banghuris ghutghut

Happy New Year 1430H: Generate Glorious Ummah By Crossing The Border

2008-12-29T05:14:00.003+08:00

I read on Malaysiakini's Top Blogs, the theme for this year, 1430H, national-level Maal Hijrah is "Generating Glorious Ummah" -- The celebration will be held @PICC today.

hijrah: cross the border! there's no other choice.

God willing, with unwavering efforts, I think, we will obtain success and blessings from Allah SWT in this world and hereafter.

I am confident that with the Quran as a guide and the Prophet Muhammad’s sunnah (traditions) as a model, all Muslims in Malaysia will be able to explore science and technology further. Hence, the Muslim ummah will be able to gain in strength and influence among the world community.

The Muslim ummah should emulate the Prophet Muhammad’s distinctive personality and his hijrah in carrying out Allah’s will for the creation of a community that can become a new world order.

This is the real model of Hijrah that the Muslim ummah should look for. There’s no other choice.

وَالسَّابِقُونَ الأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالأَنصَارِ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُم بِإِحْسَانٍ رَّضِيَ اللّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُواْ عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي تَحْتَهَا الأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ذَلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ

"The vanguard - the first of those who forsook (their homes) and of those who gave them aid, and (also) those who follow them in (all) good deeds, - well-pleased is Allah with them, as are they with Him: for them hath He prepared Gardens under which Rivers flow, to dwell therein for ever: that is the supreme felicity." [9: at-tawbah,the repentance:100]

And we, the Muslim ummah, must have hope that Allah SWT will help His believers to remove the tyrannical Rulers that are the descendants of Fir’aun and return the rule of Islam again, through the Caliphate office, to the lands of all the anbiya, rasol, and awliya that walked the earth.

May Allah SWT force us to be the forces of this change! Together we can make a difference -- Salam Ma'al Hijrah!

Anwar eyes East Malaysia despite pact’s troubles

2008-12-25T16:11:00.009+08:00

While his allies argue over hudud (Islamic penal code –ed.) laws and fret over the wobbling economy in their five states, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has taken over as liaison chairman for both Sabah and Sarawak in Parti Keadilan Rakyat's (PKR) efforts widen its base and capture the Borneo states.

Anwar is the new liaison chairman for both Sabah and Sarawak in Parti Keadilan. — Pic by Choo Choy May

The opposition leader, who made a triumphant parliamentary comeback in August, is initially eyeing Sarawak in the next state elections due by 2011 as chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud faces increased opposition to his 27 years in power.

Sabah is a different proposition as the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition is dominant with 57 of the 60 seats in the state assembly.

But consumed with garnering more support from both states, Anwar has been conspicuously silent about the controversy over implementing Islamic criminal Hudud laws that flared up again this week between Pas and DAP, and Pakatan Rakyat state governments’ efforts to mitigate the fallout from a growing global recession.

“Some things are out of his hand. Anwar will quietly handle Pas and DAP behind the scenes but the economy will take some work,” a Pakatan Rakyat source told The Malaysian Insider, adding the electoral pact had made suggestions in the budget debate.

The PKR supreme council met late Monday night but party president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is Anwar’s wife, only announcement was that Anwar has taken over as liaison chairman for Sabah and Sarawak, citing the appointment as proof of the party's focus to struggle for the people from Perlis to Sarawak.

“The agenda to bring change in Sabah and Sarawak needs the support from all levels of society. Sarawak will have its state elections soon and Datuk Seri Anwar’s appointment as state liaison chairman for both states justify our concern for problems there and is significant in Pakatan Rakyat’s power transition to Putrajaya,” she said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

The Pakatan Rakyat electoral pact, which groups PKR, Pas and DAP, has 81 out of the 222 seats in the federal parliament. BN has 137 seats while the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), which pulled out of BN in September, has two seats and one to Independent Datuk Ibrahim Ali. The Kuala Terengganu seat is vacant with the by-election on Jan 17.

PKR’s focus for the Borneo states has been apparent when Anwar predicted he could form capture Putrajaya by Malaysia Day with help from 30 federal lawmakers after Pakatan Rakyat made a historic upset in the March 8 General Elections where BN lost its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority and four more states to the opposition.

Since then, only SAPP has pulled out of the 14-member BN coalition but has chosen to remain independent in Parliament although its president Datuk Yong Teck Lee is close to the sacked deputy prime minister, who has yet to fulfil his prediction to unseat BN from power.

Anwar, in a posting at his weblog today, called the changes routine and said the state leadership in the party are merely coordinators in an effort to dispel notions of consolidating power for himself as “experienced leaders will be act as advisors at the national level while the new leadership will get exposure apart from introducing new approaches to attract new members”.

“Personally, I am not inclined to coordinate activities in Sabah and Sarawak. In fact, even Wilayah Persekutuan asked me to help but I feel that Tan Sri Khalid as Selangor Menteri Besar, is better there,” Anwar said, adding the appointments will be reviewed regularly.

He also said his offer to help both PKR state liaison committees has been announced before and he hoped to get support from all quarters in both states.

Apart from Anwar heading both Sabah and Sarawak, and Khalid leading Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan, the other state leaders are Datuk Fauzi Abdul Rahman (Pahang), Datuk Zahrain Mohamed Hashim (Penang), Datuk Kamarul Baharin Abbas (Negri Sembilan), Ahmad Kassim (Kedah), Abdul Aziz Abdul Kadir (Kelantan), Johari Shafie (Perlis), Khalid Jaafar (Malacca), Dr Zaliha Mustaffa (Johor), Osman Abdul Rahman (Perak) and Wan Rahim Wan Hamzah (Terengganu). – The Malaysian Insider, KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 25, 2008

'KLIA East @ Labu’ gets government go-ahead: Airport part of 'massive city'

2008-12-21T00:19:00.008+08:00

The cabinet has given the green light for a new low-cost carrier terminal on a 2,800-hectare site in Labu, Negri Sembilan, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said.

Ong said the new LCCT would be built under a private finance initiative by conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd and budget airline AirAsia.

The airport will anchor Sime Darby's "massive integrated city" development in Labu, which includes five townships with services in education, health, sports, high technology, recreation and entertainment.

The RM1.6 billion terminal will be funded by Sime Darby and joint-venture partners which could include AirAsia and Malaysia Airports Bhd.

Ong said the new terminal was needed as the current facility in Sepang would not be able to cope with the increased passenger volume.

Under its final expansion phase, after which there will be no more room for growth, the Sepang LCCT will have its capacity increased to 15 million passengers a year, a figure industry sources say is likely to be exceeded by 2011.

Including its Thai and Indonesian affiliates, AirAsia flew some 18 million people this year. The new terminal will be built to accommodate 25 million passengers a year, and last on present forecasts until 2030.

Ong said he could not give a timeline on when work would start on the new LCCT.

"It is up to them as to when they want to start work. For our part we will make sure there is connectivity between the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and the new LCCT.

"We want to ensure passengers will be able to move from both places speedily, smoothly and efficiently."

To be called "KLIA East@Labu", the new terminal is slightly closer to central Kuala Lumpur than the present LCCT and will boast connectivity by both road and rail.

A 7km branch road will link it with the North-South Expressway and a 3km spur line will be built from the railway station in Labu -- a stop on the KL-Seremban KTM Komuter route.

Welcoming the project's approval, Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan said the KLIA would be connected to the new terminal by a 7km Express Rail Link (ERL).

Industry sources said a ground-breaking ceremony was being slated for late next month with construction planned for completion in two years.

When the new facility is commissioned, the Sepang LCCT, which has more than recovered its cost from the explosive increase in passenger numbers over the last two years, will serve other budget carriers, such as Singapore's Tiger Airways.

Mohamad said the siting of the new terminal near Kampung Gadong Jaya in Labu would boost economic growth in the state.

"The location is not far from the existing terminal. It will be an extension of the KLIA.

"When the airport is built, the state can expect economic development, such as housing estates and business centres, in the surrounding areas," he said. -- By : V. Vasudevan , NST

On November 13, 2008 we blogged: “New LCC Airport in Negri Songo”

Rais praises Bush shoe thrower

2008-12-20T12:25:00.004+08:00

Malaysia's foreign minister on Friday praised an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush earlier this week, calling it retaliation for the invasion of Iraq.

"The best show of retaliation so far is the shoe throwing act by that remarkable reporter who gave President Bush his final farewell last week," Foreign Minister Rais Yatim said at an event to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the United Nations.

"That shoe throwing episode, in my view is truly the best Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) to the leader who coined the phrase 'axis of evil' to denote Iran, Iraq and North Korea," Rais said, according to the advance text of his speech.

Copies of the speech, entitled "The Importance of Peace and Harmony in multiracial Malaysia" were distributed to the media by his office.

TV reporter Muntazer al-Zaidi shot to fame when he called Bush a "dog" in Arabic at a news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad last Sunday and threw both his shoes at Bush -- a grave insult in the Arab world.

The incident, replayed again and again on television and the Internet around the world, has been widely condemned in diplomatic circles but the source of great mirth among many ordinary people in the Middle East and beyond.

Zaidi has even been hailed a hero by some commentators, with offers of employment and even proposals of marriage, but he faces criminal charges in Iraq for the attempted assault.

Zaidi was brought before an investigating judge on Tuesday and admitted "aggression against a president", a crime that could incur a 15-year sentence, judicial officials said. He could face trial soon.

On Thursday, the Iraqi prime minister's office said Zaidi had apologised for the incident.

"Zaidi said in his letter that his big ugly act cannot be excused," Maliki's media advisor said.

Mostly Muslim Malaysia, a Southeast Asian country of 27 million people, opposed the Iraq war but is an ally of the U.S. and won favour from Washington after it cracked down on Islamic militants after the 9/11 attacks.

Rais has twice been the country's foreign minister and usually is known for more measured tones. - By David Chance, Fri Dec 19, 2008 5:39pm IST © Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

Petrol prices cut: RM1.80 per litre wef Tuesday

2008-12-15T23:09:00.005+08:00

Malaysia on Monday cut petrol prices by 5.26 percent, bringing pump prices down to 1.80 ringgit (0.51 dollars) per litre amid weak global crude prices.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the 10 sen cut would be effective Tuesday with diesel also reduced by 10 sen to 1.70 ringgit per litre.

"The reduction in the retail price of petrol and diesel by 10 sen a litre is in line with fall in crude oil prices," he said in a statement.

It is the seventh fuel price cut the government has announced since June's 41 percent hike on the back of soaring crude costs, which sparked angry street protests and calls for the premier to resign.

The last cut, also by 10 sen, was on December 2.

