Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Putrajaya investigating claim that teachers bound, hit Orang Asli child

Putrajaya investigating claim that teachers bound, hit Orang Asli child


This picture, taken from the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns' (COAC) Facebook page, shows the girl (3rd left) who was reportedly bound and beaten up by three teachers in Kelantan. This picture, taken from the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns' (COAC) Facebook page, shows the girl (3rd left) who was reportedly bound and beaten up by three teachers in Kelantan.KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 — The Education Ministry today ordered a probe into a claim that an Orang Asli child was tied up and beaten by three teachers in Kelantan for allegedly stealing money earlier this month.
Deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan said he has instructed his ministry’s officers to investigate the case and send in an interim report as soon as possible.
“Was informed about this case and this is indeed a serious allegation if there’s truth in it,” he told Malay Mail Online in a text message.
“The ministry has very stringent policies when it comes to meting out disciplinary action against the students and it saddens me if a child has been abused (as) such especially by teachers,” he added.
Kamalanathan, however, did not say what action the ministry will take as they need to wait for the findings of investigations by both the police and the ministry.
The case came to light earlier today after the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC) put up a lengthy post on its Facebook page claiming that three teachers of SK Kuala Betis allegedly hit and kicked a Standard Four student whom they had tied up, purportedly for stealing money on June 15.
The child’s grandmother lodged a police report on the matter on June 27, but was allegedly told a day later by one of the teachers implicated to withdraw the report or risk facing “a tough time the whole year ahead” as he had police connections.
Calls made to the school for clarification from the headmaster went unanswered.
Meanwhile, Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS) coordinator Koong Hui Yein today confirmed that police have opened an investigation paper on the incident, and have visited the school on the morning of June 28 along with the child who pointed out the places where the alleged assault took place.
Koong said she was informed of the police’s visit to the school by the child’s grandmother during a call on the night of June 28.
“We are getting more information on the issue and will be updating the Facebook page as soon as possible,” she said, referring to COAC’s Facebook page. 
Malaysia Boleh - Now we have vigilante teachers meting out justice like in the Wild West (judge, jury, executioner) just gets better day by day! Teachers of all people are society's pillars BUT turns out to be SCUM of society! Police also can be influenced to act against complainant by perpetuators of crime! wow TEACHERS & POLICE together - a BONUS!!!   

Sunday, June 28, 2015

'We Palestinian Christians say Allahu Akbar'

'We Palestinian Christians say Allahu Akbar'


Nadezhda Kevorkova is a war correspondent who has covered the events of the Arab Spring, military and religious conflicts around the world, and the anti-globalization movement.
Published time: January 30, 2015 15:16
Photo by Nadezhda Kevorkova

The only Palestinian Orthodox Christian bishop in the Holy Land speaking about the suffering of Palestinian Christians, their unity with Muslims in the Palestinian struggle, about Orthodox Christian martyrs, and Ukraine.
Archbishop Sebastia Theodosios (Atallah Hanna), 49, is the only Orthodox Christian archbishop from Palestine stationed in Jerusalem and the Holy Land, while all other bishops of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem are Greeks. The Israeli authorities had detained him several times, or stopped him at the border, and taken away his passport. Among all Jerusalem clergymen he is the only one who has no privilege of passing through the VIP gate in the airport – because of his nationality. “For the Israeli authorities, I am not a bishop, but rather a Palestinian,” explains his Beatitude. When talking on the phone he says a lot of words you would normally hear from a Muslim: “Alhamdulillah, Insha’Allah, Masha’Allah”. He speaks Arabic, and the Arabic for ‘god’ is Allah, whether you are a Christian or a Muslim.

Your Beatitude, what’s it like being the Palestinian bishop in the Holy Land?

Firstly, I’d like to confirm that I am the only Palestinian bishop in the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. A fellow bishop is serving in the city of Irbid in the north of Jordan; and there are also several Palestinian priests.


I take pride in belonging to this great religious institution that’s over 2,000 years old.

