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PM gets pillow and bolster as sarcastic gift!

January 5th, 2008
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This guys must be really brave! This must rank as one of the most spectacular new year for PM! Wonder if any entreprising rakyat will make a business out of the pillow and bolster?
 
 

Group hands Pak Lah special gift

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/76673
Andrew Ong | Jan 4, 08 4:26pm

A group of disgruntled young Malaysians today symbolically handed a ‘gift’ to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to express their disappointment with his administration.

The gift was in form of a yellow pillow and a bolster – both decorated with the Malaysian flag and the Petronas Twin Towers.

Abdullah however was not on hand to receive the items, which the group left at the doorsteps of the premier’s office in Putrajaya this morning.

Spokesperson for the group Badrul Hisham Shaharin said he and his eight other friends had come to the conclusion that the government’s ineffectiveness was due Abdullah’s purported “sleepiness”.

He added that Abdullah had previously been allegedly caught nodding off at various official functions both locally and abroad.

“So we wanted to send a ‘memorandum’ about what the youth wants. This memorandum is in form of a pillow… He can use the pillow to continue sleeping or wake up and realise that his administration is not efficient,” Badrul told reporters.

Badrul said the group consisted of artists, poets, bloggers, writters and activists but denied that the ‘pillow act’ was politically motivated.

Badrul (right) informs security guard on the group's intentions.
The group displays posters mocking Abdullah over his alleged ‘sleepiness’.
A poster referring to a 2006 report by Turkish newspaper Hurriyet regarding a luxury yacht allegedly linked to Abdullah.
“We don’t expect him to reply our ‘memorandum’. Thus far, he has never replied any memorandum sent by civil society groups,” Badrul told reporters.
Journalists and the police were stunned when the ‘memorandum’ turned out to be a pillow and a bolster.
“He can come and pick it up later if he wants,” said Badrul.
The pillow and several posters were left at the main entrance to the Prime Minister’s Department.
The banner reads, “The last hope of the young Malaysians: Continue sleeping O’Prime Minister”.
Security detail took a while to decide how to deal with the items.
More security detail arrive to deal with the items.
The pillow is scanned for dangerous substances.
Eventually, a security personnel removes the items.

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Sikhs use Allah as well

January 5th, 2008
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'Allah': What about us? ask Sikhs
Fauwaz Abdul Aziz | Jan 4, 08 1:55pm

For centuries, Sikhs have used the words ‘Allah’ to refer to God as well as the Arabic terms ‘iman’ and ‘ibadat’ for faith and worship.

Following the government’s ban against the usage of purportedly ‘Islamic’ terms by non-Muslims, what will happen to the practice of the Sikh religion in Malaysia?

This was among the question raised today by Malaysian Gurdwara Council head Harcharan Singh following reports that the cabinet had decided against allowing the use of the term Allah by those practicing religions other than Islam.

“We have used the terms Allah and Rahim (Most Merciful), for example, extensively in our writings and in our prayers to refer to the One God. The word Allah is used in our main holy scripture.

"Sikh gurus in India have used these terms for centuries, they have become part of the Punjabi language, and we are still using them today,” said Harcharan when contacted.

Sikhs also use the word ‘Khuda’ for God, he noted in reference to the term used, among others, by Bangladeshi Muslims.

“In addition to these words, we also use the terms 'iman' and 'ibadat' among the many other words (that are used by Muslims),” added Harcharan, whose organisation represents Sikhs in Malaysia.

“If the word Allah has been banned for use by non-Muslims, what’s going to happen to Sikhs and the practice of their religion?” he asked.

Harcharan’s (photo) comments follow on the heels of a decision announced by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdulllah Mohd Zin yesterday that the cabinet had disallowed Catholic publication Herald from using the words Allah (God), solat (prayer), Kaabah and baitullah (House of God) in its weekly’s Bahasa Malaysia section.

Abdullah, who oversees Islamic religious affairs, was reported today as having said the prime minister had directed him to clarify the matter so that the public would not be confused.

“One of the reasons given to uphold the restriction is because that it has long been the practice of this country that the word Allah refers to God according to the Muslim faith,” said Abdullah according to the Star.

It was only proper for other religions to use the word God and not Allah when referring to their God in respective beliefs, he added.

Poser for the government
Harcharan pointed out that the usage by Sikhs of Arabic and Persian terms normally used by Muslims is understandable given, among other facts, that Sikhism founder Guru Nanak had traveled extensively throughout Muslim lands.

Nevertheless, the issue raises a poser for the government, said Harcharan.