June's hike saw inflation soar, with the August price index reaching a 26-year high of 8.5 percent, also driven by the escalating cost of food and transportation.
Inflation has since eased to 7.6 percent in October as fuel prices dropped. -- Agence France-Presse - 12/15/2008 10:12 AM GMT

Ah, cheetah’s potentially unwanted political animals!

2008-12-14T10:46:00.007+08:00

Potentially unwanted political animals @Bukit Antarabangsa have been detected by cheetah el-fared.
They have been detected as a component of the potentially unwanted political animals of both divides – the ruling and opposition camps.

“I know you all, Malaysiakini readers, take an interest in matters of political animals’ behaviors. I thought you all might want to know and share your thought about the following sad case, and remarks by BARA spokesperson, Khan,” cheetah wrote Saturday on his blog.

Malaysiakini news portal reported Friday that BARA spokesperson, Khan, on Friday slammed politicians from both the ruling and opposition parties for trying to gain cheap publicity from the tragedy instead of sincerely taking part in rescue and relief efforts, adding that “some are even fighting to occupy a relief centre set up by residents.”

“If they are not going to actively help during this period of crisis, then they should just keep quiet and stand aside,” Khan warned.

“When the disaster struck, we had expected the parties to come together and help us, not to compete and promote their so-called involvement,’ he added.

In his latest post, el-fared asked: “Is there any way that this so-called democratic animal incidents and its animality problem could be rectified?”

We recommend you all mutalaah their BIG CATS behaviors as well for this type of potentially unwanted political animals, and eventually relook at your acts of supporting them. The roots leading to their Big Cats are clear. You all just have to follow the links.

[Take the hint: if the allocations are known before hand, we use arrays; otherwise linked list. if the APF-authorized link list is managed by LLA, enter a F,LLA REFRESH command to refresh the Lookaside Directions -- as you see it.]

Jihadist calls for 'Facebook invasion': SITE

2008-12-12T14:50:00.006+08:00

A member of an Islamic jihadist forum who urged supporters last week to wage a "YouTube invasion" by uploading propaganda videos has called for a similar attack on popular social network Facebook.

The SITE Intelligence Group, a US-based monitoring service, reported on Wednesday that the appeal for a "Facebook invasion" was made on Tuesday on al-Faloja, a password-protected jihadist forum.

After praising the "great success" of the "YouTube invasion," the forum member using the name Omar Abdul Hakim called on other members to start using Facebook, describing it as "a podium to reach millions of people."

"We will use Facebook as a new and exclusive media tool to fight the media offensive on jihadist media, its forums, and its websites and in order to reveal the Crusaders," Hakim wrote according to SITE.

The forum member posted instructions on how to register on and use Facebook and outlined "goals of the invasion" as "reaching the vast base of Muslims who subscribe to Facebook" and "participating and interacting with them."

"Let us start to post publications, articles, Islamic and jihadist pictures," Hakim wrote.

Facebook's terms of service prohibit "organizations or groups that promote or glorify hatred, violence, intolerance, Islamic militant groups have used the Internet for some time as a propaganda window and for communications. A draft US Army intelligence report warned recently of the dangers of the micro-blogging service Twitter as a potential terrorist tool.

SITE said that in August of this year, a member of an al-Qaeda-affiliated forum, al-Ekhlaas, had also called on supporters to use Facebook and set up a Facebook group for supporters of al-Qaeda. -- Agence France-Presse - 12/11/2008 12:57 AM GMT [el-fared]

Pilgrims flood Mecca for annual hajj

2008-12-06T22:58:00.010+08:00

Saudi Arabia has mobilised a force of 100,000 men to protect an estimated two million Muslim pilgrims starting the annual hajj on Saturday [heading to a tent camp outside the holy city of Mecca in an itinerary retracing the route Prophet Mohammad (saw) took 14 centuries ago –ed.] amid fears of attack or deadly stampedes.

The interior ministry said that in addition to many thousands of Saudis, an estimated 1.7 million of the faithful have descended on the kingdom from abroad to perform the annual rites.

Local press reports spoke of a throng that could reach three million, and the official SPA news agency reported on Saturday that everything was proceeding smoothly.

The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam which the Qur'an says all Muslims must carry out at least once in their lives, if they are able to do so.

It began early on Saturday as pilgrims arrived on foot or by bus in Mina, a dusty valley 10 kilometres (six miles) from the holy city of Mecca.

Dozens of first aid stations lined the route, SPA reported.

Devotees are spending the day in prayer and contemplation in the valley, transformed into a city of fireproof tents.

At dawn on Sunday, they will head for the top of nearby Mount Arafat. Their time at the summit symbolises the wait for the last judgment and is the high point of the hajj.

Next, the pilgrims return to Mina to sacrifice an animal, usually a sheep, to commemorate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son on God's orders. This marks the start of the Eid al-Adha, the feast of the sacrifice.

They will spend another two days in Mina for the final rite -- the stoning of Satan. Each pilgrim throws 21 pebbles at each of three pillars symbolising the devil.

It is the most hazardous of the rituals. The pillars were enlarged a few years ago into 25-metre (80-foot) high concrete blocks. Bridges have been built at three levels at the site to help prevent a recurrence of fatal stampedes.

The vast tide of humanity massing in relatively small spaces has been the source of the bloodiest disasters, with stampedes causing the deaths of 364 people in 2006, 251 in 2004 and 1,426 in 1990.

After the stoning ceremony, the pilgrims go to Mecca's Great Mosque for a "farewell visit" to the Kaabah, a cube-shaped structure into which is set the Black Stone, Islam's most sacred relic.

US-made Sikorsky S-92 helicopters fitted with sophisticated technology such as night vision equipment are being used for the first time amid the spectre of the attacks which have haunted Saudi Arabia in recent years.

"(Saudi forces) are ready to cope with their responsibilities," Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdel Aziz said after inspecting the security forces supervising the hajj.

"Terrorism is not finished. It is still going," Prince Nayef told journalists ahead of the pilgrimage. -- Agence France-Presse - 12/6/2008 12:11 PM GMT

Terengganu a battleground: Critical test for Umno-BN in state by-election

2008-12-05T22:06:00.021+08:00

Malaysia's coalition government faces a by-election next month which analysts say will be a critical test of public reaction to its reform promises after disastrous polls in March. (ref Malaysiakini : BN faces critical by-election test –ed. )

The by-election in northern Terengganu state, a battleground between the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and the Islamic opposition party PAS, was triggered by the death of a deputy minister.

Election Commission deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar announced Friday that the vote would be held on January 17, with parties to declare their candidates on January 6.

After wrangles in the past over allegations of fraud and vote-buying, Wan Ahmad said that MAFREL (Malaysians for Free and Fair Elections) would be allowed to monitor the process.

"We like having MAFREL as observers as it boosts the confidence of people and transparency," he told a press conference.

The vote comes at an unfortunate time for the UMNO, which leads the Barisan Nasional coalition that was humbled in March elections -- losing a third of parliamentary seats and five states to the three-member opposition alliance.

Since then it has been in a state of disarray that is unlikely to be resolved until its annual assembly next March, when deputy prime minister Najib Razak is expected to replace unpopular premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Infighting and rivalries helped it lose an August by-election that allowed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to return to parliament -- a decade after he was sacked as deputy premier and jailed on sex and corruption charges.

Analysts said the UMNO faces a tough fight against the PAS, which along with Anwar's Keadilan party and the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party, makes up the opposition alliance.

"It will be a classic battle between two Malay political parties in a Malay heartland," said James Chin, professor of political science at the Kuala Lumpur campus of Monash university.

"If PAS wins it means the people do not believe UMNO's reform programme. It means their sentiments against the ruling party since the March elections are still there," he said.

"It could also demonstrate that voters do not have confidence in Najib Razak's leadership and believe that UMNO is not capable of any reform."

Najib, who as deputy premier will direct the ruling party's election campaign, has promised to make good on Abdullah's promises of change, which were never realised after he came to power in 2003.

But there are doubts whether the UMNO, which has become plagued by corruption in the half-century it has dominated Malaysian politics, is capable of undergoing the changes that voters are demanding.

The party won the vacant seat of Kuala Terengganu in March, but only with the slimmest of majorities.

"There is no escape but face the Kuala Terengganu by-election, which is wholly unexpected and could not have come at a worse possible time for UMNO and Barisan," the Star newspaper said in an analysis.

It said that a major factor would be the 11 percent of Chinese voters among the more than 80,000 eligible to vote. Malaysia's ethnic Chinese and Indian communities abandoned the coalition in the March polls.

A victory would be a major boost for the PAS, which lost control of Terengganu state in 2004, after having held it for just one term and alienating voters with extreme measures such as enacting Islamic "hudud" laws.

Since then it has dropped its hardline rhetoric and tried to reach out to Malaysia's minorities who are alarmed over rising "Islamisation" in the multicultural country. -- Agence France-Presse - 12/5/2008 7:24 AM GMT

Qaeda deputy lauds dead Bali bombers, slams Saudis

2008-12-03T23:59:00.008+08:00

Al-Qaeda number two Ayman Zawahiri paid tribute to three Indonesian Islamists executed last month for the deadly Bali bombings in 2002, in an Internet audio message released on Monday. [as-sahab media's video here]

Zawahiri also slammed the Saudi royal family, accusing it of working with the United States and Israel against jihadists in the Palestinian territories, Afghanistan and Iraq.

He praised the three Bali bombers, saying "they knew the price of their action and they paid it with satisfaction.

"They faced a long journey of torture, imprisonment and oppression. They received the verdict joyfully," Zawahiri said in the 20-minute message made available by the US-based SITE Intelligence Group.

Zawahiri called the three "steadfast heroes" and warned of consequences. "I remind the crusaders that killing our brothers will only increase our determination to vex them and eventually drive them out of Muslim countries."

Indonesian Islamists Amrozi, his brother Mukhlas and ringleader Imam Samudra were executed by firing squad on November 9 for the attacks on packed nightspots on the holiday island of Bali which killed 202 people.

On the Saudi royal family, Zawahiri accused them of "working with the United States and Israel to undermine jihadist resistance in Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq."

He described a Saudi-sponsored UN conference on religious tolerance last month as a "ridiculous farce" and "only another trick to negotiate and meet with the Israelis." -- Agence France-Presse - 12/1/2008 5:12 PM GMT

afp: World leaders plead for religious tolerance

Mumbai attacks: Probe shows no links to Malaysia

2008-12-02T23:59:00.002+08:00

An initial probe into the Mumbai attacks has not uncovered any links to Malaysia, said consul-general in Mumbai, Wan Zaidi Wan Abdullah.

He said the Indian authorities had denied newspaper reports that the terrorists had used Malaysian travel documents and credit cards.
This was revealed to the consul-general by senior police investigators but there is still no official statement from the Indian government on this so-called link.