My church has been protecting the Christian presence in the Holy Land and the sacred items related to the life of Christ and Christian Church history.
I am proud of my religion and nationality, I am proud to belong to my fatherland. I am a Palestinian, and I belong to this religious people who are fighting for the sake of their freedom and dignity to implement their dreams and national rights.
I support Palestinians and share their cause and their issues. We the Palestinian Orthodox Christians are not detached from their hardships.
The Palestinian issue is a problem that concerns all of us, Christians and Muslims alike. It’s a problem of every free intellectual individual aspiring for justice and freedom in this world.
We the Palestinian Christians suffer along with the rest of Palestinians from occupation and hardships of our economic situation. Muslims and Christians suffer equally, as there is no difference in suffering for any of us. We are all living in the same complicated circumstances, and overcoming the same difficulties.
As a church and as individuals we protect this people, and we hope a day will come when Palestinians get their freedom and dignity.
A Christian pilgrim holds a cross as he dips in the water after a ceremony at the baptismal site known as Qasr el-Yahud on the banks of the Jordan River near the West Bank city of Jericho January 18, 2015. (Reuters/Mohamad Torokman)
A Christian pilgrim holds a cross as he dips in the water after a ceremony at the baptismal site known as Qasr el-Yahud on the banks of the Jordan River near the West Bank city of Jericho January 18, 2015. (Reuters/Mohamad Torokman)

For those coming to visit the Holy Land there are few opportunities to see how hard the Palestinians’ situation is. What would you like to say to those wishing to understand better the Palestinian problem?
The Israel authorities treat the Palestinian people in a way we can never accept or approve, first and foremost because Israel treats Palestinians as foreigners, as if we were strangers in our land.
Palestinians have never been strangers either to Jerusalem or to the entire homeland. Israel is an occupation force which treats us as visitors or some temporary residents. But we are the native people of this land. We didn’t come here, we have always been here. In contrast, Israel appeared out of the blue.
They are treating us as if we came here from elsewhere, as if we accidentally and recently strayed into this land. But we are the rightful owners of this land. We didn’t intrude into Israel. Israel intruded into our lives in 1948, and in 1967 it occupied Eastern Jerusalem. We have been here long before Israel. By the time Israel came here, our forefathers had been living here for many centuries.
This is why we cannot accept Israel treating us like strangers to our own homeland. I shall be honest and say it over again: both Christians and Muslims suffer the same from the Israeli authorities.
Is visiting Jerusalem as difficult to a Christian Palestinian from the West Bank as for a Muslim?
They don’t ask if a person arriving from Beit Jala or Ramallah to Jerusalem is a Christian or a Muslim. They only ask one question, “Do you have a permit to enter Jerusalem or not?”
The pass allowing a Palestinian to enter Jerusalem is issued by Israel. No one can come through without one. In pursuing its racist policy towards the Palestinian people Israel disregards different confessions. We are all targeted just the same. It all depends on getting a pass, whether you’re a Christian or a Muslim.
We all are their targets.
On top of that, Israel took control of a lot of property of the Orthodox Christian Church and is interfering with the internal affairs of the Church. They put pressure on the Palestinian Christians in all sorts of ways trying to force them to leave.
There is only one cause of suffering for both Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land.
The recent attack on the French satirical magazine triggered a wave of anti-Muslim marches in Europe. Netanyahu walked in the front row of such a march. What it your attitude to what happened?
We denounce the attacks in Paris which were committed by the people allegedly representing a particular religion.
But they do not represent any religion – they are murderers.
This attack was committed by the people, who claimed to have faith, but they definitely don’t represent Islam and cannot act on behalf of Islam, they only do harm and hurt the image of Islam through what they do.
At the same time, we denounce just as much terrorist operations in Syria and Iraq as we denounce the terrorist attacks in Paris.
Those who committed the terror attack in Paris and elsewhere, belong to the same groups that are engaged in terrorism in Syria and Iraq and attack sacred places, desecrate churches and kidnap religious leaders.
They attack women and children in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.
We were witnesses of the terror act in Lebanon’s Tripoli just days ago which killed dozens of innocent people who were at a café.
We condemn the terror attacks in Paris and we equally condemn any such attacks in any part of the world. We strongly oppose the idea of connecting these attacks to Islam.
We are currently preparing for an international conference that religious figures – Christian, Muslim and Judaist – from many countries will take part in to assert that we, the representatives of the three monotheistic religions, are against terror, fanaticism and violence used under religious slogans. The conference might take place in Amman, Jordan.
To a Western mind, Allahu Akbar sounds like a threat. What do Christians of the Holy Land think about them?
We Christians also say Allahu Akbar. This is an expression of our understanding that the Creator is great. We don’t want this phrase to be related to terrorism and crimes.
We refuse to associate these words with massacres and murders.
We speak against using this phrase in this context. Those who do, they insult our religion and our religious values.
Those using these words while taking some unreligious, unspiritual, uncivilized actions are harming the religion.
Allahu Akbar is an expression of our faith.
One must not use these words for non-religion-related purposes in order to justify violence and terror.
Christian priests hold a Christmas Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem December 25, 2014. (Reuters/Ammar Awad)
Christian priests hold a Christmas Midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem December 25, 2014. (Reuters/Ammar Awad)


