Malaysia in the Spotlight For The Wrong Reasons

Thanks to saboteurs and hate merchants, Malaysia is now in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.

And, negative reports about a country are fodder to the foreign media, with the latest spate of attacks on places of worship in Malaysia attracting international media coverage.

It was not too long ago when the caning of model Kartika Sari Dewi Sukarnor grabbed the international media’s attention, with wide coverage on the issue after she was ordered by the Kuantan Syariah Court to be whipped six times.

She was drinking beer with her husband in a hotel in Cherating in 2007 when she was caught by Islamic enforcement officers. She pleaded guilty a year later. She was fined RM5,000 and sentenced to six strokes of the rotan by the Pahang Syariah High Court on July 20 last year.

There was public outrage over the caning sentence.

And now the controversial use of the word ‘Allah’.

I believe, the desecration of mosques would not have caught that much attention as much as the earlier episode involving the burning of churches following the high court decision granting Catholic magazine, the Herald to use ‘Allah’ in its weekly publication.

In the latest episode on Wednesday, pig heads were thrown into the compounds of two mosques in Petaling Jaya, almost a week after two suraus were torched in Johor.

The mosques are the Al-Imam Tirmizi mosque in Kuala Lumpur and the Masjid Jumhuriyah in a suburb between Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya.

Both are located near Kampung Medan, where a bloody ethnic riot took place in March 2001.

This incident is the latest in a string of desecrations of places of worship across the country over the past three weeks, involving 11 churches, one Sikh temple, one mosque and the two suraus in Johor.

Strangely, the Sikh temple has become the target of attacks, although the issue had created tension between Muslims and Christians.

Are these culprits the same people? Police said they believed that the same people were behind the two incidents, which occurred around 6am.

If they are the same people, what exactly is their motive?

We have no answers but hope that the authorities find ways to bring these trouble makers to book.

Meanwhile, let us all remain calm and remain united amidst the tribulations.

Pig Head Incident – The Work of Cold-Blooded “Pig Heads”

It’s really easy to stir up racial tension, just target the places of worship.

And so, some cold- blooded “pig heads” were playing with fire when they had the nerve and the audacity to launch an assault on two mosques in Petaling Jaya today.

Their bullets – pig heads.

I just can’t imagine these heartless brats who dared to venture into this dirty mission. What do they get in return.

An eye for an eye? Vengeance will only lead to chaos.

Today’s incident was the most serious incident to hit Muslim places of worship following vandalism and other assaults at 11 churches, a Sikh temple, a mosque and two Muslim prayer halls across the country in the past three weeks.

The attacks were following outrage among Muslims over a Dec 31 court verdict that allowed non Muslims to use ‘Allah’ as a translation for ‘God’ in the Malay language.

Nineteen people have so far been arrested for their roles in the attacks.

Police and religious leaders called for calm and said that saboteurs may be attempting to stir up ethnic conflict in Malaysia.

“By looking at the modus operandi of the (pigs’ head) incidents... I think it is the same group that is involved in the previous attacks,” Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan told reporters.

“I think they are throwing money (to those carrying out the attacks) to cause such incidents,” he said, warning those responsible not to “play with fire” and undermine national security.

Let us all remain calm and not retaliate over this incident. Let the police deal with these bad hats.

Meanwhile, let’s pray to Allah for peace and harmony.

Apology Not Enough, Ruthless Aduka Deserves Punishment

By now, everyone knows Aduka Taruna, who shot to instant ‘fame’ for his libelous remarks towards the late Sultan of Johor, Almutawakkil Al-Allah Sultan Iskandar ibni Almarhum Sultan Ismail in his blog.

So far he has apologized and removed the post. But don’t you think this uncivilized blogger deserves some kind of punishment, like making him do community service?

Haven’t we had enough of crude Malaysians like Wee Meng Chee, formerly an undergraduate student at a Taiwan university, who gained popularity after releasing a controversial song fused with Malaysia’s national anthem, Negaraku in 2007?

People like Aduka and Wee probably have the same wavelength – the only difference is Wee is perhaps more “creative” by composing a rap version of the national anthem.

As an unknown blogger, Aduka had earned mileage by insulting the late Sultan with his remarks on his site. Or maybe he thought no one would have read his blog… only to be shared among his friends!

And mind that ‘bazaar’ language used on his blog ‘hubungi gua’ (contact me) and ‘calling2 gua (call me)!

This latest incident should also be a reminder for those on Facebook. Don’t go overboard. Stay away from sensitive issues.

Remember Mohamad Tasyrif Tajudin, an Arts Culture and Heritage Academy (Aswara) student who thought it was funny when he said: "ke nak aku baling bom petrol di sana plak?...harga boleh runding…” (or you want me to throw petrol bomb there? Price is negotiable) on Facebook.

He was charged under Section 233 (1) (a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 with knowingly using the application with the intention of threatening others.

Bravo to Our BTV Gals On Convoy To Gaza!