“I don’t know whether the basis of the government’s ban on the use of the word Allah by non-Muslims is political or religious. But if in today’s age of globalisation we are stopping people of one religion from using the words ‘belonging’ to another, I don’t know where we are heading,” he said.

Herald had earlier faced proscription following the Internal Security Ministry’s directive for it to refrain from using the word Allah in its weekly’s Bahasa Malaysia section.

Herald was later informed it’s permit had been renewed, with its editor Father Lawrence Andrew saying he had received a letter indicating it can resume printing without any restrictions.

Notwithstanding, the publisher has filed a writ of summons in the Kuala Lumpur High Court to seek declarations of use of the word Allah.

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court allows husband to block muslim burial

January 5th, 2008
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read the initial articles here:
 
 

Court allows Christian husband to block Muslim funeral

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/76691
Jan 4, 08 5:48pm

The Kuala Lumpur High Court today granted an order to a non-Muslim husband to bar Islamic authorities from giving his dead wife a Muslim funeral.

The tug-of-war over the body of Wong Sau Lan, who died Dec 30, would mean that she will remain unburied until the court determines whether she converted to Islam before her death.

Wong's Christian husband, Ngiam Tee Kong, sought the court order after the Federal Territory Islamic Council claimed that Wong had converted to Islam on Dec 24. The religious body sought to bury her according to Muslim rites.

Wong’s body would now remain in the Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM) mortuary until the court starts hearing the case on her alleged conversion on Jan 18.

Ngiam’s lawyer Karpal Singh was quoted in the media today as saying that it was unclear as to how long the case might take to resolve.

Ngiam, a 53-year-old manager of an entertainment outlet, is claiming that his wife, who was 53, remained a Christian at her death and that any conversion was legally invalid.

In his affidavit, Ngiam said when he went to HUKM to claim his wife's body, he was informed that it would only be released to him if he confirmed that she was a Muslim at the time of her death.

He was also told that the body would be released to him only for having Christian rites to be performed, after which it was to be returned to the hospital for it to be buried according to Muslim rites.

Invalid conversion

Ngiam claimed that on Dec 31, a day after Wong died, he received a declaration of conversion dated the same day signed by the Federal Territory Religious Department director, stating that Wong converted to a Muslim on Dec 24 at a flat in Jalan Siakap, Cheras.

Ngiam said the letter given to him did not state his wife's Muslim name. He said she was a practising Christian at the time of her death.

He said the letter of conversion was not in compliance with the provisions of Section 90(1) of the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act, 1993, as it was not given to Wong before her death.

Ngiam is seeking, among others, declarations that:

– Wong was a Christian at the time of her death;

– she did not fully embrace Islam before she died;

– she was not a Muslim at the time of her death.

He also wants the court to issue an order that he had the right to his wife's body and for the HUKM hospital director to release it to him immediately.

This case is the latest in a string of similar cases which have been referred to the civil courts over disputes involving the burial of people whom Muslim authorities claimed had converted to Islam.

A national debate erupted when M Moorthy was buried as a Muslim in December 2005, ignoring objections from his Hindu wife, after an Islamic court ruled he had converted from Hinduism before his death.

Ethnic Malay Muslims make up about 60 percent of Malaysia's 27 million people, while the rest are predominantly Buddhists, Hindus or Christians from ethnic Chinese and Indian communities.

 
Court allows husband to prevent MAIWP from claiming wife’s body

BERNAMA

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Fri:

The High Court (Appeals and Special Powers Division) here today granted temporary injunction to a snooker centre manager to prevent the Federal Territory Islamic Council (MAIWP) from claiming the remains of his wife who died on Sunday.

Justice Lau Bee Lan made the decision after hearing an ex-parte application by lawyer Karpal Singh who representd the plaintiff, Ngiam Tee Kong, 52, in his chamber.

Lau also allowed Ngiam’s application to prevent the Director of Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM), its agents or staff from handing over the remains of his wife, Mong Sau Lan, 53, to MAIWP.

The judge set Jan 18 as the date for hearing of the inter-parte application.

In the writ of summons filed on Jan 2, Ngiam said Mong died on Dec 30 and her remains were being kept at the HUKM morgue.
Ngiam said they were married in 1979 at the Civil Registration Office, Petaling Jaya, and before her death, his wife was practising Christianity.

He said he had made a claim for his wife’s remains at HUKM but was informed (by HUKM) that the handing over of his wife’s remains to him was only for the purpose of performing rituals according to the Christian faith and thereafter the body must be returned to MAIWP for a Muslim burial.