Do people say Allahu Akbar in church?
Of course.
For us, Allah is not an Islamic term. This is a word used in Arabic to indicate the Creator who’s made the world we are living in. So when we say Allah in our prayers we mean the Creator of this world.
In our prayers and pleas, in our Orthodox Christian religious ceremonies we use exactly this word. We say, glory be to Allah in all times. We say Allah a lot during our liturgy. It’s erroneous to think that the word Allah is only used by Muslims.
We the Arab Christians say Allah in our Arabic language as a way to identify and address the Creator in our prayers.
Is this all about Christ? Was he the one to provoke a religious split in the Holy Land? Christians and Muslims recognize that Jesus Christ had been born, and they are awaiting his second coming, and the judgment day. Jews deny this however, and await their Messiah.
We Christians believe that Jesus has already come. We have recently celebrated Christmas as a reminder that Jesus came into this world, that he was born in Bethlehem, and began his road here in the Holy Land for the sake of all mankind, and for the salvation of the world.
So as far as we are concerned, Jesus has already come.
Jews believe that he hasn’t come yet, and await his coming. This is the main disagreement between Jews and us. We believe that Jesus has already come, whereas they don’t.
Despite this fact, we are not at war with Jews. We do not express aggression against Jews or anyone else in the world, despite any differences in our beliefs.
We pray for those who disagree with us.
When Jesus came into this world he didn’t tell us to hate, ignore, or be at war with one or the other; he didn’t tell us to kill this one or that one. He gave us one very simple instruction: to love one another. When Jesus told us to love one another this love wasn’t conditioned by what a person was like, or what he was doing. If we are indeed true Christians it is our debt to love all people, and to treat them with positivity, and with love.
When we see someone who’s sinful, lost, and distant from Allah and from faith, someone who acts wrongly, then it is our duty to pray for him although he might be different from us and our religion. When we have religious disagreements with people we pray that Allah would guide them the right way. Hatred, anger, and accusations of having a wrong faith are not a part of our ethics as Christians. This is the key disagreement and difference between the Jewish religion and ours. The Jewish religion that had existed before Christ is the religion of people who were awaiting Jesus’ coming. Many Jews followed him, yet there were those who didn’t believe in him, and rejected him.
We know that Jesus was persecuted, and so were the early Christians. For instance, Herod the King killed thousands of babies in Bethlehem thinking that Jesus would be among them. The book of the Acts of the Apostles, as well as sacred tradition, talk about numerous instances of persecution of early Christians.
Despite that, we see each person who disagrees with us on religion as our brother, our fellow human. Allah created all of us, he gave us life, therefore it is our duty to love each person, and to pray for those who are mistaken or are misunderstanding, so that Allah would guide them the right way.
Is that why Christians and Muslims are persecuted?
We don’t divide the Palestinian people based on who is Christian and who is Muslim, who is religious and who isn’t, who is left or what party they are a member of. We don’t divide the people based on convictions and religion.
For the resistance it doesn’t matter whether they are Muslim or Christian.
Regardless of what their political views may be, all Palestinians actively support the idea that the Palestinian people should be able to exercise their rights and achieve their dream.
Yes, a number Christians have been killed since 1948 to this day. Some Christians have been driven away from their houses. Some Christian villages have been completely destroyed, and now there’s not a single house or resident there, for example, Al Galil in the Golan Heights.
Many churches have been attacked in Jerusalem; there have been attempts to seize their property and lands.
There are Christians in Israeli prisons – not as many as Muslims, but there are some. The Christian community is smaller in general, but we have our own martyrs who were killed and prisoners who spent years and years behind bars.
Christians suffer under the Israeli occupation just the same as Muslims – the entire Palestinian population suffers under it. They don’t distinguish between us.
Are there any special aspects when it comes to Christians living in the Holy Land?
Here’s one of the many examples, connected to the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Holy Trinity Cathedral located in the western part of Jerusalem belonged to the Russian Orthodox Church, but after 1948 Israel used the situation in Russia to its advantage and seized some of the buildings around the Cathedral, using them as police quarters and a prison with torture practices.
When someone says “moskobiya”, referring to something connected to the Moscow Patriarchate, something holy and spiritual, the first thing that comes to the mind of a Palestinian living in Jerusalem is torture, police, interrogation and prison.
In Nazareth, for example, the word “moskobiya” is associated exclusively with the old Russian school where the Palestinian cultural elite, scientists and politicians studied. Although it was closed after the 1917 Revolution in Russia, its fame lives on.
So it’s only for the Palestinians in Jerusalem.
What do Palestinian Christians, I mean Orthodox Christians first of all, think of the Ukraine crisis?
Overall, we are deeply concerned with the divide in Ukraine. We still believe all Ukrainian Christians must stay within the fold of the Mother Church that is the Moscow Patriarchate.
I wish the Ukraine crisis would resolve through dialogue so that we see reconciliation and an end to violence and bloodshed.
Christians do not need wars, killings and massacres. This political crisis must be resolved in a peaceful way. The Church must work hard to ensure that the divisions are bridged and overcome.
The Orthodox Church in Ukraine is strong because most of the people preach Orthodox Christianity.
Divisions must be healed. We really hope that the efforts by the Moscow Patriarchate and the Patriarchate of Constantinople will help to re-unite the Ukrainian Church.
I believe the split can be reversed and those who broke away could come back. But in order for that to happen we need humility, belief and strong will.
We pray for the Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

