Your silence is deafening, DAP tells Muhyiddin

The Education Minister’s silence and inaction in the SK Seri Pristana issue is sending out the wrong message to educators in schools nationwide.

DAP's national vice-chairman M. Kula Segaran said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s indifference to the plight of whistleblower Guneswari Kelly, who had to transfer her daughter to a vernacular school, has angered the public.

Guneswari, a parent of a pupil at the school, had exposed how non-Muslim pupils at the school were made to have their recess in a shower room during the Ramadan month after she posted a photo on Facebook.

Her nine-year-old daughter had suffered after that when she became the target of abuse by teachers of the school.

Two days ago, Guneswari told The Malaysian Insider that she will transfer her daughter to a vernacular school in Subang as a result of the bullying. The mother had also been the target of threats.

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SIS warns Jakim against claiming to be voice of God

Malaysia’s religious authorities risk the sin of “shirik” (idolatry) after seemingly speaking for God in judging an online video deemed offensive to Islam, Muslim women’s group Sisters in Islam (SIS) warned yesterday.

On Friday, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) adjudged a video made by dog trainer Maznah Mohd Yusof, which shows her walking and bathing her dogs, to be an insult to Islam and resulted in the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) pursuing investigations against her.

“What differentiates Jakim’s opinion from that of the lay person is that Jakim’s views are backed up by enforcement powers of the state,” SIS programme manager Suri Kempe told The Malay Mail Online via email yesterday.

“Anybody who questions and challenges the injustice of these views and actions is accused of being against Islam and God,” she said. “This is tantamount to claiming to be the embodiment of God, and Jakim should be very careful as it could be a form of shirik.”

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Racial policies enforced Malaysia’s brain drain, admit BN leaders

Senior Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders admitted today that race-based policies had contributed to Malaysia’s brain drain problem, which the country needs to plug if it is to join the ranks of high-income nations by 2020.

They were responding to former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s remarks in his new book that Malaysia’s acute loss of talent was due to Putrajaya’s insistence on promoting “one race” above all others.

MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said that the rise of “Ketuanan Melayu” or Malay supremacy had previously caused local talents to quit the country.

“I will say in the past the issue of Ketuanan Melayu in fact caused some migration of people from the country but we want to emphasise that Malaysia is a multiracial country and we preserve harmony and unity in this country.

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Seri Pristana whistleblower transfers daughter to vernacular school

The whistleblower parent who exposed how non-Muslim pupils at the SK Seri Pristana had been made to have their recess in a shower room has removed her daughter from the school.

Guneswari Kelly said she is putting her daughter in a vernacular school in Subang, adding she made this decision after her child allegedly was shamed during school assemblies and subjected to constant racial slurs by teachers and schoolmates.

"One of her teachers harassed her by accusing her of bringing shame to the school. She also told my daughter she was not fit to be a pupil of the school," Guneswari told The Malaysian Insider today.

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Muhyiddin must apologise for inferring non-Muslims behind dog bathing video, says Pakatan

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin should apologise for jumping the gun and blaming non-Muslims for being behind a video clip depicting a dog undergoing ablution similar to Muslims before prayers, DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang said today.

"He should apologise for condemning the video without checking the facts," said the Gelang Patah MP in a statement in Kuala Lumpur today.

Muslim dog trainer Maznah Mohd Yusof, 38, had recorded a Raya greeting video three years ago that showed her washing dogs' paws while the call for Azan is heard in the background.

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One parent enough to convert kids, says Islamic Affairs Dept

The state Islamic Affairs Department needs only the consent of one parent who has embraced Islam to convert the children to the faith, state director Datuk Johani Hassan said.

This was clearly spelt out under the laws for those who wished to embrace Islam, he said, adding that such laws were in force in several states.

“The law does not say that we need the consent of both parents before we can convert their children.

“When one parent embraces Islam, the children can be automatically converted,” he said.

The Government, however, had announced in April 2009 that children of an estranged couple should be raised in the religion of the parents at the time when they were still married.

The announcement was made by the then de facto law minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz.

Johani was responding yesterday to a claim by a 29-year-old Hindu mother that her estranged husband had converted their two children, aged five and eight, without her knowledge in April.

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Mufti: Amend Articles in Constitution to exclude Muslims

The Perak Mufti has called for an amendment to be made to the Federal Constitution, which will exclude Islam from provisions that grant mothers equal rights to raise children according to their religious beliefs.

Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria said that Articles 3, 5 and 11 of the Constitution in relation to religion, liberty and freedom must therefore be amended to exclude Muslims.

“The provision (on child’s religion) should be amended or added to exclude Muslims,” Utusan Malaysia quoted him as saying.

The issue of non-Muslims’ dissatisfaction over such an amendment should not arise in view of the existing pre-Independence social contract, he said.

Harussani said that this was following a recent High Court ruling that granted a plea by M. Indira Gandhi to reverse her estranged Muslim convert husband’s unilateral decision to convert their three children, now aged 16, 15 and five.

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Mother in Seri Pristana row claims child threatened

Although the authorities have declared the SRK Seri Pristana fiasco “closed”, it appears the fallout over the incident is not yet over.

The mother who triggered an Internet firestorm by posting images of students eating in the bathroom of the school says she is now being threatened for exposing the matter online.

After lodging a police on the anonymous threats pouring in on social network Facebook, Guneswari Kelly said she was now under concerted attack simply for voicing out her opinion on the school’s decision, which has since been deemed inappropriate by authorities.

“How else am I supposed to express my concerns? Can’t they understand this?” she was quoted as saying by news portal The Malaysian Insider.

The threats allegedly made on Facebook included that of bodily harm and the abduction of her child.

“These people did not identify themselves and I am afraid they would do something to my daughter,” Guneswari said in the report.

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After conversion battle, Indira to fight for reunion with daughter

File photo of Indira (left) with her lawyer Kulasegaran. Indira has not seen her youngest daughter Prasana for more than three years now.


With her children’s conversion nightmare almost over, M. Indira Gandhi will soon file contempt proceedings against her estranged husband, banking her hopes yet again on the country’s justice system to reunite with her youngest daughter.

The kindergarten teacher chalked a major win for herself yesterday when the Ipoh High Court finally quashed the conversion certificates of her three children, declaring it unconstitutional to unilaterally force a minor to embrace a different faith.

Indira’s husband, Muslim convert Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah, had converted the couple’s three children to Islam four years ago without their mother’s knowledge.

“I am extremely happy that we won. It has been a much-awaited verdict,” she told when contacted yesterday.

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Court ruling on conversion a step forward, say lawyers

The High Court's decision that both parents and children have the right to religious freedom is a step forward on how this controversial issue should be dealt with, said constitutional lawyers and an interfaith council.

The court's decision in allowing Indira Gandhi's application to quash the conversion of her three children made it clear that the conversion of a minor to Islam can only be done with the consent of both parents.

Lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar said the court had asserted itself and shown it's a bastion of constitutional rights for all citizens.

"The judge had rightly looked at various constitutional laws to conclude as he did. His decision is good as it grants relief to the mother," he said.

Another lawyer, Edmund Bon, said the decision was encouraging as the judge who presided over the case had applied common sense.

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Najib: Govt will uphold Islam

This includes protecting the use of the word 'Allah', says PM

KUALA SELANGOR: THE government will continue to uphold Islam and protect its sanctity, including protecting the use of the word "Allah" with the mandate given by the people.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said although Barisan Nasional had failed to take over several states under Pakatan rule, including Selangor, the government would do its best for the people and ensure a holistic development would be carried out, as called for in Islam.

"We will provide more education opportunities, including in the Islamic field, more places of worship and better facilities for the people," he said after performing terawih prayers with the people at Masjid Jamiur Ridhuan in Simpang 4, Jeram here last night.

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Controversial sex bloggers arrive at MCMC's KL office

The controversial sex bloggers arrived at the KL office of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to get their statement recorded.

The couple, Malaysian Alvin Tan Jye Yee, 25, and his Singaporean girlfriend, Vivian Lee, 24, arrived at 10.45am without a lawyer after they were summoned by the commission for allegedly insulting Islam and Muslims.

Lee was seen covering her face and Tan appeared disturbed by the presence of media personnel while entering the premises.

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Don't spread rumours about racial riots in Klang - police

The public is warned not to spread rumours about racial riots and fights in the district.
Acting Selangor police chief Datuk A. Thaiveegan today issued a stern warning to those who spread false information about the alleged existence of racial riots and fighting in the area.

He said the rumours spread after an accident and attack on two motorcyclists on Wednesday which resulted in a bloody fight involving two groups at Flat Rebana, Bandar Bukit Raja here on Thursday night.

Following the attack which left seven individuals injured, rumours of revenge motivated racial fights and unrest especially in Meru and Kapar spread like wildfire through SMS and social media.