Ngiam said he refused to comply with the request and demanded that his wife’s remains be handed over to him as the legal husband but the defendant disagreed to do so.

He said that on Dec 31, he had received a letter declaring that his wife had converted to Islam authorised by the Director of the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department and according to the letter, his wife had converted to Islam at a house at the Sri Melaka Flats, Cheras, at 10.45am on Dec 24, last year and this had been registered at the department on Dec 31 of the same year.

Ngiam claimed that the declaration of conversion to Islam was not in accordance with the law. – BERNAMA

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Selangor to assist in funeral expenses

January 4th, 2008
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By : Arman Ahmad

KUALA LUMPUR: The Selangor government will pay RM2,000 for the funeral expenses of Selangor residents above 60 years of age, regardless of race or religion.

But Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo said only people who had stayed in the state for 15 years are qualified to receive the aid.

The assistance will also be available to families of the disabled, regardless of age.

Dr Khir said the benefit was the state's way of repaying the people for helping Selangor achieve encouraging economic growth.

"This is one way of saying thanks to the people for helping the state prosper," he said when launching the fund at Dewan Beringin, Taman Seri Gombak.

A sum of RM1 million had been allocated to the fund, with the state government committing to annual allocations.

In the event of a death, relatives should obtain a form from the nearest district or state assemblyman's office.

The form should be submitted along with the death certificate, proof of kinship, a copy of the applicant's identity card or disabled persons registration card to the district office.

Proof of residence is also needed from a state assemblyman, village headman, chairman of the Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK), mosque supervisor or housing estate chairman.

The scheme was approved in November by the Selangor state assembly.

"Selangor has been achieving strong economic success with a growth rate of 6.3 per cent compared with the federal growth rate of six per cent.

"With this increase in revenue, more programmes can be carried out in the state."

Dr Khir said the state had also received RM201 million in tithes last year.

"When I first became MB, I told state religious authorities that I wanted to target RM40 million in tithes annually and they said it was impossible.

"Now our tithe collection is three times more than in the Federal Territories.

"This is a blessed state. I believe in the concept that if you are willing to give, then you will get even more in return," he added.

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permit says OK, cabinet says NO

January 4th, 2008
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I'm confused. The publishers said they got the approval with no restrictions (read it at http://poobalan.com/blog/borninmalaysia/2007/12/30/catholic-magazine-herald-gets-approval/) , but now the Cabinets says cannot use the word.

Herald can’t use ‘Allah’ in its publications

source

By MAZWIN NIK ANIS

PUTRAJAYA: The Herald – The Catholic Weekly publication is not allowed to use the word “Allah” in its publications, the Cabinet decided. 

The restrictions on the use of the word “Allah” was still enforceable and shall be upheld as decided by the Cabinet in two of its meetings – on Oct 18 and Nov 1, 2006, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Abdullah Mohd Zin said.  

Abdullah, who said the Prime Minister had instructed him to clarify the matter so the public would not be confused, told a press conference on Thursday:  

“One of the reasons given to uphold the restriction is because that it has long been the practice of this country that the world Allah refers to God according to the Muslim faith.”  

It was only proper for other religions to use the word "God" and not "Allah" when referring to their God in respective beliefs, Abdullah said, adding that the use of the word “Allah” shall not be made a public debate that may give the impression as if there is no freedom of religion in the country. 

“The use of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims may arouse sensitivity and create confusion among Muslims in the country,” he said. 

On Dec 31, the publication’s editor Father Lawrence Andrew said the weekly was allowed to continue printing its Bahasa Malaysia section with no restriction on the use of the word “Allah” for God. 

He said a representative from the Internal Security Ministry delivered a letter dated Dec 28 with the permit to print the newspaper and that according to him, the letter did not place any restrictions whatsoever. 

The newspaper carries reports in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Tamil and Chinese, about the Catholic community. It has a circulation of 12,000. 

The ministry had earlier issued directives to the publisher to cease the use of the word “Allah” in the weekly, failing which its permit would either be suspended or revoked. 

On Dec 5, the publisher filed a writ of summons in the Kuala Lumpur High Court to seek declarations of use of Allah. 

When contacted later, Abdullah said that the Cabinet in the two meetings had decided that Herald – The Catholic Weekly should not use the word “Allah” in its publications. 

“I would also like to remind the public that apart from the word 'Allah', three other words – Solat, Kaabah and Baitullah – are also prohibited and cannot be used in other religions’ publications,” he said.

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