"Investigations are ongoing with the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States and India's own Central Bureau of Investigation, their police and other enforcement and intelligence agencies," Wan Zaidi said.

It is reliably learnt that Indian authorities have also sought the assistance of British and United States intelligence following reports of the terrorists' links with international criminals.

He added the authorities had yet to ascertain the authenticity of news reports that Malaysian credit cards were discovered in the knapsacks of several terrorists killed in shoot-outs with Indian crack Black Cat commandos.

He also denied reports that eight of the terrorists were living in Mumbai for a month prior to the attack and were posing as Malaysian students.

"If there were any truth to these reports, then Malaysia would have been linked to the terrorist attacks," he said when contacted in Mumbai.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said police were liaising with Interpol on the matter.

"The claims are unsubstantiated. This is an allegation that does not have any evidence," he said after a National Economic Council meeting.

The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. -- By: Adrian David, NST

Petrol prices cut: RM1.90 per litre wef Wednesday

2008-12-02T23:42:00.003+08:00

Malaysia on Tuesday cut petrol prices by 5.0 percent, bringing pump prices down to 1.90 ringgit (0.52 dollars) per litre amid easing global crude prices.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said said the 10 sen cut would be effective Wednesday with diesel also reduced by 10 sen to 1.80 ringgit per litre.

"As the price of oil has visibly dropped, the government has again made a decision to reduce retail prices so that the public can benefit," he said in a statement.

It is the sixth fuel price cut the government has announced since June's 41 percent hike on the back of soaring crude costs, which sparked angry street protests and calls for the premier to resign.

The last cut, by 15 sen, was just over two weeks ago.

June's hike saw inflation soar, with the August price index reaching a 26-year high of 8.5 percent, also driven by the escalating cost of food and transportation.
Inflation has since eased at 7.6 percent in October as fuel prices dropped. -- Agence France-Presse - 12/2/2008 9:37 AM GMT

Projek 16 September diteruskan, gegarkan Sarawak! - Anwar

2008-12-01T22:13:00.004+08:00

Penasihat KeADILan, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim memilih Sarawak sebagai usaha terbaru menjadikan 'projek 16 September' menukar kerajaan persekutuan satu kenyataan.

"Langkah pertama, gegarkan Sarawak. Sarawak barisan hadapan kita sekarang," kata Anwar dalam ceramah khas malam tadi bersempena Kongres Nasional kelima parti itu selama dua hari di Shah Alam.

Ini merupakan kempen terbaru Penasihat KeADILan itu yang dilancarkan selepas pelan asalnya berhubung isu pertukaran kerajaan, berlalu 16 September lepas.

Difahamkan pengumuman itu berikutan sambutan baik 12,000 penduduk Sarawak yang dilaporkan menyertai parti itu dua minggu lalu.

Anwar berkata, tarikh 16 September itu, merupakan sasaran ke arah membina satu kekuatan bagi menubuhkan kerajaan baru bersama dengan Pakatan Rakyat.

Menurutnya, mengambil alih kerajaan bukan perkara mudah dan menasihatkan agar rakyat bersabar menunggu masanya.

"Ini isu yang tidak mudah diungkap dan dilakar dengan kata-kata kerana ada sebab, ada hal yang saya tidak dapat sebutkan.

"Orang yang bersetuju, menunggu waktu untuk menyeberang, syaratnya tidak didedahkan sehingga mereka bersedia. Jadi, cakap salah, tidak cakap pun salah.

"Cakap salah, tidak cakap salah, jadi semua serba salah," katanya dengan gaya bernyanyi dan disambut dengan gelak ketawa ribuan para penyokongnya.

Sehubungan itu, Anwar berharap orang ramai bersabar walaupun beliau mengakui terdapat ahli-ahli KeADILan dan rakyat yang ragu-ragu dan tertanya-tanya bilakah beliau akan membentuk kerajaan baru dan berada di Putrajaya.

"Jika Allah mentakdirkan kita menang, kita menang. Saya yakin, insya-Allah sebagaimana mana saya yakin sebelum 8 Mac," katanya.

Beberapa hari sebelum pilihan raya umum ke-12, Anwar membuat kejutan dalam ceramahnya di Singapura apabila mendedahkan lima negeri akan jatuh ke tangan gabungan pembangkang. - mks _ Harakahdaily Mon Dec 01, 08 8:43:24 am MYT

Malaysia probes Mumbai attack credit cards, denies terror link

2008-11-30T21:39:00.008+08:00

Malaysian police are investigating reports that Malaysian-issued credit cards were found in the belongings of the terrorists involved in the Mumbai attacks, according to reports Sunday.

Indian media reported Saturday that Malaysian credit cards were discovered in the knapsacks of several terrorists who were killed in shootouts with Indian military commandos after attacks which officials say left 195 people dead and 295 injured.

"These reports have to be verified first as it is too early to make assumptions," deputy police chief Ismail Omar told the New Straits Times newspaper.

nst: Mumbai terror: Probe into credit card link

"Police will look into the possibility that the credit cards could have been forged," he added.

Meanwhile, home minister Syed Hamid Albar said Malaysia had no links with the terrorists, responding to another Indian news report that nine of the gunmen claimed to be Malaysian students when they travelled to Mumbai several months ago.

He said the attackers had no link to any Malaysian group and that the security services were monitoring the situation closely although India had yet to contact them over the matter, he told the Star daily.

"There is always close cooperation among security forces," he told the paper.
"Of course, if there is any information, anything that is considered useful or necessary, there will be an exchange of information," he added.
"However, there are no links and no information to that effect."

News reports of the unconfirmed Malaysian link in the attacks are a potential concern for the Malaysian government because of parallels to a visit to the country by the September 11, 2001 terrorists before they launched attacks on the United States. -- Agence France-Presse - 11/30/2008 5:56 AM GMT

Mumbai attacks: Al-Qaeda methods & ideology; Malaysian ICs

2008-11-30T04:58:00.005+08:00

Indian and American intelligence sources tell ABS-CBN that there is increasing evidence that the attacks in Mumbai were carried out by a Pakistani militant group linked to Al-Qaeda. The primary suspects, they say, are Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Lashkar-e-Toiba has denied it’s behind the attacks.

Indian intelligence sources say that one of the gunmen now in custody told Indian authorities that he – along with seven others – pretended to be students, rented an apartment in Mumbai and meticulously staked out the targets. Allegedly, they carried Malaysian identity cards. A Pakistani national, he told authorities he was trained by Lashkar-e-Toiba – taught to hijack a sea vessel and carry out urban warfare. These are tactics used by Al-Qaeda in past terror attacks, honed and passed along in its training camps; Lashkar-e-Toiba has long been linked to Al-Qaeda.

The ties are clear if we take the facts in Mumbai and compare them with the history of Al-Qaeda and its affiliate groups. … (more)

Terrorist groups in South Asia change their names often. Once a terrorist group is identified, often it just changes its name. For example, one of the first groups discovered with an Al-Qaeda link was Harkat-ul-Unsar (it also has links to the Philippines). The group changed its name to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, and when they were declared terrorists, they changed their name again …. to Jaish-e-Mohammed.

The Mumbai attacks are well-planned and coordinated using tactics and methods that reflect a very familiar virulent ideology. It shows the evolution of terrorist groups – how homegrown and foreign tactics are merging and creating new threats. The roots leading to Al-Qaeda are clear. We just have to follow the links. -- By MARIA A. RESSA, ABS-CBN News 11/29/2008 9:16 PM

Anwar says march to victory has only been delayed

2008-11-29T18:13:00.003+08:00

SHAH ALAM, Nov 29 – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim admitted today his plans to topple the Barisan Nasional (BN) government had been foiled but he did not say whether he had abandoned the idea of engineering defections to take power.

"Yes, there have been setbacks. We skirted with destiny on Sept 16 and despite our best efforts our march to victory has been delayed. I empathise with you and with the people of Malaysia," the PKR de facto leader said at the party national congress here.

"We are all forced to further endure the slings and arrows of an incompetent government that has lost touch with the people," he added.

Speaking before 2,000 party delegates at the PKR annual congress, Anwar took the opportunity to rally his supporters and attempted to redefine his promise for change.

"Although our promise has not yet been fulfilled, the Pakatan Rakyat leaders and I remain committed to the agenda for change and our tenacity has never been stronger," said Anwar to loud cheers from the crowd.

His fighting words to the party faithful come amid a sense of waning momentum on the part of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) challenge to the BN federal government.

The BN's transition plans, which will see Datuk Seri Najib Razak take over as prime minister from Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi next March, has brought renewed stability to a BN government which was badly shaken by the resurgent opposition boosted by the March general election results.

"I ask you, first as Malaysians and second as members of Keadilan, let us prepare ourselves with a renewed resolve and the courage of conviction that with our efforts a thousand flowers of freedom will yet bloom in Malaysia," declared Anwar.

He also urged party members in BN-controlled states to work harder to ensure the party's victory.

"To those living outside the Pakatan states, the task is formidable. You believe in Keadilan and you believe that with Pakatan Rakyat the future of the country can be great. Yet, you live in the stronghold of Barisan Nasional. We need your unwavering commitment and we need you to work harder than ever before so that Pakatan Rakyat's banner can be raised throughout Malaysia," said Anwar.

The Permatang Pauh MP, who was welcomed with Malaysian multicultural dances as he walked into the Malawati Stadium here, also reminded the delegates of the party's extraordinary performance in the last general election.

"Our successes in 2008 are immense and we should be immensely proud. After two successful elections we have proven that the Pakatan Rakyat coalition is strong and unified," he said.

Anwar is expected to address a public rally later this evening to explain why he had failed to form the federal government on Sept 16. -- By Adib Zalkapli, M/Insider

Indonesia’s DPR wants CIA book banned

2008-11-25T23:59:00.000+08:00

Indonesia’s House (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat) Speaker Agung Laksono on Monday said he had requested the Attorney General's Office (AGO) ban a recently published translation of a book on CIA history, which claims an important Indonesian figure was a CIA agent.

"We have entrusted the matter to the AGO," he said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

The book, titled Legacy of Ashes, The History of the CIA and written by New York Times journalist Tim Weiner, discusses CIA history in relation to international political events including the bloody political situation in Indonesia of 1965.

Weiner quoted former CIA top agent Clyde McAvoy saying "Adam Malik was a CIA agent in 1964".

Malik was Indonesia's top diplomat and served as the country's vice president from 1978 to 1983.
Separately on Monday, AGO spokesman Jasman Panjaitan said his office was still analyzing the book and had yet to decide whether to ban it.

"Our Social-Political Affairs Directorate is studying the book. We are looking into the substance of the book, and have yet to summon its writer," he said.