Bravo ladies, you have made us all proud!

Malaysians probably have seen them reading news on the atrocities during the Gaza assault, which saw civilians killed, and buildings, schools, mosques and hospitals deliberately targeted.

The two newscasters from Bernama TV, Masrenny Masri and Azmawati Azmi, along with two other BTV colleagues, Kuzaimah Idris and Juana Jaafar Manap, took the bold step by joining the Viva Palestina international humanitarian aid convoy to Gaza recently.

Kuzaimah, a former crime reporter at Bernama’s General News Desk, and now attached to BTV, proved to be versatile when she reported both for the wire service as well as for television, on their Gaza experience.

So you think you can say anything on Facebook?

Last week’s case of a student who posted threatening words on Facebook drives home a point that there are rules that you should follow when posting comments on the internet.

Rules are rules and there are some things that you can’t joke around.

While the 25 year old student was fooling around when he said: “ke nak aku baling bom petrol di sana plak?...harga boleh runding…” (or you want me to throw petrol bomb there? Price is negotiable) on the social networking site, his joke is not funny under Section 233 (1) (a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

Mohamad Tasyrif Tajudin, an Arts Culture and Heritage Academy (Aswara) student was charged in the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court last Friday with knowingly using the application with the intention of threatening others.

Tasyrif’s case came in the wake of the controversial use of ‘Allah’ by the Catholic weekly magazine, The Herald, which aroused the anger of Muslims.

Several cases of arson at churches in the country were reported arising from the High Court decision on Dec 31 last year that the Herald had the constitutional right to use the word in respect of instruction and education of the congregation in the Christian religion.

Last Friday’s case serves as a reminder for those who have been using this social networking site by openly giving comments on such sensitive issues.

The ‘Allah’ issue is a sensitive one, and let us not get so emotional over this.

Some non-Muslims chose to worsen the situation with racial overtones in their remarks on Facebook as they failed to understand the reasons for Muslims’ outrage over the use of ‘Allah’ in the Church magazine.

And for our media friends, please respect the use of ‘Allah’. One newspaper recently spelt ‘allah’ (with small letter 'a') throughout in one story in its recent publication. Allah is the Almighty and the only one.

The first letter is a BIG A.

Use of ‘Allah’ By Herald – Controversy Best Resolved Out of Court

Take it from the wise man himself --our dear Tun --the row over the use of ‘Allah’ by The Herald, a weekly Catholic Church magazine, which has aroused the anger of Muslims, could have been resolved out of court.

In his blog, Che Det, Dr Mahathir Mohamad says the controversy started when he was still Prime Minister. The Cabinet then decided that the use of ‘Allah’ in the Bible was a sensitive issue.

Sensitive issues such as the recent controversy, cannot be solved by referring the case to the law, he says.

Laws, he points out, do not consider the sensitivity of an issue, whether it can cause tension or conflict among people of different faiths.

The correct translation for ‘God’ should be ‘Tuhan’, and not ‘Allah’, says Dr Mahathir. (Go to www.chedet.com)

There you have it!. Herald should have consulted Dr Mahathir for the right translation and not drag the issue to the High Court.

Meanwhile, the High Court today allowed a stay of an earlier order to allow the use of "Allah" by Herald, following consent by the Home Ministry and Roman Catholic Archbishop of Malaysia on the grounds of national interest.

Bernama report below:

Court Allows Stay Of Earlier Order On Use Of 'Allah'

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 6 (Bernama) -- The High Court on Wednesday allowed a stay of an earlier order to allow the use of "Allah" by Catholic weekly, Herald, following consent by the Home Ministry and Roman Catholic Archbishop of Malaysia on the grounds of national interest.

Justice Datuk Lau Bee Lan, who had issued the earlier order on Dec 31 last year, made the ruling in chambers after meeting Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail and counsel Derek J. Fernandez for Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam for 30 minutes.

Fernandez told reporters that Lau agreed to record the stay by consent.

Abdul Gani was grateful that there was agreement for a stay.

"As far as I am concerned, it involves national interest, there is no necessity to get involved in an argument for a stay," he said.

"I am very grateful to my learned friend who has agreed for a stay and we will try to have this matter be heard as soon as possible in the Court of Appeal. I believe it can be very, very soon," said the attorney-general.

-- BERNAMA

(Go to www.bernama.com)

High Court Allows Stay of Order on Use of 'Allah' by Herald

F L A S H

High Court allows stay of order on use of "Allah" by Catholic weekly, Herald, after consensus by parties involved on the ground of national interest.
-- BERNAMA

NO to the Use of ‘Allah’ By The Herald

La illaha illa Allah- There is only one God and that is Allah.

Today, I joined thousands of supporters of a group page on social networking site Facebook in protest against a court ruling allowing a Catholic magazine to use the word ‘Allah’ in its publication.

