdana Menteri kata dia akan bagi sejumlah wang tertentu, ia bermaksud beliau tidak boleh dipersoalkan. Ini adalah tidak sihat untuk ekonomi Malaysia,” katanya dalam sidang media Bajet Alternatif Pakatan Rakyat 'Kesejahteraan Untuk Semua' di Kuala Lumpur hari ini.

Liew yang juga Setiausaha Antarabangsa DAP memberi contoh, pada tahun ini dan tahun lalu Kementerian Pelajaran telah diarah untuk mengurangkan perbelanjaan mereka.

“Ini member kesan besar kepada pelajar di sesetengah asrama yang tidak dapat menyediakan makanan pada hari Sabtu dan Ahad.

“Ini juga membawa kesan kepada rakyat dan oleh itu kita mahu Jabatan Perdana Menteri menjelaskan bagaimana mereka menggunakan wang rakyat,” katanya.

Beliau yakin jika rakyat memberi mandat kepada Pakatan, peruntukan dan perbelanjaaan secara membazir serta pengurangan bajet yang tidak adil akan dihentikan secepat mungkin.

Beliau menambah bajet adalah tanggungjawab rakyat kepada rakyat jelata, dan bukannya untuk kepentingan mana-mana pihak tertentu.

[Baca berita penuh]

http://malaysiakini.com/news/173554

Gaji minimum jadi keutamaan bajet Pakatan

Gaji minimum jadi keutamaan bajet Pakatan

S Pathmawathy
Ogos 19, 11
2:27pm

Gaji minimum adalah antara isu yang akan diberikan keutamaan pada bajet alternatif oleh Pakatan Rakyat yang dijangka dikemukakan sebelum bajet negara 2012 dibentangkan pada Oktober ini.

Pada sidang akhbar selepas mesyuarat ketiga jawatankuasa kerja gabungan itu, ahli parlimen PAS bagi Kuala Selangor Dzulkefly Ahmad berkata mereka sedang membincangkan angka yang sesuai untuk ditetapkan sebagai gaji minumum.

"Kita perlu dengan segera menangani isu gaji minimun; ini mesej penting bahawa gaji minimum mesti berdasarkan produktiviti,” katanya.

Katanya, inisiatif Pakatan tidak sama dengan tindakan kerajaan persekutuan yang cuba menangani jurang perbezaan pendapatan dengan menubuhkan Majlis Rundingan Gaji Minimum bagi mengkaji struktur upah.

Menurut Dzulkefly majlis yang diluluskan kerajaan baru-baru ini tidak masuk akal kerana ia adalah langkah terkebelakang yang hanya melewatkan pelaksanaan gaji minimum dalam erti kata yang sebenar.

“Apabila kita bercakap tentang gaji minimum, apa yang kita mahukan adalah termasuk produktiviti,” katanya.

Beliau berkata lambakan pekerja dari luar negara yang kebanyakannya mempunyai kemahiran yang rendah menyebabkan kualiti kerja di Malaysia turut rendah mutunya.

Menurutnya, jika masalah ini tidak ditangani segera, langkah kerajaan untuk mengkaji gaji minimum tidak memberi apa-apa kesan positif kepada pekerja Malaysia.

[Baca berita penuh]

http://malaysiakini.com/news/173523

Hisham: Lebih 2 juta pendatang sudah mendaftar

Hisham: Lebih 2 juta pendatang sudah mendaftar

Ogos 18, 11 11:08pm

Seramai 2,040,709 orang pekerja sah dan pendatang asing tanpa izin (PATI) sudah mendaftar untuk Program 6P setakat 8 pagi semalam, kata Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

Beliau berkata daripada jumlah itu, pekerja sah adalah seramai 936,732 orang manakala PATI berjumlah 1,103,977 orang.

Menurutnya angka itu di luar jangkaan kerajaan terutamanya ketika tempoh pendaftaran berikutan jumlah yang tinggi dalam masa singkat.

"Ini satu jumlah luar dugaan kita dalam konteks pendaftaran, kerana selepas ini ada lagi proses pemutihan, pengampunan, pemantauan dan penguatkuasaan perlu dilaksanakan.