Jasman, however, said Malik's family could file a complaint over the book if they felt slandered. (anb/ewd) -- The Jakarta Post Mon, 11/24/2008 4:47 PM (GMT +9)

ibnuhasyim: Bekas Wakil Presiden Indonesia Adalah Agen CIA..

“This is the process of how a fatwa is implemented in the state”

2008-11-25T21:35:00.008+08:00

It is the prerogative of the state religious authorities and their Rulers to accept or reject the National Fatwa Council’s decision to bar Muslims from practising yoga.

Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) director-general Datuk Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abd Aziz said the council’s fatwa (edict) prohibiting Muslims from practising yoga would be discussed in the state fatwa committees, whose members were appointed by their respective rulers.

“After it is agreed upon by the committees, the matter will then be presented to the various state religious councils before it is brought before the Sultan for consent.

“This is the process of how a fatwa is implemented in the state,” he said.

“It is the state’s prerogative to decide whether to implement a fatwa,” he said after chairing a meeting with the country’s state Islamic religious council heads here on Tuesday.

The various stands of certain state authorities on the matter did not reflect a difference in opinion between the state bodies and the council, he added.

Since the council came out with the fatwa on Saturday, the Sultan of Selangor has said that the fatwa could not be implemented as the state Fatwa Committee had yet to deliberate on the matter.

afp/msn: Malaysia's yoga ban faces opposition from royals

nst: FATWA ON YOGA: 'Consult the rulers first'

Perak Religious Department director Datuk Jamry Sury, who had earlier been quoted as saying that the state would abide by the fatwa, retracted his statement a day later.

Jamry clarified that the fatwa had not been discussed by the Perak Fatwa Committee and brought to the attention of the State Religious and Malays Customs Council before being presented to the Sultan of Perak for consent.

Perlis Mufti Dr Asri Zainal Abidin had also spoken out against the fatwa, saying yoga with the non-Muslim elements removed should be allowed, while other states were set to go ahead with the implementation.

Wan Mohamad explained that Jakim’s duty, as the secretariat of the National Fatwa Council, was to coordinate the process by conducting research on an issue before presenting it to the council.

Perlis Mufti Dr Asri: Isu haram yoga, fatwa jangan kaku

On the statement by Dr Asri that yoga should not be banned entirely but an alternative should instead be offered, Wan Mohamad said:

“Did the Perlis Fatwa Committee meet before the mufti voiced his disagreement? The matter has to be discussed first before it is agreed or disagreed upon.”

Wan Mohamad pointed out that discussions generated by various quarters over the council’s decision showed that Malaysians were interested in understanding Islam better.

“There is good and bad. It is good that at least now we can take the opportunity to explain the beauty of Islam to non-Muslims.

“As we live in a multi-religious country, it is good for our religious authorities to share information and knowledge with one another,” he said.

However, he reminded the people that Islam was the official religion in the country, as enshrined in the Constitution, and hence should be respected by all. – The Star

The National Fatwa Council had, last Saturday, issued a fatwa to ban systematic yoga practice for Muslims as chanting of mantra and oneness with God are part of the physical regime, and are therefore against Islamic teachings.

‘Penyatuan Diri Dengan Tuhan’

2008-11-23T23:59:00.001+08:00

Matlamat amalan yoga adalah kearah penyatuan diri dengan tuhan. "Amalan yoga yang berasal dari masyarakat Hindu mempunyai tiga peringkat,

peringkat pertama adalah fizikal iaitu senaman,
peringkat kedua adalah mentera dan pemujaan bagi mendapatkan ketenangan dan
peringkat ketiga adalah penyatuan diri dengan tuhan.

"Oleh itu ahli muzakarah bersetuju memutuskan bahawa apa jua jenis atau bentuk amalan yang mengandungi unsur-unsur tersebut adalah dilarang dan bertentangan dengan ajaran Islam," kata Pengerusi Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan kepada pemberita di Putrajaya kelmarin.

Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan kelmarin mengharamkan umat Islam mengamalkan yoga secara sistematik, yang melibatkan unsur-unsur fizikal dan spiritual kerana ia bertentangan dengan syariat Islam.

Pengerusinya Datuk Dr Abdul Shukor Husin bagaimanapun berkata, amalan fizikal iaitu senaman dalam yoga, tanpa adanya unsur-unsur mentera dan pemujaan pada zahirnya tidak menjadi kesalahan.

Namun, menurut laporan Bernama yang dipetik Malaysiakini, beliau berkata, ia tidak digalakkan kerana dikhuatiri boleh menghakis akidah seseorang Muslim memandangkan ia merupakan salah satu komponen daripada keseluruhan amalan yang diharamkan itu.

Keseluruhan amalan yoga, pada pandangan kami, matlamatnya ada persamaan dengan amalan tareqat berfahaman Wahdatul Wujud yang mana telah lama difatwakan haram. Maka dalam program kesedaran yang dirancang akan diperluaskan ke seluruh negara nanti Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim) harus juga memperjelaskan tentang fahaman Wahdatul Wujud ini serta amalan-amalan tareqat yang berkaitan dengannya.

Mithalnya Tareqat Naqshbandiyah Ini

Green venture turns sour: Bruce Willis sues M’sian royal

2008-11-21T23:59:00.000+08:00

Hollywood actor Bruce Willis is suing a Malaysian company and its royal chairman over an investment in an eco-friendly rubber venture which went sour, the firm said Friday.

Petra Group said Willis had filed a complaint in a Los Angeles court to recover 900,000 dollars from a two million dollar investment in the firm's subsidiary, Green Rubber Global.

Petra is chaired by Tunku Imran Tuanku Jaafar, a prince in the royal family of Malaysia's Negeri Sembilan state.

"The company is very surprised with Mr. Willis' legal actions and refutes in the strongest possible terms any allegations of impropriety," Petra Group spokesman Andrew Murray-Watson told AFP.

He said Petra had refunded most of Willis' investment and had every intention of paying the remainder within a deadline, a fortnight away.

"As a gesture of good will, 1.1 million dollars of the two million Mr. Willis invested has been repaid already. Mr. Willis is aware that the balance will be repaid within the next few weeks," he said.

Murray-Watson said in 2007 Willis contacted Petra's chief executive Vinod Sekhar -- who personally owns almost 100 percent of the group -- asking to invest in Green Rubber, which uses an environmentally friendly technology to recycle tyres.

Sekhar agreed to buy back Willis' shares at any time he wanted to sell.

At the time Green Rubber was planning to list on the London stock market, but because of the global credit crunch the plans had to be put on hold -- triggering the disagreement between the two sides, Murray-Watson said.

Willis' friend and fellow Hollywood actor, Mel Gibson, is another investor in Green Rubber and is reported to be a close friend of Sekhar.

Petra said in a statement Gibson was still happy with his investment and agreed with the decision not to list the company. It quoted him as saying that "in hindsight, it has turned out to be absolutely the right decision".

Green Rubber said last year Sekhar, through Petra, owns 84 percent of the firm, with the remainder held by his celebrity friends including Indian former cricketer Kapil Dev, former golfer Lee Westwood, and the Forbes publishing family.

The firm's recycling process, which avoids used tyres being burned or ending up as landfill, reportedly uses waste-free environmentally friendly technology to produce a rubber compound that can be used to make products including tyres. -- Agence France-Presse - 11/21/2008 9:58 AM GMT

DR M: Islamic banking could be answer to global financial woes

2008-11-20T21:40:00.002+08:00

Islamic banking should not be dismissed as a potential solution for the ongoing global financial crisis, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed said today.

He said those who had put in place the current financial system used were in denial and did not want to admit that the system they have been using all these while were wrong and open to abuse.

“They try to patch up here and there with bailouts. But that is not going to solve anything,” Dr Mahathir told reporters at the Fourth International Convention on Takaful and Retakaful here.

“So in the process of trying to solve the problem, don’t dismiss any idea including Islamic banking. Maybe not the whole Islamic banking, but elements of it can contribute towards stabilising the banking system of the world,” he said.

Asked if he thought that if bodies like United Nations are seeing a need for change by setting up a high-level task force to examine possible reforms of the global financial system, Dr Mahathir said: “There is a political element there.”

Earlier in his keynote address, he said two Malaysians were picked to join the high-level task force, with one of them being the Central Bank governor and another a critic of the government.
“They pick a person whom is against the government. If they want to do something, they already have an agenda,” Dr Mahathir “They must find a person who is against the government they don’t like and he is the one who is going to advise them. And he is going to be wrong because he has never done anything positive... he’s merely a critic and to be a critic is very easy,” he said.

Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz and Malaysian economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram have been appointed members of the UN’s Commission of Experts on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System.

Asked if he thought the RM7 billion stimulus package announced by the government was enough to stimulate economic growth during these trying times, Dr Mahahtir said “It may contribute to something, but it is like a patchwork kind of treatment.” “You have a headache because you are sick, and you just treat the headache.

That is not good enough. You have to treat the whole body,” he said.

“So this RM7 billion Panadol given may solve the headache, but there are other parts of the body that are going to be very sick.” Asked about his thought of the current domestic economic situation and if it could withstand the global recession, Dr Mahathir said Malaysia as a trading nation would be affected.

“To say that we can withstand the effects of this terrible recession is wrong. There must be an impact because we are a trading nation,” he said.

“We have to sit down and think what has gone wrong with the rest of the world and how does it affect us. We exist by selling things to 200 different countries. That’s how we built our economy, in trade. If our trading partners are not doing well, we cannot very well do well,” he added. -- Bernama via NST

'Islamic banks in Malaysia likely to merge'

2008-11-19T23:27:00.004+08:00

ISLAMIC financial institutions in Malaysia could merge in the next five years to compete with their conventional counterparts, says Maybank Islamic acting chief executive officer Ibrahim Hassan.

"This is because their current capital and asset size are small," he said at the Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum 2008 (KLIFF 2008) yesterday.

This is due to be a regional development, said Fajr Capital (Malaysia) managing director Rafe Haneef.

"We will see consolidation of Islamic banks in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) eventually. It will also be seen in markets like Dubai, which have over 40 banks servicing commercial and retail sectors," he said.

Both were speaking at a session during KLIFF 2008 in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. -- NST, Published: 2008/11/19

KLIFF 2008 is being organised by the Centre for Research and Training and co-hosts by Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority and Halal Industry Development Corp in collaboration with Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes, International Institute of Islamic Finance and Messrs Hisham, Sobri & Kadir.

Malaysia cuts fuel price by 7.0 percent

2008-11-17T22:51:00.004+08:00

Malaysia on Monday cut petrol prices by 7 percent, bringing pump prices down to 2.00 ringgit (0.56 dollars) per litre as global crude prices continued to ease.

Deputy premier Najib Razak said the 15 sen cut would be effective Tuesday with diesel also reduced by 15 sen to 1.90 ringgit per litre.

