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Blogs attacked by minister

July 9th, 2008
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Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal says blogs made the recent demonstrations worse. What do you say?

He also described the culture of “believing everything one read in blogs to be the truth” as unhealthy and what made it worse was that the inaccurate information was passed on to others. Now, why would one believe the blogs blindly? People can also choose to believe newspapers, TV, radio, politicians, neighbours, mamak stall owner, forwarded emails and voices in their head. I think one should evaluate the things they read, regardless of the source or form. Some may sound true, others more fictitious. Some are reliable, others are not. Some by experience, others by opinion. So, one should read from all variety of sources – to widen their knowledge and views. Trusting one source (like newspapers for example) can lead to misinformation and closed minds.

Says the minister:

One post may say a person stole RM10 and that amount might end up being RM100 when it got around. That is how inaccurate blogs can be.

I remember a game in which the participants are asked to stand in a line. The first person is told a statement, and is asked to whisper it into their ears of the next person. The seconds does the same to third person, and so on until the message reaches the last person. When the last person is asked to say out the message he/she heard, it most likely to be not same as the original statement whispered into the ears of the first person. This exercise is to highlight communication barriers and problems. This can happen in all sorts of media, not only in blogs.

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Household income distribution

July 9th, 2008
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Dr Michael J Devaraj (conqueror of Samy Vellu), MP for Sungai Siput was praised by the Assembly Speaker recently as among the MPs who ask good questions. He asked the following today:

My question is, why did the government stress the disparities between ethnic groups while staying silent on the inequalities between the rich and the poor within every ethnic group which contributes by far to inequalities generally?

This was in response to MP Amirsham’s reply on the income distribution for households.

householdincome.gif

Taken from Malaysiakini.
– 8.6 percent of households earn below RM1,000
– 29.4 percent of households earn between RM1,000 and RM2,000
– meaning, 38 percent of households in Malaysia earn RM2,000 and below.

– 19.8 percent of households are in the RM2001-RM3,000 income bracket
– RM3,001-RM4,000 (12.9 percent)
– RM4,001-RM5,000 (8.6 precent)
– meaning, 41.3 percent are in the RM2000-RM5000 bracket

– about 20.7 percent of households earn more than RM5,000 a month
– RM5,001-RM10,000 (15.8 percent)
– above RM10,000 (4.9 percent).

The source and period of the statistics is not provided, but it should be not before 2004 and not later than 2007. The number of households is also not provided.

Looking at the results, we have 38% of household earning RM2000 and below. If a household has 4 people, it will be diffcult to live in urban area. Nearly 58% of the households earn RM3000 and below.

With poverty line set at RM600-RM700 range, we can understand why the poverty rate is low. Unfortunately, the income is always insufficient to match the ever increasing cost of living. If poverty line is increased to RM1000, then 8.6% of the households will be poor. However there have been calls to increase poverty rate to RM1500, which may reveal that up to 24% of the household are poor.

Another issue is that many are resorting to part-time or second (and even third) jobs to supplement income. These are usually not revealed or reported in order to avoid taxation, punishment (by employer), or to purposely show their “poverty”.

Anyway, I’m not sure if household income is a good parameter. Individual income statistics should be tabulated as well.

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Elangesvaran fond of Lord Ganesha

July 9th, 2008
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Selvam told Malaysiakini that Elangesvaran was never a Muslim and had always been a practicing Hindu.

 

My stepbrother has special affection towards Lord Ganesha (the Elephant God)

However the judge ruled that:

 

the High Court has no jurisdiction to decide over an earlier Syariah Court ruling

This despite the fact that no proper proof was submitted on the conversion.

Their family’s lawyer, Karpal Singh will however go ahead with an appeal to the higher court to seek a landmark decision “to once for all end controversies arising from cases of this nature.”

He believed the grounds for Balia’s decision could be challenged since Syariah Court’s jurisdiction covers only Muslims and it could only make rulings on Islamic apostasy, “not when it involves a person’s religious identity.” “Only civil courts can rule on whether a person is a Muslim or not,” he told journalists outside the chambers.

Karpal said it was wrong for the Perak Islamic religious authority to file for a decision at the Syariah Court when the case was pending at the Penang High Court, thus putting “unwarranted and undesired” pressure on judge Balia.

“It was a direct interference by the Syariah Court into the judicial powers of the civil court.”

Meanwhile HINDRAF representatives expressed shock over the ruling:

 

Describing the decision as shocking, Hindraf national coordinator RS Thanenthiran suggested that “Syariah Court seems more powerful and prevailing over civil courts when the federal constitution says otherwise. This is injustice to Elangesvaran family and the Hindu community at large. “I urge the Appeals Court to make an ultimate and fair decision to put to rest this persisting controversy,” he said.

Hindraf Perak coordinator A Vethamurthy said the decision today implied that “it was waste of energy, time and resources for non-Muslims to seek justice through the civil courts.”

I think there’s something more sinister to this story. Who is Elangesvaran? Why is he important until the religious people want to snatch his body without providing any proof? Why did Elangesvaran continue living with his non-Muslim wife if indeed he converted? Why did he commit suicide knowing that suicide is a big sin in Islam? Will the religious hooligans try to snatch the children as well citing that Elangesvaran already converted them? His wife better send the kids overseas as a precaution.

