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Exercise some wisdom on banning Evan Almighty

July 17th, 2007
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Zam: Exercise some wisdom

PUTRAJAYA: Muslims in the country should exercise wisdom in addressing religious issues and not become hysterical when confronted with something seen as challenging their faith or belief like a film, Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said. 

He said it was crucial for parents to nurture strong religious belief in their children, which would protect them from being easily influenced by elements that could dent their faith. 

Zainuddin said this in response to calls by various quarters for the Government to ban the screening of Evan Almighty following claims the movie contained scenes that insulted Muslims and Islam. 

"Muslims should not become weak by overreacting to such a film," he added. 

The Information Minister said if Muslim parents feared that the movie could affect their children's faith, then it was their responsibility to prohibit them from watching it.  

He said banning the film would not solve any problem because Malaysia is a multiracial society and has different religious beliefs. 

"We live in a country with various races and religions, so we have to exercise more wisdom in facing issues relating to religion," he added. 

Zainuddin said even if the film was to be banned, people could still watch it on online. 

He said the people could also choose not to watch the movie since there were other films. 

The film Evan Almighty has actor Morgan Freeman playing the role of "God" and he orders Evan Baxter (played by Steve Carell) to build an ark to avoid a big flood.  

The film has been approved by the Malaysian Film Censorship Board and will be screened in cinemas starting on Aug 23. ? Bernama 

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Election Fever – EC braces for election, 190,000 officers appointed

July 17th, 2007
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when is suitable time for election?
 
august – near to merdeka, can invoke feel good factor?
sept – before budget?
oct – puasa and raya time – not suitable
nov – before spm starts?, bonus for govt staff should be arriving
dec – people in holiday mood, and expenses for school etc – not good time?
jan – before plus toll increases?
 
EC braces for election, 190,000 officers appointed

By R.S.N. MURALI

KUALA TERENGGANU: The Election Commission (EC) is bracing for the 12th General Election, with some 190,000 electorate officers having been appointed nationwide. 

EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said it has already begun briefing those involved for the polls expected late this year or early next year. 

Frequent courses and campaigns have been organised to "ensure a smooth process even if the election is called at any time," he said here Monday. 

Wan Ahmad noted that 4.82 million Malaysians from the 15.2 million who are eligible have yet to register as voters. 

He said the EC would conduct a series of awareness campaigns to get them to do so. 

"We hope to get them to exercise their rights as citizens, and will work closely with the various political parties to disseminate the message to unregistered voters," he said. 

Wan Ahmad said Selangor had the highest number of unregistered voters with 700,000 people, followed by Johor (600,000), Kuala Lumpur (300,000), Sarawak (360,000), Kedah (285,000), Terengganu (75,000) and Kelantan (197,000).

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Panel wants Institute of Ethnic Relations set up

July 13th, 2007
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Hamidah Atan and Deborah Loh

PUTRAJAYA: Members of the National Unity Advisory Panel have proposed the formation of an Institute of Ethnic Relations to manage the issue of national unity and integration.

The 55-member panel which had its first meeting yesterday, chaired by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Dr Maximus J. Ongkili, felt that the time had come for a proper institute to be set up to document success stories in the management of inter and intra-racial unity.

"Members suggested that this institute be formed in collaboration with the universities and be run under the Prime Minister's Department. We have formed a committee to talk to the universities," Ongkili said.

The institute would study and carry out research on unity.

"It is timely for Malaysia to have this institute.

This is also in line with the call by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that we should document our successes so that other nations can learn from our practices and approaches in handling unity issues and so on."

Abdullah handed letters of appointment to panel members at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) on Wednesday.

They will meet again in Sarawak on Sept 10.

Ongkili said the committee would take about three months to prepare a working paper on the institute and submit it to the cabinet.

He said he was happy with the quality of discussion by members of the panel.

"They are taking the cue from the prime minister to speak sincerely, not to sweep everything under the carpet, but to speak with a deep sense of patriotism," said Ongkili.