"This reduction... follows the promise the government has made to reduce (fuel) prices if there is a drop in oil prices in the global market," he said in a statement.

"The government hopes that businesses will take steps to reduce the price of goods so that the public can get the full benefit of the price cuts," he added.

"We also hope that consumers will use petrol and diesel sparingly even though prices have dropped."

It is the fifth fuel price cut the government has announced since June's 41 percent hike on the back of soaring crude costs, which sparked angry street protests and calls for premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to resign.

The last cut, by 15 sen, was just over two weeks ago.

Abdullah had said prices would be reviewed periodically based on the cost of oil.

June's hike saw inflation soar, with the August price index reaching a 26-year high of 8.5 percent, also driven by the escalating cost of food and transportation.

In September, inflation eased to 8.2 percent as fuel prices dropped. -- Agence France-Presse - 11/17/2008 10:51 AM GMT

New LCC Airport in Negri Songo

2008-11-13T23:44:00.002+08:00

MAB have identified the site which they believe will be ideal for Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) operations and will also provide a link to the Express Rail Link (ERL).

Negri Songo will have an airport when the integrated 2,800-hectare corridor development project near Kompong Gadong Java in Labu is developed, Negri’s premier said according to reports Thursday.

Mamak Bendahara DS Mohamed el-Hasan said the development of the airport would be undertaken by Sime Darby.

He said the working paper on the project had been submitted to the cabinet. He added that the development of the airport would further boost economic growth – riba, in the state.

“The modern economic zone would also have medical, education, sports and tourism facilities.”

El-Hasan also said UAE, a Dubai-based company, had agreed to develop a 400-hectare plot in Sendayan into a tourist town with hotels and a F1 One village.

They are in final discussions with the government to put these plans into effect. They are considering turning the existing Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) into a cargo transportation hub when the new LCCT is ready in the next three to four years. – [cheetah@enstek]

‘Time to globalize Islamic finance concepts’

2008-11-13T21:20:00.005+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Islamic finance needs to quickly integrate itself into the international financial system and prove that it is a viable alternative to conventional banking, the prime minister said yesterday. By transforming itself into an essential element of global finance, he said Islamic finance would surely end its perceived position as a niche or boutique service.

However, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi added that for it to effectively complement global finance, a sound legal framework, which would provide it with the credibility it required was crucial. “The consistent application of syariah must form the basis of all transactions, be it domestic or international.

"Practitioners of Islamic finance would do well to utilize the Islamic concept of hikmah (wisdom) to ensure successful reforms at the international level," he said in his speech at the official launch of Standard Chartered Saadiq Bhd, the Islamic finance subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Bhd.

StanChart's Saadiq to boost Islamic assets

Abdullah said Malaysia was positioned to lead an attempt to reform global banking by infusing concepts and themes from Islamic finance. He said the country was ready to act as a knowledge centre for Islamic finance and pointed to the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (Inceif) and the International Shari’ah Research Academy (Isra) as examples of Malaysia's commitment to developing the specialty.

Abdullah also said Islamic finance was one area where the world's Muslims could forge vital links with non-Muslims. "In business, we are poised on the brink of an old way of life which is dying and a new way of life that is in the process of being born.

"Behind lies an industrial and financial age that lavished wealth, but left the planet polluted and societies fragmented.

"I firmly believe that there exists tremendous opportunities for Islamic finance to come to the fore to lead the financial fraternity into a new growth era." -- By: Marc Lourdes, NST

'Global crisis a chance for Islamic banking'

2008-11-12T22:31:00.006+08:00

The global economic crisis presents an opportunity for Islamic banking to show it is a viable alternative to conventional finance, Malaysia's premier said according to reports Wednesday.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the meltdown showed the need for laws enshrined in Islamic banking, which prohibits speculation and high levels of debt, and which has so far been relatively unscathed by the credit crunch.

"These ethical and moral safeguards are missing in the conventional system," Abdullah said in a speech, adding that the crisis was caused by trade in loans which few truly understood.

"In reality these repackaged subprime loans were nothing more than artful works of deception that fed the speculative excesses and hubris in the financial markets," he said at the launch of an Islamic law research academy.

However, he called on Islamic banking -- a booming 1.0 trillion dollar global industry -- to work on clarifying and resolving conflicts in interpretation over what products are allowed under religious laws.

"The Islamic finance community should not be complacent or unduly proud. We must continue to critically evaluate ourselves," he said according to the state Bernama news agency.

"For instance, have we truly established an alternative system or are we still very much mimicking the established conventional system?"

Islamic law prohibits the payment and collection of interest, which is seen as a form of gambling, so highly complex instruments such as derivatives and other creative accounting practices are banned.

Transactions must be backed by real assets, and because risk is shared between the bank and the depositor there is an incentive for the institutions to ensure the deal is sound.

There have been calls for the conventional banking industry to take a leaf out of the book of Islamic finance, which also shuns investments in gaming, alcohol and pornography in favour of ethical investments. -- Agence France-Presse - 11/12/2008 4:13 AM GMT

Lawyer team to file lawsuit over Bali bombers' executions

2008-11-11T09:13:00.006+08:00

The Bali bombers' team of lawyers, the Muslim Defence Team (TPM), are planning to file a lawsuit against the government over their clients' execution which they say violated human rights.

"The executions were not conducted in accordance with existing procedures. We are preparing to take legal action," one of the lawyers, Agus Setiawan, said as quoted by Antara.

The rights of the convicts' lawyers and families were violated because they had been forbidden to meet the convicts at Batu Prison, Nusakambangan Island, and were not able to fully take care of the bodies after the executions, Agus said.

Separately, Lulu Jamaluddin, the younger brother of Bali bomber Imam Samudera, said his family could not accept his brother's death.

"We will file a lawsuit against the Attorney General's Office," he said.

Amrozi, 47, Muklas (Ali Gufron), 48, and Imam, 38, were executed by firing squad near their prison, shortly after midnight early on Sunday, for their roles in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians. (dre) -- The Jakarta Post, Mon, 11/10/2008 8:31 AM (GMT + 9)

Indonesia executes Bali bombers, backlash feared

Judge sets Anwar Ibrahim free

2008-11-07T23:20:00.005+08:00

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim scored a legal victory Friday, his lawyer said, as a judge struck down the government's bid to shift his sodomy trial to a higher court.

Anwar fears the government will be able to manipulate the case more easily at the High Court, said lawyer Sankara Nair who hailed the ruling by a lower court judge as "courageous".

"We are very happy... this is rather refreshing that a judge has been able to make a decision professionally and judicially," Sankara told AFP.

"My client fears there will be judge-fixing, and there is good reason to fear that because we've been there before," he said of Anwar's trials a decade ago which saw him convicted of sodomy and corruption.

Those decisions were widely seen as politically motivated, and there has been a furore over the latest sodomy allegations against Anwar who says the government is trying to prevent him from seizing power.

Anwar, who is married and the father of six children, has rejected the allegations levelled by 23-year-old former aide Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan who said he was sodomised in June.

The charges emerged after March general elections which saw Anwar's opposition alliance make huge gains, securing a third of parliamentary seats and five states in the ruling coalition's worst ever performance.

Anwar has said he has enough support from defecting lawmakers to seize power, but failed to meet a self-imposed September deadline to topple the coalition which has ruled for half a century.

Sankara said the government was very likely to appeal Friday's decision by Sessions Court judge Komathy Suppiah, but that if it does not intervene, the lower court will on November 14 set a date to begin the trial. -- Agence France-Presse - 11/7/2008 9:53 AM GMT

Islamist jihadists protest...

2008-11-06T23:40:00.007+08:00

Islamic extremists (jihadists –ed.) rallied in the Indonesian capital Thursday against the imminent execution of three Bali bombers, as defence lawyers demanded the families be allowed final visit.

Chanting "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great -ed.), some 100 militants descended on the offices of the national human rights body as the bombers' lawyers met officials inside to demand access for the families.
The radicals condemned the executions, believed to be hours or days away, and praised bombers Amrozi, 47, his brother Mukhlas, 48, and Imam Samudra, 38, as "holy warriors."
They carried banners pledging to follow the bombers' path of jihad or "holy war" and warning that "hell" awaits the executioners.

Defence lawyer Mahendradatta urged the human rights body, Komnas Ham, to back the families' demand for visiting rights.
Komnas Ham chairman Ifdhal Kasim said the prisoners had a right to meet their families before they faced the firing squad. "A prisoner awaiting execution must be given a chance to meet their families," he said, promising to take up the matter with the prosecutors office which handles executions.

Meanwhile the families wrote to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pleading for a delay in the executions, defence lawyer Fahmi Bachmid said. He said however that the letter was not a request for clemency.

The bombers have said they want to die to become "martyrs" for their dream of creating an Islamic utopia (caliphate -ed.) across Southeast Asia.
"We don't know the contents of the letter. The families only told me that they hope the execution will be postponed until the president gives an answer to the letter," he said.

The bombings on the resort island of Bali in 2002 killed more than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists.

The government has said the condemned men will be executed by firing squad in "early November" after they exhausted the appeals process (except for seeking presidential clemency khuda kay liye. -ed.). -- Agence France-Presse - 11/6/2008 5:19 AM GMT

Anwar’s View of Obama’s Win

2008-11-06T00:04:00.009+08:00

Malaysia said Wednesday that Barack Obama's victory could mean less use of American force in solving world conflicts, and more respect for smaller nations.
"Malaysia... hopes Obama's government will be more sensitive to the sovereignty of smaller nations and will not use force in resolving global conflicts," Foreign Minister Rais Yatim said in a statement.
"Obama's victory is seen as bringing change and hope to the world," he added.
"Malaysia welcomes him as the new light in the struggle for democracy. As America's first black president his victory has shown that Americans can accept a leader regardless of colour, religion or beliefs."
Rais said that Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim nation, hoped the new administration would also pay greater attention to developing countries as well as to humanitarian and developmental issues.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy premier who was strongly backed by the United States after being sacked and jailed in 1998, said Obama would boost prospects for engagement between the US and Muslim countries.
"Some of the most contentious issues of our time, including the ongoing conflicts and confrontations in the Middle East, require a commitment to diplomacy, a willingness to engage in a meaningful dialogue and a departure from the aggressive unilateralism witnessed in recent years," he said.
"In this we anticipate that president-elect Obama will show leadership where previous administrations have failed."
Malaysia has been a long-term critic of the US intervention in Iraq, with former premier Mahathir Mohamad branding incumbent US President George Bush a "war criminal". -- Agence France-Presse - 11/5/2008 9:20 AM GMT

Anwar congratulates Obama, says we can learn from America
By Debra Chong and Shannon Teoh, m/insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 – Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim called Barack Obama's victory in the US elections a "phenomenon."
"I know it is not easy to say anything positive about America, at least not in Malaysia, particularly not the way the media has been portraying me," he said, referring to allegations that he is a stooge of the American government.
"But his strength – unlike Bush – is that he is prepared to engage. And this is very critical for the US," Anwar continued.
He was referring to outgoing US President George Bush's famous "You are either with us or against us" catchphrase.
"But this is a very healthy and welcome trend ... that you have a black and minority leading as an American and not as a black person. We should learn from this," he said at a press conference in Parliament today.
Anwar, however, added a caveat that he did not necessarily share the same foreign policy prescriptions as Obama.
"In fact, some of his views regarding the Middle East conflict are quite disturbing," the former Deputy Prime Minister stressed.
He also told reporters that he had written a congratulatory note to Obama and called on him to "act on the need to immediately engage with all quarters and to try first to withdraw from Iraq."
"I've great admiration for him personally. I believe Barack, at least, represents change in the US. He represents the face that is willing to engage and have a meaningful dialogue and serious conversations with various groups," he said.
"I have been in touch with him and I am really pleased that he and Senator Biden won."
Joe Biden was Obama's running mate and now America's new Vice President.

