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All religions equal says Penang CM

June 23rd, 2008
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Guan Eng courts more problem by declaring that all religion will be treated equally. He says:

All religions are equal, according to Buddhist teaching

– The Star

Doesn’t he know that comparing Islam with other religions as equals will infuriate some (many/all?) of the muslims in the country? Is he baiting certain people to condemn him?  Surely he knows that in Islam, only their religion is correct and everyone else is wrong. Its not like Hinduism or Buddhism.

Guess what, he also says that funds will be given fairly to all religion. Gasp!

Plus, he clarifies that Penang will never be an Islamic state (well, as long he is around, anyway).

 Islam is the official religion of the country, but the freedom of worship is enshrined in our Federal Constitution.

“Nobody can take away this freedom and this right must be enjoyed by all of us forever.

Worse still, he informed that an inter-religious council had been formed:

We have also formed an inter-religious council called Majlis Silaturahim to promote goodwill and understanding among all religions

How can we forget the fate of IFC (inter-faith council) which was rejected even before formation. Some quarters (PAS including?) held protests against plan to form the IFC, citing that it will put Islam on par with other religions. So how could he proceed with such a committee? Isn’t it against the law or something? Surely its wrong? Would he be taken in under ISA? Unless of course, there’s nothing forbidding him from establishing such a council. No legal issues, no constitutional problems unlike the ones imagined by Nazri.

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CPI to double in June

June 22nd, 2008
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Wow…this is of course expected, but to actually read about is scary and depressing. Those in banking industry are lucky to get 17% raise, plus 2 months contractual bonus. But there are many more people who will be affected. Government may have reduced the subsidy for petrol, but expenditure for welfare and other sector is increasing – poor people, education, diesel subsidy, agriculture subsidy, etc. In the end, the effect will be same. Previously, money spent on petrol, and the rakyat can go around working hard to make more money and help economy. Now, the rakyat have to pay more for petrol and practically everything else, while government have to prop the economy by providing aid to various groups, businesses and sectors.

Inflation is expected to at 7-8%, but in reality maybe double of that.

Anyone’s salary doubled recently? Or is it possible to reduce expenses by nearly 40-50%?

PETALING JAYA: The consumer price index (CPI) for May rose to a 22-month high of 3.8% year-on-year and economists expect the CPI for June to almost double.

JP Morgan Equity Research said core inflation, excluding food and transportation, had increased only slightly, while the main factor for the surge in the CPI was higher food prices.

However, it described the May CPI as “the calm before the storm” as it expected the June CPI to likely come close to doubling.

Factors driving the increase would be the recent rise in fuel prices after the Government raised the prices of petrol and diesel by 41% and 63% respectively, said JP Morgan.

Aseambankers Equity Research expected Malaysia’s monthly inflation rate to surge to 7.5% and 8% year-on-year in the June to December period, due to the higher fuel price and gas and electricity tariff hikes.

On the May inflation, it said the inflationary pressure was exacerbated by lack of enforcement by the authorities. It cited complaints by the public that controlled essential items like local super grade rice and flour were either not available or sold above their ceiling prices.

– The Star

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congrats to Anthony Thanasayan the councillor

June 21st, 2008
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I do read his articles in the Star at times – he writes about disability issues and also reviews worldwide radio channels. Hope that Mr Anthony will not only represent the disabled people, but all Malaysians. At the same time, he should impress on other councilors to consider the plight of the disabled people as well.

All the best to you sir!

Disable councillor: It’s a calling

http://malaysiakini.com/news/84837
S Pathmawathy | Jun 21, 08 1:37pm
Wheelchair-bound Anthony Thanasayan has been at the forefront of advocating the rights of the disabled for the past decade and local authorities have regularly been the brunt of his criticism. So it was no surprise when he describes his recent appointment as one of Petaling Jaya’s 24 city councillor as “a calling”. “This is a chance given to me to make a difference, so to me it is a calling from God to take up the position,” said Anthony, who heads the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association.

And even before he was officially made a councillor, Anthony had already came across a MBPJ officer who would use some lessons in sensitivity when dealing with the disabled.

Yesterday, he had a discomforting call from the officer who wanted Anthony to fill up certain paperwork pertaining to his appointment as a councillor. “The office called me and asked me to come over to the MBPJ office immediately to pick up the forms and to submit a photo but how can they expect me to show up whenever they like knowing my condition,” lamented Anthony. “When they thought of hiring a disabled person they must have been prepared to make changes necessary to accommodate to the needs of the disabled persons,” he reiterated.