Malays and Muslims in Malaysia- TAKE NOTE!!!
 
 

Xavier a scapegoat for 1MDB???

Xavier’s wife and baby that NST cropped out

 | June 28, 2015
Sarawak Report shows a different side to Xavier Justo from the black picture in NST account
xavier-justo2xavier-justo
KUALA LUMPUR: Photographs of PetroSaudi executive Xavier Justo’s family life
published by the Sarawak Report blog show a different picture of the man from the
black account carried by the Umno-controlled New Straits Times on Thursday.
The newspaper had published what it called an exclusive report, since widely
criticised, of the Swiss national blamed for leaking company correspondence and
emails about PetroSaudi International. The company was once a joint venture
partner of 1Malaysia Development Bhd which was later dissolved.
The front-page report ran with a photograph of a bare-chested and tattoed Xavier
Justo. What the New Straits Times failed to reveal, it appears, was Justo’s wife
and baby boy, who were both in the photograph. It had apparently taken from
Justo’s Facebook account.
Sarawak Report, however, published the full family photo, in a report under the
headline “It’s all lies about Xavier”, and asked in a caption: Why did
NST “selectively edit” out Xavier’s wife and family from this picture?”
The report said Mrs Justo and their nine-month-old son had left for a family
holiday in Switzerland shortly before Justo was arrested by Thai police based on
a complaint by PetroSaudi, in what Sarawak Report said was an orchestrated
attempt to defame him.Sarawak Report also published a photograph of a beach
property which the couple hadbought, intendeding to run it as a holiday resort.
The NST had described Justo as leading “a hedonistic lifestyle” in Koh Samui
island, the popular Thai holiday destination, which the NST called “an exclusive
tropical island”. The NST also described him as “living the good life” sharing
an eight-bedroom luxury villa with his new, young wife.
It said his social media presence gave a glimpse of “the mansion in paradise,
the swimming pool, the tennis courts and the tattoed poses on Harley-Davidson
motorcycles”.However, Sarawak Report showed him training for the gruelling
Ironman competition(which involves running, swimming and cycling) and
posing with a bicycle. It alsopublished photographs of Justo with his pregnant
wife and holding his young son.It said a “web of lies” had been spun about
Justo in order to mislead Malaysian public opinion.
Are influential people in Malaysia inciting Thai authorities to frame Xavier.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