[From The Time] Anwar’s View of Obama’s Win: Greater Expectations

What seemed audacious and improbable before is now a reality. In Obama’s victory are sown the seeds of great expectations that a truly new chapter will be written in the history of the world.

Muslim nations will have cause to celebrate this triumph; it offers prospects for genuine dialogue and engagement and should witness the politics of diplomacy supplant the politics of war and the theology of terror. Other nations traditionally at loggerheads with America may find reason to reciprocate to a more balanced approach.

—By Anwar Ibrahim
Former Deputy Prime Minister

His full PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Tahniah Kepada Perubahan!

'Obama wins,' pronounce Indonesian sixth-graders

2008-11-05T21:35:00.005+08:00

Students at US presidential candidate Barack Obama's old primary school in Indonesia were prematurely celebrating his election win Wednesday, and looking forward to his first presidential visit.
"Obama wins! McCain loses!" chanted the crows of about 250 excited children at the Menteng One primary school in the affluent central Jakarta suburb of Menteng, as they watched coverage on local television.
Deputy principal Akahmad Solikhin won rapturous applause when he announced to the children that Obama would be visiting them soon. "If Obama wins he'll visit our school," he said.
The son of a white American mother and a black Kenyan father, Obama was raised in Hawaii and moved to Indonesia when he was six after his divorced mother remarried an Indonesian.
He went to school in Menteng in the late 1960s, and in his memoirs recalled his time here as the "bounty of a young man's life."
Solikhin said that with the Democrat senator appearing set to become the first black US president and the most powerful man in the world, he was having a powerful new influence on his old school on the other side of the planet.
"We're using Obama as a tool to motivate the students to be successful.
There is an emotional connection between the students and Obama," he said, adding that enrollments had increased 5.0-10 percent over last year.
Sixth-grader Farhan Ashardi, 11, said he now believed he could be president of Indonesia one day.
"If Obama can do it so can I," he said.
But fifth-grader Aisya Nadine said she had no plans to become president of Indonesia, itself a rowdy democracy of 234 million people.
"It's hard to become president in Indonesia, there's a lot of corruption here, it's hard to control," she said. – Agence France-Presse - 11/5/2008 3:30 AM GMT

Ex-classmates in Indonesia applaud 'Barry' Obama

Khuda Kay Liye, Salamander Is Coming!

2008-11-03T00:54:00.008+08:00

The three Islamist militants (jihadis –ed.) convicted over the Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people have received notification of their imminent execution, a prison source said Saturday.

The source at the Nusakambangan island prison (sijn –ed.) off southern Java also said the bombers had been placed in isolation (waqfuka bil-haqq ma‘aka –ed.) away from other prisoners in preparation for their date with the firing squad.

"The letter ordering the execution was submitted last night at 9:00 pm (1400 GMT Friday)," the source said. He did not say whether the letter gave a precise time for the executions.

Officials have not confirmed the letter and neither the families nor the lawyers for the bombers have received the usual three-day notice of execution.

The government has said only that Amrozi, 47, his brother Mukhlas, 48, and attack strategist and ringleader Imam Samudra, 38, will be executed by firing squad in early November over the 2002 attacks on the resort island of Bali. -- Agence France-Presse - 11/1/2008 5:09 AM GMT

The 2002 bombings targeted nightspots packed with Western tourists, killing more than 160 foreigners including 88 Australians. The bombers said they were retaliation for US-led aggression in Afghanistan and Iraq.

They were convicted and sentenced in 2003 under a new anti-terror law which was applied retroactively, leading anti-death penalty campaigners to question the legality of their executions.

The bombers, members of the Jemaah Islamiyah regional “terror” network, have expressed no remorse for the carnage they unleashed six years ago.

In a string of media appearances and interviews the authorities have allowed them to conduct from prison, they have parroted Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's world view (tasawwur –ed.) of a militant Islam at war against an evil West.

Mukhlas claims to have met bin Laden in Afghanistan in the 1980s, and named his son Osama. They have promised retribution from God and their followers in the event of their execution.

In Tenggulun, the family of Mukhlas and Amrozi -- a former mechanic known as the "smiling assassin" for his childish courtroom antics -- remained defiant.

"If they die because they are standing up for the religion they will be placed in paradise," 52-year-old elder brother Muhammed Chozin told AFP.

Their 70-year-old mother said on Friday her sons were right to "kill infidels." "I don't cry. I leave it all to God," Tariem said. "I feel that killing infidels isn't a mistake because they don't pray."

Lawyers for the bombers have launched a string of appeals to delay the death sentences being carried out, and said Saturday they would launch a fresh, unspecified, legal bid to save the bombers' lives.

Family members of all three bombers and their lawyers have flown to Jakarta and will later go to Bali to present an "extraordinary" appeal to the Bali court that convicted them, lawyer Fahmi Bachmid told AFP.

Bachmid refused to specify what kind of legal appeal the lawyers would make. Indonesian authorities and the Supreme Court have said the bombers have exhausted all avenues for appeal, except for seeking presidential clemency…

Security forces have been placed on high alert across the country as a precaution against an explosion of Islamist anger at the first executions to be carried out under Indonesia's anti-terror law.

Sensitive areas like foreign embassies, tourist spots, shopping malls and ports were under close guard. On the mainly Hindu resort island of Bali, 3,500 police were on the streets, officials said.

In the East Java city of Surabaya, hand-written posters appeared overnight promising "retaliation" for the bombers' execution. "The blood of martyrs nourishes jihad (holy war)," one poster said. "One word for Amrozi's killers: retribution," said another. – [kerabu w/ extract from: Agence France-Presse - 11/1/2008 6:52 AM GMT, 11/1/2008 8:43 AM GMT]

“Beware! that things do not produce effects by themselves; fire does not burn because of its nature – tabi‘eyyah, nor does water irrigate because of its natural inclination,” our sheikh told a circle in pondoq, where he further said, “The fire of Namrod did not burn Abraham (as). Al-Khawlani (ra) was not burned when he was cast into the fire. The salamander is not burned by fire.

“O fire, be coolness and peace for Abraham.” [21:the Prophets:69]

يَا نَارُ كُونِي بَرْدًا وَسَلَامًا عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ

Al-budala’: The Exchanged Ones, or Alternates. They are seven. Whoever of the People of Sufism has journeyed from a place, having left a body in such shape that no one knows he is missing – this, and no other, is the Exchanged One. They belong to the heart of Abraham (as).

Halloween Dinner with Satan@Putrajaya

2008-10-31T08:04:00.001+08:00

Halloween originated many centuries before Christianity. The pagan Celts in ancient Britain and Ireland believed that, during the night of October 31st, the gods (may Allah be exalted above their blasphemy) played tricks on their mortal worshipers, bringing about danger, fear and supernatural episodes. They also believed that the souls of the dead were let loose and were allowed to revisit their homes, and that hosts of evil spirits roamed the earth. Thus, this night acquired a sinister significance, filled with spirits, ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats, fairies, and demons. The Celts made sacrifices and offerings to ward off the perils of the season and the anger of the deities, and they set huge bonfires on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits.

After the pagan Romans conquered Britain, they added to October 31st some features from their Harvest Festival, held in honour of Pomona, goddess of tree fruits.

Some years later, the early Western Christian churches celebrated on the same day the All Saints (or All-Hallows) Day, as well as its night (Hallows Eve or Halloween). Adopting some of their pagan heritage, they continued to believe that on this night the dead walked among them and witches and warlocks flew in their midst, and bonfires continued to be lit to ward off those malevolent spirits.

Gradually, Halloween turned into a family observance. By the 19th century, additional customs developed, and witches’ pranks were replaced by tricks and games played by children and young adults.

But even in modern times, Halloween’s seemingly innocent practices still carry a good deal of its pagan roots. Homes and yards are often decorated with ghostly figures and, on Halloween’s night, children paint their faces, wear costumes, and go from house to house, demanding “trick-or-treat”. The old practice of leaving offerings of food and drink to obscure spirits has been replaced by giving candy to costumed children, and bonfires have been substituted by “Jack-O-Lanterns” – hollowed-out pumpkins carved in the appearance of demonic faces, with lighted candles fixed in their centre.

And since Halloween was largely based on rituals involving dead spirits and devil worship, it also represents, nowadays an archaically sacred day for the devil worshipers. – source: http://calltoislam.com/

From the above, it is obvious that taking a part in celebrating Halloween is strongly prohibited in Islam. Yet, it is indeed appalling to see some ignorant Muslims participate in it, purchase and wear silly Halloween costumes, and send their staff to have a dinner with Satan. This clear endorsement of Halloween’s diabolical origin is totally unacceptable, and may not be justified by saying that they want to make their staff happy. (see below their invitation)

Halloween Night: SPOOKtacular time...you make it happen
Vampires, witches, ghouls and more……

This is one Halloween Dinner you will die for!

The details are as follows:

Date: 31st October 2008 (Friday)

Time: 07:30 pm

Place: Concourse Level, PICC (Putrajaya International Convention Centre)

Truth was established

2008-10-28T23:35:00.005+08:00

Thanks revolution for this mutala'ah, this elucidation:

This is an example of the ayat ‘So you did not slay them, but it was Allah Who slew them...’ (8:al-Anfal,the Spoils of War:17)

فَلَمْ تَقْتُلُوهُمْ وَلَـكِنَّ اللّهَ قَتَلَهُمْ

The following occurred in Afghanistan.

To watch, click here.

Or click here to download.