"Oleh itu, dalam masa beberapa hari ini, saya merayu sangat kepada mereka yang belum mendaftar supaya tampil untuk mendaftarkan diri dengan segera," katanya kepada pemberita di majlis berbuka puasa Kementerian Dalam Negeri di Kuala Lumpur, malam semalam.

Beliau juga menafikan mereka akan dihantar pulang ke negara masing-masing selepas mendaftarkan diri dan menyifatkannya sebagai dakwaan bagi menggagalkan program 6P itu.

"Ada yang menuduh bahawa peralatan biometrik itu bermasalah...ia hanyalah tuduhan semata-mata kerana jika ada masalah besar, sudah pasti pendaftaran tidak mencecah 2 juta orang," katanya.

Hishammuddin berkata jumlah PATI terbesar ialah dari Indonesia iaitu seramai 551,268 orang diikuti Bangladesh seramai 241,538 orang manakala pekerja sah juga didahului oleh Indonesia dengan 361,431 orang dan Bangladesh 116,960 orang.

"Ini bermakna kerjasama yang kita wujudkan dengan kerajaan Bangladesh dan Kedutaan Indonesia merupakan satu perancangan awal yang sudah pun berjaya kerana jumlah yang ramai mendaftar dari kedua-dua negara ini.

"Saya mengucapkan terima kasih sangat kepada kedua-dua wakil negara-negara ini dan kerjasama ini akan kita teruskan," katanya.

Hishammuddin berkata proses itu perlu dilakukan kerana kerajaan sendiri tidak mengetahui jumlah sebenar pendatang asing yang berada di negara ini.

"Sebenarnya, daripada awal lagi kita membuat keputusan berani untuk meneruskan program ini kerana kita tidak tahu berapa ramai pekerja asing di negara kita.

"Jumlah 2 juta ini adalah mereka yang berdaftar secara sukarela dan belum lagi memasuki proses pemutihan dan penguatkuasaan dan jumlah ini tidak mustahil untuk menjadi lebih besar," katanya.

Pada majlis malam itu, Hishammuddin turut menyampaikan sumbangan berbentuk hamper dan wang tunai kepada anak-anak yatim dari sekitar Lembah Kelang.

Beliau turut meraikan ulang tahun kelahirannya yang ke-50 bersama-sama anggota Umno Bahagian Semberong.

- Bernama

http://malaysiakini.com/news/173466

Bekas pegawai kanan polis sahkan pertalian Tajudin

Bekas pegawai kanan polis sahkan pertalian Tajudin

Hafiz Yatim
Ogos 19, 11
11:16am

Sebarang penyelesaian dengan Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli atau arahan kepada syarikat berkaitan kerajaan (GLC) untuk menarik balik saman undang-undang ke atas bekas pengerusi Penerbangan Malaysia (MAS) itu perlu dikaji semula.

Menurut bekas Ketua Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Kuala Lumpur Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim, tindakan itu perlu bagi menjamin bahawa kepentingan awam terpelihara bukannya mengambil-kira kepentingan Tajudin atau individu yang mempunyai perhubungan rapat dengan ahli politik tertentu.

"Saya berpendapat ada 'tangan ghaib dan pemain lama' terbabit dalam skandal Penerbangan Malaysia dan yang sekali lagi terlibat pula dalam 'penggabungan' MAS dan AirAsia, baru-baru ini.

"Pelantikan Wan Azmi Wan Hamzah sebagai pengarah MAS selepas menghilangkan diri dari dunia korporat sejak tahun 1998 menguatkan lagi spekulasi bahawa Wan Azmi dikatakan terlibat memegang RM150 juta bagi pihak (bekas menteri kewangan) Daim Zainuddin (kanan).

"Tidak salah bagi rakyat mengesyaki sesuatu yang tidak kena atau bimbang bahawa apa yang telah berlaku dengan Tajudin boleh berulang lagi dengan tindakan terbaru ini. Rakyat berhak mengetahui secara terperinci terma dan syarat-syarat perjanjian (MAS-AirAsia) ini, " kata Mat Zain dalam satu kenyataan kepada Malaysiakini.

[Baca berita penuh]

http://malaysiakini.com/news/173487