Putrajaya’s silence on calls to defend Islam from “threats and insults” is worrying, say Christians

The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) is concerned over Putrajaya's inaction in cooling rising temperatures on the Allah issue, ahead of the case which will be heard at the Court of Appeal tomorrow.

Its chairman Rev Dr Eu Hong Seng said there had been calls by various groups to defend Islam from being insulted and threatened.

"The call for 'action' by some Muslims is incendiary and alarming to ordinary Malaysians.

"Worst of all, there appears to be no action or statement from any government authority calling for calm or even ordering a stop to such actions, which is clearly stoking anger," Dr Eu said in a statement.

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In Malaysia, more students getting HIV, many through sex

Young Malaysians between the ages of 20 and 39 formed the largest segment of those infected with HIV over a five-year period.

That is pretty much general knowledge, but the most alarming piece of statistic is the dramatic jump in the number of students contracting HIV.

The total number of new cases of Malaysians infected with HIV and AIDS had held steady over the five years since 2008.

The number of cases in 2008 was 4,633, while in 2012, the figure was 4,799.

The number of deaths from HIV and AIDS over the period, however, declined from 1,050 in 2008 to 702 in 2012.

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Tengku Adnan draws fire from Hindus for suggesting only their temples cause problems

At the centre of the storm, the temple which Tengku Adnan has downgraded to a 'shrine' in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. September 9, 2013.

Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor stepped into a minefield when he "downgraded" a century-old Hindu temple into a shrine and then pointedly asked why the authorities "always had problems with temples and not churches, mosques or Chinese temples".

The attitude of the Federal Territories minister to a sacred Hindu spot hit a raw nerve among other politicians and the head of the Malaysia Hindu Sangam, who responded strongly today.

They questioned if Tengku Adnan knew enough about Hinduism to make comments on what is a shrine or a temple and on the Sri Muneswarar Kaliyaman Temple, in particular.

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Motorists might pay with lives for fuel price hike, says DAP MP

There may be a deadly cost to raising pump prices for RON95 petrol and diesel without serious effort to upgrade the country’s public transport system, a DAP lawmaker warned Putrajaya today.

Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong highlighted how a previous increase had triggered road users to opt for more fuel-efficient modes of transportation to mitigate the price hike, but with deadly and unintended consequences.

“Research has shown that motorcycle fatalities shot up as a result of the March 2006 and June 2008 fuel hikes as the lower income group switched transport modes from cars to motorcycles,” Liew said in a press statement today.

“A new human disaster of more motorcycle fatalities is imminent, following the latest petrol price increase.”

Liew noted that even from Malaysia’s already high risk of road fatalities, two-wheelers faced several magnitudes more danger.

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