Mutala‘ah (n.): Elucidation; Ascertainment of the truth – tawqi‘at al-haqq -- for those who know initially or after a question from them referring to events in the world. Tawqi‘at are signatures authorizing action on a petition; thus it might be ‘validating signs of the Real.’ However, the translation has drawn on a Qur’anic use of the root verb – waqa‘a al-haqq – ‘Truth was established’ [7:the Heights:118]. The two versions reinforce each other.

One lightning strike, 52 baqarahs down in a saf

2008-10-27T22:56:00.006+08:00

In this picture released by the police department of San Jose, some of the 52 cows that were killed by lightning lie along a fence on a ranch in Valdez Chico village near San Jose, Uruguay, Wednesday,Oct. 22. The cows were killed when lightning hit the wire fence during a fierce storm, according to police.(AP)

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay: Lightning struck only once – but 52 cows are dead at a Uruguayan ranch.

Newspaper El Pais reported that the cows had pressed themselves against a wire fence during a storm when the lightning bolt struck in the northern state of San Jose.

A photograph released by the San Jose Police Department shows the black and brown cows lying dead in a row.

The newspaper said on Friday that vets at the scene confirmed the cause of the deaths, which happened on Wednesday.

The experts also said that cows often crowd around fences to seek protection during
storms.

Meteorologist Fernando Torena said he was not surprised that a single lightning bolt killed so many cows. But he called it "very bad luck". -- chinapost/AP Sunday, October 26, 2008 10:17 am

‘Nay, thunder repeateth His praises, and so do the angels, with awe: He flingeth the loud-voiced thunder-bolts, and therewith He striketh whomsoever He will…' [13:the Thunder:13]

Thunder is a beneficent force, created by Allah, and like the rest of creation praises and glorifies the creator. Thunder, the name of the 13th surah of the Qur’an, is really a submissive instrument of good in Allah's hand. Man is advised to look to good, not to evil; to mercy, not to punishment; to the hope of abundant crops in the rain which comes behind the lightning clouds; and not to fear the fire in the thunder.

It was not beneficence but wrath that the polytheists attributed to their false gods.

Saham Iblis: Oh… what a blazing inferno!

2008-10-26T01:33:00.009+08:00

The whole universe belongs to Allah (swt), and the means of subsistence (arzaq) are His creation. ‘He set on the earth, mountains standing firm, high above it, and bestowed blessings on the earth, and measure therein all things to give them nourishment in due proportion, in four Days/Periods, in accordance with the needs of those who seek Sustenance.’ [41:Explained In Detail:10]

The angels are fed on our means of subsistence. All that is good comes from Allah (swt), and all that is bad comes from Him. When He shoots at the servant with the arrow of misfortunes -- siham iblis: Oh, what a blazing inferno! ->Finance crisis inflicts more pain as recession fears grow.

Recession fears prompt more stock falls

KLCI hits 4-year low

But then, when the servant shuts her eyes in the face of the shooting, along comes the physician of nearness (qurb) to treat her wounds, the physician of love (hubb) to lift her up, and the physician of ardent longing (shawq) to embrace her. The process begins with unpleasant adversities.

World leaders urge finance reforms as gloom deepens

Our sheikh says, ‘Economic inflation is the King’s whip, which He uses to administer corrective punishment.

‘The believers are the King’s agent (‘amil) in the village of this world. The believer feeds himself from his earnings (kasb) and his material means (sabab), acknowledging that it all comes from Allah (swt). Then, when he has grown stronger in his Faith, he gets his food through his absolute trust (tawakkul). He still sees it coming from Allah (swt); his former attitude to this remains unchanged. Even if he were to sit in the River of Tigris for a thousand years, his heart would remain attached to Allah (swt).’

The Qur’an says, ‘Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction. Those who believe and do right: Joy is for them, and bliss their journey's end.’[13:the Thunder:28-29]

Know that dhikr (remembrance) is first made with the tongue, and then it moves in deeper to reach the heart. Loves comes along, and ardent longing (shawq) moves back out to reach the tongue. So, make praying for forgiveness (istighfar) the regular practice of your tongue, grateful acknowledgement (i‘tiraf) the regular practice of your heart, and quiet calm (sukun) the regular practice of your innermost being (sirr).

When the innermost being (sirr) becomes a heaven and the heart (qalb) an earth, God lets the heart share the banquet (sur) of the heaven of the innermost being. If He so wills, He brings the two of them together.

This is something unique; it is the stage (maqam) of istiwa where we should look for the truth of aw adna (or nearer). So long as possibility and want are there, even as a consequence of opposition, we are within the realm of qaba qawsayn. But when possibility and want completely disappear, we reach the summit of aw adna.

Let the blessed ones enjoy their pleasure, the poor lover is happy with the pain he has. And peace be on him who follows true Guidance!

Anwar's First BIG Step...

2008-10-24T18:03:00.008+08:00

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim Thursday proposed an alternative budget plan to restore confidence in the country's
economy amid a global downturn and expected low growth rates.

Anwar produced a 20-page document that proposes slashing government expenditure on mega-projects and opening up public tenders while spending more on areas that provide direct help to the people.

"Our recommendations, if implemented properly, will steer the country through the turbulence ahead," Anwar told reporters on the sidelines of the annual budget debate in parliament.

He said the Pakatan Rakyat alliance of opposition parties came up with the plan after the government unveiled its budget in August this year but refused to amend it despite a downturn in the global and local economies.

The proposals call for a 23.83 billion ringgit (6.69 billion dollar) cut in the government's proposed operating expenditure of 154.17 billion ringgit (43.25 billion dollars) with additional savings by reducing corruption and mandating open tenders for government procurement.

"The aborted 1.13 billion crooked scenic bridge, a nine billion ringgit undersea cable-tracking project and a 15.2 billion high speed broadband project, all this has got to be shelved," Anwar said.

He said the money could then be put into improving education standards, strategic public transport initiatives, home ownership and fighting crime.

However, his budget proposals are unlikely to be accepted by the Barisan Nasional coalition government which control two-thirds of the house and does not normally work with the opposition in formulating laws and policies.

A resurgent opposition scored a big win in March 8 polls when it secured a third of parliamentary seats and control of five states. – msn/Agence France-Presse - 10/23/2008 9:56 AM GMT

Related articles:
Anwar’s options to take power diminishing by M/insider
Anwar no longer in a hurry to take power By Shannon Teoh, M/insider

This is the first BIG step on the way. So do not think of arrival or meeting; they are not yet in sight. How can you reach Brader! There are mountains in the way, and high peaks and deep ditches besides. What you are calling to is very hard on them; for they remain captive to their fancies and never know the real perfections of the Deen – the way of life, the royal road. When they meet you, they say: "We are with you;" but when they are alone with their evil ones, they say: "We are really with you: We were only mocking." – So beware!

The name is Bond -- Barack Bond

2008-10-23T18:32:00.005+08:00

White House hopeful Barack Obama would make a great James Bond, says Bond actor Daniel Craig. And John McCain could be grumpy spymaster M.

Asked who most resembled the fictional British spy hero -- Democrat Obama or his Republican opponent McCain -- Craig told Parade magazine Wednesday:

"Obama would be the better Bond because, if he's true to his word, he'd be willing to quite literally look the enemy in the eye and go toe-to-toe with them."

Craig, who plays 007 in the upcoming "Quantum of Solace," said McCain, 72, was better suited to playing Bond's elderly, often testy boss M, currently played by British actress Judi Dench.

"There is, come to think of it, a kind of Judi Dench quality to McCain," Craig said.

But 007 refused to reveal one top secret: which of the candidates' wives he thinks would make better Bond girl material.

"That's much too dangerous a question," he told Parade. --- msn/Agence France-Presse - 10/22/2008 8:03 PM GMT

Banking on Allah banking escapes fallout of global financial crunch

2008-10-21T17:33:00.007+08:00

“The collapse of the capitalist system based on usury and paper and not on goods traded on the market is proof that it is in crisis and shows that Islamic economic philosophy is holding up. “ -- al-Qaradawi

Islamic banking has largely escaped the fallout from the global financial crisis, thanks to rules that forbid the sort of risky business that is felling mainstream institutions. But experts say that because of its heavy reliance on property investments and private equity, the booming 1.0 trillion dollar global industry could be hit if the turmoil worsens and real assets start to crumble.

"In the current financial turmoil, it is interesting to note that Islamic financing may have prevented a majority of the mess created by the conventional banking and financial institutions," Kuwait Finance House said in a report. "The outlook for Islamic financing is bright and will likely take the lead in terms of providing funding for major projects as the conventional banking system reevaluates its business model."

The rules of Islamic banking and finance -- which incorporate principles of sharia or Islamic law -- read like a how-to guide on avoiding the kind of disaster that is currently gripping world markets.

(1) Islamic law prohibits the payment and collection of interest, which is seen as a form of gambling, so highly complex instruments such as derivatives and other creative accounting practices are banned.

(2) Transactions must be backed by real assets -- not shady repackaged subprime mortgages -- and because risk is shared between the bank and the depositor there is an incentive for the institutions to ensure the deal is sound.

(3) Investors have a right to know how their funds are being used, and the sector is overseen by dedicated supervisory boards as well as the usual national regulatory authorities.

"Islamic banking has, thus far, remained positive, despite the current challenging global financial environment," said Zeti Akhtar Aziz, the central bank governor of Malaysia, which is Southeast Asia's leader in Islamic banking. Zeti said this month that because of the slowing global economy, plans for Islamic "sukuk" bonds had been postponed or scrapped by companies including Kuwait's Abyaar Real Estate Development Co. and Malaysia's Perisai Petroleum.

And Jennifer Chang, a partner at Pricewaterhouse Coopers in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, said that given the extent of the global crisis, Islamic banks may suffer damage despite their strong position. "Islamic banks, especially in the Middle East, got heavily into private equity and real estate investments, and a lot of loans may be backed by properties. So if the property market goes down, there will be an impact," she said. "If a borrower is not able to pay then the bank will foreclose and the question is -- can you sell the property in the market and at what value? These are issues which all banks can face."

There have been calls for the conventional banking industry to take a leaf out of the book of Islamic finance, which also shuns investments in gaming, alcohol and pornography in favour of ethical investments. Influential Sunni cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi earlier this month called on Muslims to take advantage of the turmoil to build an economic system compatible with Islamic principles. "The collapse of the capitalist system based on usury and paper and not on goods traded on the market is proof that it is in crisis and shows that Islamic economic philosophy is holding up," said the Egyptian-born, Qatar-based cleric.

In recent years the sector has broken out of its niche and been embraced by mainstream banks. As well as basic bank deposits and investment accounts, it has expanded into areas including equity funds, bonds and Islamic hedge funds.