Geared for change

The episode with the MBPJ officer reminded Anthony that he has an uphill task ahead of him, but the plucky activist believes that he is ready to face any challenges to champion the rights of the disabled in the council. “I’m happy I was given the opportunity, as this is a chance for a disabled person to speak for the disabled rather than having an able-bodied person to voice our concerns,” he said.

“We (the disabled) believe that we must be apart of any decisions made for us. There is an international saying among us disabled – ‘nothing about us without us’. Therefore, I’m happy I’ll be apart of the decision-making process,” he added.

Anthony said his first agenda was to propose for specials queues and parking lots for the disabled and elderly as these amenities are not available at all avenues in Petaling Jaya.  “The previous government promised us many things but nothing really materialised. I feel like I’m under house arrest because I’m not able to go to the neighbourhood grocery shop because it is not disable friendly,” he said.

“All this has to change and I’ll speak up for it until it does. And I won’t hesitate to quit, if I don’t see anything materialising,” he stressed.

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Malaysia had an indian Prime Minister?

June 21st, 2008
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Looks like we are up there with Fiji as well. After Malaysiakini revealed that “it is widely believed that Mahathir’s father, a school teacher, had migrated to Malaysia from the southern Indian state of Kerala and subsequently married a Malay woman”, many cans of worms have literally exploded!

With the caveat that the above “widely believed” story is true:

– how can the son of a migrant end up as prime minister? Hmm, no wonder son of indonesian migrant also can become menteri besar.

– how can a half-indian become a member of UMNO and rise up to be the president of a malay party? Are UMNO people hypocrites, blind or just plain confused about themselves?

If the above is true, then we can be happy and proud that an Indian (half actually) Malayalee was a prime minister for nearly half of the country’s existence! Wait a minute, could “Malayalee” have anything to do with the word “Malay”? Maybe some historians should follow up on this. 🙂

I also wonder if Mahathir’s father was originally a muslim or converted after marriage? A website lists his father’s name as Mohamed bin Iskandar. No mention if the father converted. A search on the Internet reveals a name “Mohamed Iskandar Kutty” – supposedly the name of Mahathir’s father, and that Mahathir bin Mohamad was actually Mahathir s/o Mohamad Iskandar Kutty. This implies his father was a Muslim Malayalee.

Obviously, “bin” is not used in India. So, how can the father end up with “bin”? This can possibly help many of the Indian Muslims who want to join UMNO, so I’m sure they will be interested.

This is not intended to insult or humiliate his family, but I think the history of our prime ministers should be well documented, with the truth.

Mahathir a/l Mohamed anyone?

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Indonesia friends with Israel

June 21st, 2008
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Yeah, its off-topic, but isn’t it wonderful that the largest muslim country in the world with 90 over percent muslim population has some sort of relationship with sworn enemy of muslim countries.  Wonder what our country will think of this. any comments from UMNO and PAS?

As for me, I’m all for world peace 🙂

Indonesia taps into Israeli emergency medical expertise
Zakaria Abdul Wahab, BERNAMA
SINGAPORE, Sat.:

A group of Indonesian medical personnel visited Israel earlier this month to tap into the Jewish state’s experience in emergency medicines accumulated during its long conflict with its Arab neighbours, according to a local media report.
The 23 Indonesians comprising nurses, paramedics and psychiatrists were invited by Mashav, an arm of the Israeli Foreign Ministry which organises courses for professionals from developing countries in fields ranging from agriculture to education, the Straits Times said today.

Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world, has no diplomatic relations with Israel. The newspaper’s correspondent in Jerusalem reported that the focal point of the two-week study tour was achieving cooperation between hospitals, blood service centres and other relevant institutions in a mass casualty situation.

Indonesia has experienced such incidents in recent years like the tsunami in Aceh and earthquakes in many parts of the country.

The participants, from various parts of Indonesia including Papua, Menado, Makassar, Bali, Bogor, Surabaya, Yogyakarta and Aceh, visited Rambam Hospital in Haifa where many war casualties were treated during conflicts, and were briefed on the management of mass casualty stations and the integration of fire-fighting brigades in emergency situations.
Some members of the group also had an opportunity to pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, during their stay there.

While some members of the group were Christian, most were Muslim and three of the doctors were members of Muhammadiyah, the second-largest Islamic organisation in Indonesia, the newspaper said.

And in the coming weeks, a group of Israeli doctors will be travelling to Indonesia for another ground-breaking encounter, it said.

source

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