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MHS on Elangesvaran body snatching case

July 8th, 2008
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Earlier, I wrote that MHS, among others, did not respond to the body snatching case involving the deceased Elangesvaran. It has been pointed out that MHS made a press statement on the 24th (reproduced below) hoping that the religious department does not pursue the case in syariah court. Which is exactly what those people did.

MHS, as the recognised representatives of the Hindu community, were duly ignored.

The statement:

 

MAIP should respect the Federal Constitution and Federal Court

PRESS STATEMENT – 24 June 2008

Majlis Agama Islam Perak should respect the Federal Constitution and the Federal Court.

We refer to the report in the Malaysia Nanban on Tuesday, 24th June 2008 (page 3) regarding the turmoil faced by the family of the late Elangesvaran.

We understand that the late Elangesvaran allegedly converted to Islam at some point. He has now committed suicide, and his body is at the hospital. The Islamic authorities say he died a Muslim, but his family members and friends say that Elangesvaran continued to profess and practise Hinduism all the way through until his untimely death.

The Malaysia Hindu Sangam extends our deepest condolences to his family in their time of grief on the untimely and early demise of Elangesvaran.. We are also saddened that yet again a grieving family is being put through torment because Islamic religious authorities are threatening to snatch away the body of their loved one away.

We have today written to the Menteri Besar of Perak urging him to ensure that the civil courts are allowed to determine the religious status of the late Elangesvaran. Therefore, we urge the Islamic authorities not to prosecute claims in the Syariah court for the bodies of the dead who are in the custody of non Muslim next of kin. If a non-Muslim is a party to the dispute, the Syariah courts should not deal with the matter.

We also urge the Perak State Government to recognise the constitutional right of a non Muslim who may have converted to Islam for some reason to revert to his original religion, or to some other religion. A person’s right to profess and practice the religion of his choice should not be unnecessarily interfered with by the State.

It is our view that the issue of whether the late Elangesvaran was a “person professing the religion of Islam” (quoting the words used by the Federal Constitution) must be determined by the civil courts.

We point out in our letter that it is clear from the unanimous decision of the Federal Court in the case of Latifah bte Mat Zin v Rosmawati bte Sharibun & Anor [2007] 5 MLJ 101, FC that the Syariah courts do not have jurisdiction at all to determine any dispute where a party to the dispute does not profess Islam. The comments of the learned Federal Court judges in latest case of Subashini a/p Rajasingam v Saravanan a/l Thangathoray (2007) also reinforce this proposition already entrenched in Item 1, List II, 9th Schedule to the Federal Constitution.

In our letter, we state our expectation that as a statutory body responsible to advise His Royal Highness the Ruler of Perak on Islamic affairs, MAIP has a responsibility to respect the Federal Constitution as the supreme law of this country and these decisions of our highest court.

The non Muslim family members of the Elangesvaran must have an opportunity for proper access to justice. The crucial question is whether at the time of his death, Elangesvaran professed (or acknowledged) himself to be a Muslim. This must be determined based on the civil law, and the Hindu family members of Elangevaran must be given full access to justice in order to determine this question.

Dated 24th June 2008

Datuk A Vaithilingam
President
Malaysia Hindu Sangam

 

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Posted in BornInMalaysia, Indian, Religion

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single mothers forced to put children in orphanages

July 8th, 2008
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More of these cases will come to light soon, not only in Penang but all over the country.  MHS and other organizations will be facing more such requests, and hopefully they will be able to generate more funds. Even the expenses for the family paid for by UMIC has increased quite substantially.

MHS should also provide feedback if they approached the EXCO in charge of welfare and the response. The article states Prof Ramasamy’s reply to MHS’s suggestion to set up ration shops, but no indication if MHS approached him or the media interviewed him separately.

The rising cost of living has forced three single mothers in Penang to find help to place six of their children in orphanages. Last week, the three – two from the island and one from Butterworth – approached the Malaysia Hindu Sangam to find a home for their children.

“Each woman has between three and five children and each is sending two children to an orphanage to lighten her financial burden,” the organisation’s Penang branch Social and Welfare Committee head P. Murugiah told The Star yesterday.  He said one mother was jobless, another was earning RM350 a month doing odd jobs while the third earned RM600 a month as a factory worker.

Murugiah said some heads of hardcore poor families have also approached the association for help to place their parents in old folks home.  “They are having problems providing meals for their parents and taking care of their medical expenses,” he said.

Murugiah said the hardcore poor have been severely affected by the recent hike in fuel and food prices.  Citing examples, he said the price of atta flour has increased from RM1.80 per kilo in December to RM2.80 while cooking oil (2kg bottle) has gone up from RM4.50 to RM6.20.  Murugiah said the price of dhal has increased from RM2.80 to RM4.60 per kilo while a brand of the cheapest milk powder has increased from RM9 in January to RM19.50.

He proposed that the state government open ration shops such as being practised in some countries to lighten the burden of the hardcore poor. “The prices of food items sold in ration shops can be subsidised up to 80% by the government. Penang should set up such outlets in line with the Penang Leads tag,” he said.

Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy said the state would consider the proposal. “It is a good suggestion but we will have to consider the financial implications.  “The state is already helping hardcore poor families by giving free rice. We are planning to give water rebates to this group and studying other means to help them,” he said.

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