Thaiveegan said a thorough investigation would be conducted to identify individuals responsible for spreading the rumour and the police has also referred to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for further action.

He said police had picked up five suspects involved in the fight and stationed officers to monitor the area.

In a separate incident, three men were seriously injured after they were attacked by 10 men in an incident at Taman Ismail Sungai Pinang here.


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Bishop calls for Najib to take stand against Perkasa, Jati

Christians have had enough of the bashing from the likes of Perkasa and other Malay rights groups. They expect Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to intervene and “do the right thing” by rejecting such extremism.

This was the stand of the president of the Council of Churches Malaysia, Bishop Philip Lok. He was speaking to The Malaysian Insider in the wake of the demands by Perkasa and Jati that the Vatican’s envoy Archbishop Joseph Marino withdraw his support for the local church’s campaign to use the word Allah and that he must apologise within seven days.

The vocal rights groups have demanded that the government shut down the Vatican’s embassy and banish Marino if he does not apologise.

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Perkasa threatens Umno again

For the second time in a week, Perkasa warned the government that they will lose the support of the Malays and Bumiputera if their demands are not met.

The Malay rights group expressed its anger that the government has fulfilled less than 15 per cent of its demands but had given in to the demands of groups representing other races.

Just last week, Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali warned the government that it risked losing the group's support if it continued to prioritise other races over the Malays.

"The patience of the Malay people also has a limit, do not push it," Ibrahim warned.

Yesterday, it was the turn of the group's general-secretary Syed Hassan Syed Ali, who said: "If the government continues to remain mum on the demands made by Perkasa, the communities whose rights we are championing may decide to shift their support elsewhere.

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In the Christian part of the Malaysian nation, a growing distance from Barisan

New churches, still yes, but only in industrial and remote areas, no longer the type of prime spots the old ones sprouted on.

Wild charges of the "Christianisation" of Muslims.

The ban on the word "Allah" for non-Muslims.

Election fraud. And until it was pulled back yesterday from Parliament, the government’s new Bill to allow one parent alone to convert their young child to Islam, even against the wishes of the other parent.

These are issues which have made the Christian part of the Malaysian nation feel increasingly alienated.

To be sure, this is not a recent phenomenon. Even before the general election in 2008, there was some friction between this group that makes up about 10 per cent of the population and the Barisan Nasional government.

Unresolved questions surrounding conversion to Islam and cases of authorities insisting on Muslim burials for converts whose families were kept in the dark over the change of religion were already festering sores.

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Muhyiddin: Cabinet to withdraw controversial Bill allowing unilateral conversion of child

The Cabinet has decided to withdraw the Administration of the Religion of Islam (Federal Territories) Bill 2013 until the approval of all stakeholders is received, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Muhyiddin said the Cabinet made the decision to withdraw the Bill during its meeting Friday following concerns from various quarters including from within Barisan Nasional.

All consequential amendments from the Bill would also be withdrawn, he said in a statement.

The Bill was tabled for the first reading in Parliament on June 26.

Over in BATU PAHAT, MCA Young Professionals Bureau chief Datuk Chua Tee Yong said the Cabinet's decision not to table the Bill shows that the government respects the rights of all races.

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Pressure on non-Muslim BN leaders to move on conversion bill

Non-Muslim Barisan Nasional leaders – already weak from their pummelling in the recent general election as Umno saved the day for the ruling coalition – now face their biggest test since the polls.

At least two such ministers and one MCA leader have been receiving demands from religion-based groups that they must take a strong stand against a Bill tabled by the government last week to allow one parent alone to convert the religion of a minor, even against the wishes of the other parent.

This Bill is seen by many non-Muslims as the second stinging betrayal by the government after leaders reversed their position that non-Muslims could use the Arabic word, Allah, to describe their god.

At stake is the non-Muslim political leaders’ credibility with an influential constituency, non-Muslim religion-based leaders.

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Nizar wins defamation suit against Utusan

Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin has won his defamation suit against Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd over the WWW1 number plate bought by the Johor Sultan.
High Court judge Justice Rosnaini Saub ordered Utusan to pay RM250, 000 to Nizar in damages and five percent interest from Thursday to its full settlement.

She awarded him costs of RM30,000.

In his statement of claim, Nizar had said that the defendant had implied that Nizar had tried to incite the people to hate the Sultan of Johor.

Nizar claimed the statement also meant that he had alleged that the Johor ruler had misused public funds to pay RM520,000 for the plate number.

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Nazri Aziz speak out against Child Conversion bill