The Facebook page, named in Malay as “Protesting the use of the name of Allah by non-Muslims" (Menentang Penggunaan Nama Allah oleh Golongan Bukan Islam) expects to draw one million supporters.

The Catholic Church, which publishes a Malay version of its newspaper, The Herald, says that it uses the word ‘Allah” for "the Christian God to meet the needs of its Malay speaking worshippers in Sabah and Sarawak.

The word ‘Allah’ is widely used among the indigenous Christian groups, most of whom speak Bahasa Malaysia.

The ruling by the Kuala Lumpur High Court followed a ban imposed by the government on the weekly Herald in January last year over the use of the word ‘Allah’ by Christians.

According to Reuters, more than 43,000 Malaysians protested online over the court ruling. And the page was drawing 1,500 new supporters an hour yesterday after the court ruling.

The Home Ministry yesterday said it had filed an appeal against the court ruling to avert misunderstanding and confusion among the people.

Meanwhile, the Home Ministry today filed an application to stay the execution of the High Court ruling that the word ‘Allah’ can be used by Herald.

Hearing is tomorrow.

With Blogs, Who Needs The Diary?

In the good old days, the diary was a platform to pen one’s thoughts over events affecting the owner. It was more of personal storytelling.

As internet access became commonly available, more people adopted it as another medium in which to chronicle their lives with the added dimension of an audience.

Today, the humble diary is fast losing its usefulness with the emergence of online diaries, or almost exclusively called blogs, though some differentiate by calling them personal blogs.

The running updates of online diarists combined with links inspired the term 'web log' which was eventually contracted to form the word blog.

In online diaries, people write their day-to-day experiences, social commentary, complaints, poems, prose, illicit thoughts and any content that might be found in a traditional paper diary or journal. They often allow readers to contribute through comments.

With the start of the new year, communication executives are on their rounds to media houses to distribute their “goodies” – diaries and calendars as a token of appreciation for the media support to their companies during the year that just ended.

Some have distributed them towards the end of last year – either at press nights or hand delivered to the respective media. Some choose to give the goodies early this month by dropping by at the respective media’s offices.

A courtesy call around end December and first week of January is not such a good idea as some of the key editors and reporters are on leave. Many are expected to be back in the second week. Hopefully, they come back in top form and not start work with a MC!

So back to the diary, companies used to hand out (large size) management diaries to editors. The trend has changed to regular and more compact sizes, which are not atypical diary. It is more of a notebook with ample space for writing.

I guess, companies have probably conducted a consumer survey on the use of diaries among their clients or journalists, for that matter. To ensure these diaries reach the right person, many companies made it a point to print the recipient’s name on the diary. Bank Rakyat and Ambank are two examples, with the latter producing similar red coloured notebook each year.

But how many do you need?

Well, let’s see. I place the Bank Rakyat management diary on my table to keep track of my appointments, and use the Ambank notebook for my regular meetings. One or two are kept for separate meetings, while the rest are distributed to my staff and close friends.

All my diaries are for official use. Nothing personal. I have not written any affairs of the heart inside the diary, lest someone may read all my secrets! I treat this blog ‘Getaran Jiwa’ my personal diary but some things are not meant to be shared with everyone.

Let your secrets remain with you.

High Blood Pressure – What A Start To A New Year!

The year 2009 did not end well for me, health-wise, that is. I didn’t get a clean bill of health as I was told by the doctor that I had high blood pressure (HBP).

I had expected it as I have been having stiff neck for the few days ending December and the pain kept me awake at night.

I blamed it on the stress at the office when work had to be completed before the year ended. The month of December was unusually busy – unlike previous years when many people would be away on vacation on some exotic island.

Going through staff appraisals, PTK examination papers, staff travel claims, preparing/conducting lectures for journalism courses in Bernama, briefing visitors to Bernama, preparing the KPI for my section, etc, etc. Whew!!!

There was a host of other things at work that I had to attend to which added to the stress, and you know what, due to the stress, I couldn’t remember exactly what else that I did during the horrible month of December!

It was because of all this stress that I had been having sleepless nights.And you can imagine when you can't sleep -whatever that is stored in your brain will flashback!

Back to my HBP, the good doctor asked me to have enough rest, and guess what, she gave me panadol to ease the pain. Anyway, I had to believe her that panadol is not a pain killer. It just relieves the pain.

What a day to start the year with a follow up visit to the doctor. The good news is my BP has reduced to a lower level, but “come and check your BP in the next few days,” says the doctor.

Well, so far I have not gone to the clinic as I was feeling much better after having enough rest after the three-day break.

For those with HPB, please don’t take it very lightly. Don’t be like me, I went to the doctor on the third day. High blood pressure is a serious condition that can lead to coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure and other health problems.

About 1 in 3 adults in the US has HBP. HBP itself usually has no symptoms. You can have it for years without knowing it. During this time, though, it can damage the heart, blood vessels, kidneys and other parts of your body.

My advice is go for regular check-ups.