At the end of yesterday's meeting, four committees had also been formed ? the religious relations committee chaired by ex-Kota Baru MP Ilani Isahak; economic development by Zecon Engineering Bhd chairman, Datuk Dr Hatta Solhi; education by Malaysian Human Rights (Suhakam) commissioner, Tan Sri Asiah Abu Samah, and social and security committee by ex-Teluk Kemang MP, Datuk Dr T. Marimuthu.

The religious relations committee would hold seminars and workshops while the committee on economic development would be dealing with issues like disparity in income.

"Disparity causes unhappiness and frustration and it can also bring dire consequences to inter- and intra-race relations," said Ongkili.

The education committee was tasked with getting participation from undergraduates and schoolchildren in unity programmes.

"Members feel that central to education is the tenet (Rukun Negara). They have suggested that it be taught as a subject and as one of the examination papers. I will also bring this up with the cabinet."

The social and security committee would be responsible for getting the people, particularly youth, to be involved in volunteer patrol schemes such as Rukun Tetangga.

During the meeting, members were briefed by the police on the number of fights between people of different races.

According to the police, there had been a 15 per cent increase in the number fights in the past one year.

Ongkili said 70 per cent of the cases started with fights between groups or individuals from different races which then led to conflicts.

"It becomes racial conflicts when more people join the fray and this clearly shows that the tolerance level among Malaysians is still not strong enough."

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History shows how vital racial harmony is (and how we don’t follow it)

July 12th, 2007
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"capable and far-sighted leaders from political parties that championed the interest of all races". Err…you mean like slaughtering animals in parliment and being insensitive to others' belief?
 
i had a good laugh! since our one eye Jasin MP asked to close one eye, how far can he see?
 
Proof that politicians lie: "Abdullah said that all races were given similar opportunities and the country's wealth was distributed equally and no one received exclusive help .."
 
PM: History shows how vital racial harmony is

PUTRAJAYA: Racial unity must continue to be the key component of Malaysia's development, peace and safety, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. 

The history of the nation, and its journey and struggle towards development since independence showed how vital racial unity was, he added.  

He said Malaysia must always be known as a country that could manage race relations, especially with its capable and far-sighted leaders from political parties that championed the interest of all races. 

The country's forefathers, he said, had instilled the need for tolerance, understanding and peace among all races during its struggle, adding that it had to continue to this day. 

Abdullah said that all races were given similar opportunities and the country's wealth was distributed equally and no one received exclusive help. 

"Sincerity must always be the attitude of Malaysians who love the country and race to prevent racial tension which will not benefit us," he said before presenting appointment letters to 55 members of the national unity advisory panel and state unity committee. 

The panel members comprised ministers, deputy ministers, heads of departments, state secretaries, non-government organisation members, political leaders as well as former politicians. 

Abdullah advised the members to have dialogues to find ways to maintain unity among races and be attuned to the objectives of the committee. 

At the same time, he advised them not to be overzealous and that being too cautious would not help when making decisions.

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Forwarders want ‘racial’ forms scrapped

July 12th, 2007
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source

Freight forwarders are unhappy with the current practice that requires applicants for forwarding agent licenses to provide the racial composition of their employees.

Urging the government to drop the requirement, the Airfreight Forwarders Association of Malaysia (AFAM) said agents also had to reveal the salary information of their employees according to race in the application forms.

In a memorandum to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti), AFAM pointed out that matters pertaining to salaries were confidential.

"This is definitely not conducive towards the creation of the new Malaysian race," it said.

As such, the association has requested the government to replace them with forms requesting agents to identify their employees as either Malaysian or non-Malaysian.

The association also wants the government to relax the bumiputera equity requirement on both local and foreign airfreight forwarding companies operating in Malaysia.

Under the current policy, new freight forwarders must have 51% bumiputera participation in terms of equity ownership as well as composition of its directors, senior managers and employees, unless exempted.

While Malaysian companies should be accorded forwarding licences without any conditions, foreign companies should only be subjected to have 30% bumiputera equity participation, AFAM said.

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