To resolve Selangor crisis, Khalid says willing to be MB again

To resolve Selangor crisis, Khalid says willing to be MB again

KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 ― Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has offered to resume the post of the Selangor mentri besar to end the current uncertainty over Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) rule in the state.
Khalid, who was sacked from PKR last year in a leadership putsch that cost him the mentri besar post, said, however, that he would only consider making a comeback if he wins a vote of confidence in the state assembly with a simple majority.
“Yes I am willing (to return) to ensure that Selangor is administered with transparency, accountability, competency and is free from corruption,” the Port Klang assemblyman told Malay Mail Online.
Khalid added that he was not interested in petty politics, but wanted to do what he could to ensure that the needs of the people in Selangor are cared for.
The three-party PR coalition currently holds the majority in Selangor with 43 state seats, with DAP and PAS each having 15 seats while PKR holds 13 more.
Barisan Nasional (BN) has 12 seats in Selangor, while Khalid is the state’s sole independent lawmaker.
Although PKR holds the least number of seats among PAS, PKR and DAP, the party’s deputy president Azmin Ali was picked to replace Khalid last September as Selangor mentri besar following a consensus agreement by all three parties.
Apart from the hudud controversy, Khalid’s ouster has also been blamed for the souring of ties between PAS and DAP, which led to the former party’s decision earlier this month to end its working relationship with the latter.
Although yet to be endorsed by PAS’s Syura Council, which is expected to meet this week, the fallout between DAP and PAS has thrown PR’s rule in Selangor into a state of uncertainty.
Without PAS’s numbers, PKR and DAP’s assemblymen only occupy 28 seats or exactly half the 56-seat assembly and short of a demonstrable majority needed to govern the state.
With his position as MB possibly in jeopardy, Azmin has since disagreed with DAP’s claim that PR is dead, insisting instead to stand by his party leadership’s assertion that although PAS and DAP have parted ways, the pact still exists in spirit.
However, the Sultan has the authority to call for a state election should he find that Azmin no longer has the support of the majority in the state assembly.
Aiding Azmin’s position is the fact that PR is ― or was ― an informal pact that exists only in name and is not an official entity in the same manner as BN.
Last week, Khalid alleged that Selangor residents are being made to pay by PR whose political intrigue now puts the state at risk of snap polls.
Khalid said the three parties were disregarding the interests of the state and its residents in the pursuit of their own.
“Excessive political manoeuvring and shenanigans have again taken the priority over the wellbeing and welfare of the Selangor people,” he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.
“Greed, insensitivity and lack of magnanimity all are ingredients for deep distrust, non-cooperation and finally a fallout. Sadly in the end, the rakyat are the biggest losers,” Khalid added.
DAP and PAS, have been at loggerheads for nearly a year now, with the former accusing the Islamist party’s leadership of breaking ranks during last year’s Selangor mentri besar crisis and unilaterally pursuing the implementation of Islamic penal law or hudud in Kelantan.
 

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Malaysia’s biggest embarrassment

Malaysia’s biggest embarrassment

 | June 25, 2015
Who's tarnishing the nation's image? Look no further than Najib
and his regime.

Najib embarassment
The Prime Minister, in his infinite wisdom, recently advised the people
against tarnishing the nation’s image abroad. He said a good perception of
the nation would ultimately be to our benefit.
A most astute observation, Sir. After all, a good reputation means more
tourism dollars and more international awards for the Prime Minister
when he goes on his regular trips abroad to visit heads of state. Malaysia’s
international reputation of late has been quite questionable, and we have
a lot of ground to cover if we are ever going to live up to the “harmonious,
multiracial, moderate Muslim” society that Najib sells at various forums
around the world.
After all, the aurat controversy around Farah Ann Abdul Hadi was given
incredibly wide coverage by the international media, from CNN to Buzzfeed,
and many around the world still have their jaws firmly planted on the floor
over the accusations levelled at the star gymnast. The Texas/Church’s Chicken
fiasco also made it to the international press, with Vice.com jumping at our
 astounding lack of education with the joy of a dog who’s just found a fresh bone.
We could go on about the “moderate-Muslim” marketing versus the rise of
conservatism and fundamentalism in Malaysia, and how it embarrasses the
nation on the international stage. There are plenty of great discussions on that
contradiction, but what really stuck in the craw of many Malaysians was the
audacity in Najib’s advice.
Najib is our nation’s greatest embarrassment to date. An ineffectual leader
who messes up on an alarmingly regular basis and who is nowhere to be
found in times of crisis, Najib is too preoccupied with staying in power to find
the time and space to cater to the needs of the people he swore to serve. If
Malaysia were a democracy worthy of the name, he would have long ago
resigned or been made to resign for his inability to carry out his duties in a
satisfactory manner. And yet he can brazenly tell us to behave so as not to
tarnish the nation’s international image.
There is a growing chunk of the populace that views Najib, his administration,
and his initiatives as nothing short of a national embarrassment, and with that
in mind, Najib’s advice is ill-timed, to say the least. His motive was, as usual,
 suspect. In fact it was a veiled attack on Mahathir Mohamad for the former
PM’s recent interview with the New York Times.
Indeed, neither Najib nor anyone else associated with his regime has any
credibility to call on the Malaysian public to be careful not to embarrass
the nation. We have spent years cringing in embarrassment at being seen
as a nation that is too unconcerned with protecting our democratic rights to
find the courage to oust a regime that regularly tramples on those rights.

Nigeria: Christian lawyer receiving death threats for defending victims of Fulani attacks - Where are the Christian state leaders of the World to voice out for the BLOOD of their brethren!

  Nigeria: Christian lawyer in hiding after receiving death threats for defending victims of Fulani attacks Nigeria: Christian lawyer in hid...