Abhishek Kumar, a senior research analyst at Financial Insights, a company under market research and analysis firm International Data Corp (IDC), said recent events may further boost the sector. "More and more institutions will be interested in providing Islamic services to diversify their risk portfolio," he said, while warning that in the current financial storm there were no absolutely safe harbours. "We're not really sure what the real extent of the impact is, and whether we've passed the worst of it or not, But the extent is not going to be as bad as in the mainstream sector," he said. -- Agence France-Presse - 10/20/2008 1:18 AM GMT

‘Correct, Correct, Correct team’ in action?

2008-10-19T23:58:00.007+08:00

O pretender, what is this?

Isu lompat parti :Minggu pertama sidang Parlimen berlalu sepi

You are all smooth talk and rhetoric. Our house is in ruins. You turn around and around in circles without moving from your spot, as if you were the camel at the mill. Perhaps you have been cursed by one of the saints of Allah.

The eyes of your perceptive faculty have gone blind. You have neglected Allah (swt), so He has let you get lost way along the path. The eye of your intention (niyyat) was one firmly fixed on the road to destination, then your concerns (himmah) multiplied and the wings of your intention ceased to fly, so you were left as a lump of flesh between this world and the next. Now, you need a champion of the truth -- as-sadiq, to pray for you after the reemergence of this legacy ultra force.

Beware! that things do not produce effects by themselves; fire does not burn because of its nature – tabi‘eyyah, nor does water irrigate because of its natural inclination. The fire of Namrod did not burn Abraham (as). Al-Khawlani (ra) was not burned when he was cast into the fire. The salamander is not burned by fire --- so understand.

cetusan-hati : ada ekor, baru cam kepala

thesaurus: pretender (n.) aspirant, leader of the opposition, aspiring leader, candidate, opponent, claimant.

‘Trade is just like usury’ … Did they really say that?

2008-10-19T02:35:00.007+08:00

A credit crunch that originated in the United States (wherein NY is the riba city of the world -ed.) is sending shockwaves across the world, causing global stock markets to sink to fresh lows. Despite authorities' best efforts to stave off the crisis, there are growing fears that they may be powerless to stop the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression.

Scene 1: SATANIC TOUCH

Know that riba literally means a growth or an addition. The additional amount, collected over and above (za’id ‘ala) the capital given as a loan, is interest or usury. It is an abuse or a misuse of the power one holds over the weak or the needy, and therefore, strictly forbidden.

Those who say usury is only like trading cannot rise up save in a state of insanity as those rise up whom Satan has prostrated by his touch.

الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ الرِّبَا لاَ يَقُومُونَ إِلاَّ كَمَا يَقُومُ الَّذِي يَتَخَبَّطُهُ الشَّيْطَانُ مِنَ الْمَسِّ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُواْ إِنَّمَا الْبَيْعُ مِثْلُ الرِّبَا وَأَحَلَّ اللّهُ الْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ الرِّبَا
“Those who devour usury cannot stand except as stand one whom the Evil one by his touch hath driven to madness. That is because they say: ‘Trade is just like usury,’ but Allah hath permitted trade and forbidden usury.” [2:the Cow:275]

Scene 2: Did they really say that?

“I am confident in the long run, the (default: ribawi –ed.) economy will come back.”
- US President George W. Bush

msn malaysia news: They really said these things … Quotes of the week

Scene 3: CRACKING UP

"The school of Marxism has collapsed and the sound of the West's cracking liberal democracy is now being heard."
- Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the global financial crisis.

Related Articles: ‘This is a reminder: If you like you may take the path to your Lord.’ [76:al-insan:29]

The Qur´an & Riba – by Sayyid Tahir
The Importance of the Prohibition of Riba in Islam - by Imran N. Hosein
Strategy for the Elimination of Riba with Special Reference to Existing Debts - by Sayyid Tahir

We have nothing else to say except: ‘Our Lord! forgive us our sins and transgressions in our duties, establish our feet firmly, and help us against those who resist Faith’ [3:ali imran:147];

ربَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَإِسْرَافَنَا فِي أَمْرِنَا وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَنَا وانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ

Iraq's al-Sadr Urges Rejection of US-Iraqi Deal

2008-10-18T23:08:00.006+08:00

pix: Demonstrators carry banner during rally in Baghdad to protest draft US-Iraqi security agreement, 18 Oct 2008

Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has called on Iraq's parliament to reject a security agreement with the United States, as tens of thousands of his supporters rallied in Baghdad against the deal.

The demonstrators chanted anti-U.S. slogans and waved Iraqi flags as they marched from the capital's Sadr City district to the central Mustansiriyah Square Saturday.

A Sadr aide read aloud a statement from the influential cleric, who urged Iraqi lawmakers not to vote for the proposed security deal. He said the agreement will not end the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq, and will not give sovereignty to the Iraqi people.

The mass demonstration comes as U.S. and Iraqi leaders try to build political support for the draft security agreement. The deal would allow for the extension of the presence of American forces in Iraq after their United Nations mandate expires on December 31.

The U.S. Defense Department spokesman, Geoff Morrell, has said the draft includes target dates for the withdrawal of at least some of the 154,000 U.S. troops stationed in Iraq.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice briefed key members of Congress on the draft Friday to try to build broad political backing for it. It has not been publicly released.

The Bush administration has said the text does not need ratification by Congress. But a final deal will require the approval of Iraq's parliament and other bodies.

Separately Saturday, Bahrain's foreign minister arrived in Iraq's capital for a visit aimed at improving bilateral relations between the countries.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters. -- source: VOA News 18 October 2008

Majlis Raja-Raja: Jangan sekali-kali cabar kontrak sosial

2008-10-18T22:40:00.006+08:00

Jangan sekali-kali cabar kontrak sosial

Ini kali pertama Mesyuarat Majlis Raja-Raja mengeluarkan satu kenyataan akhbar khas mengingatkan jangan sesiapa mempertikai dan mempersoalkan perkara-perkara yang menjadi asas utama pembentukan negara Malaysia dan dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan termasuk hak istimewa orang-orang Melayu. Majlis Raja-Raja menegaskan bahawa setiap peruntukan dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan telah melalui proses perbincangan, pertimbangan, konsultansi, pengorbanan dan sifat tolak ansur yang sangat tinggi nilainya bagi apa yang telah diperjuangkan, diperbincangkan, dipertimbangkan, dimanfaatkan serta dipersetujui oleh semua pihak yang terlibat, sehingga wujudnya peruntukan-peruntukan dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan yang dikenali sebagai Social Contract.— teks & foto ehsan: agendadaily

Setelah kami mutala’ah kenyataan akhbar khas Majlis Raja-Raja maka tidak ada du’a kami selain ucapan: “Ya Tuhan kami, ampunilah dosa-dosa kami dan tindakan-tindakan kami yang berlebih-lebihan dalam urusan kami, dan tetapkanlah pendirian kami, dan tolonglah kami menghadapi kaum yang tidak beriman.’ [3:ali imran:147]

Islam Inside: Hangat di luar… sejuk di dalam

2008-10-16T00:39:00.006+08:00

Hangat di luar…sejuk di dalam

‘Tembak menembak’ yang hangat kebelakangan ini fasal pelan pembangkang yang tak jadi-jadi sampai hari ini nak tawan Putrajaya tidak semestinya para pemimpin parti tidak boleh lagi duduk sembang-sembang. Suasananya macam tak ada apa-apa hal ketika Agendadaily rakam detik kandid Menteri Pelajaran Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein dan Menteri Di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz sedang berbual mesra dengan Naib Presiden PKR, Azmin Ali yang juga Ahli Parlimen Gombak di bilik rehat Ahli Parlimen petang Selasa.- 14/10/2008

Setelah kami melihat dan menyaksikan scene ini maka tidak ada du’a kami selain ucapan: “Ya Tuhan kami, ampunilah dosa-dosa kami dan tindakan-tindakan kami yang berlebih-lebihan dalam urusan kami, dan tetapkanlah pendirian kami, dan tolonglah kami menghadapi kaum yang tidak beriman.’ [3:ali imran:147]

‘Whomsoever I kill, I am his ransom’

2008-10-08T00:06:00.006+08:00

AFP has reported that Australian PM Kevin Rudd says that the holy warriors are cowards. We simply cannot hear this: it makes the Ali blood in our veins boil. These offensive words don’t call for explanation or interpretation, no matter whether their sayer is Rudd or Bush. ‘Grievous are the words which come out from their mouths.’ [18:the Cave:5]

Know, and God may guide us, that they, the holy warriors, are the martyrs of Love. The holy hadith ‘Whomsoever I kill, I am his ransom’ is a reference to their stage (maqam).

They are always under the crushing (sahq under qahr) weight of their affective experience (halan wa dhawqan), and have no moment of rest. For rest is in forgetting, and since they are in the stage of perpetual effacement (mahw da’im) -- awaiting execution -- there is no possibility for them of forgetting Allah (swt) and asking for forgiveness from infidels.

“The distinguishing mark of them is on their foreheads from the traces of prostration. Such is their likeness in the Torah and their likeness in the Gospel -- like as sown corn that sendeth forth its shoot and strengtheneth it and riseth firm upon its stalk, delighting the sowers -- that He may enrage the disbelievers with the sight of them.” [48:the Victory:29]

The degree of their realization and knowledge of all that which has been created is as perfect as the creator (khaliq), save the finest span between the finite and the infinite.

The first degree of realization (tahaqquq) they reached is the scene of istiwa in the highest part of the horizon (ufuq) which is the highest stage of the angelic force (jabarut), at which appear the two arcs -- the arc of creation, khalq and the arc of Godhead, uluhiyyah -- to meet each other. Here they heard a voice (saying): "Glory be to Me. I am the Lord of the angels and the spirits. My mercy subdues My wrath."

Then moving further beyond (wara’) the dualistic view (ithnayniyyat) they entered the state of awaiting or pending -- not terminated -- between the finite and the infinite, joining point (nuqtah, dot) of the two arcs, after which comes the phase of aw adna (or nearer) where all dualistic considerations concerning the two arcs disappear. The whole becomes a circle wherein the absolute infinite manifests overall encompassment and penetration. At this stage of total submission and absorption, they come into direct communion (munajat) with the infinite absolute and receive most important message which is known to them and their Lord.

Imam Ja‘far bin Muhammad as-Sadiq says: "It was in this state the command relating to wilayah or imamah with finality was revealed to the Holy Prophet." The Imam further says that "what he saw" has nothing to do with the ordinary sense of seeing but it refers to the realization the cognitive self of the Holy Prophet achieved.

So understand that mukhlas is the one who has been chosen by God and reserved for Himself. We can look for the truth of ‘the eye did not swerve, nor did it go wrong’ here. At this level Love means the will to obey. Here the object is to remove the evil objects. Therefore, when evil objects are removed – as per istiwa, the prophetic walayat is realized. After that, whatever progress we make will be in the area of prophetic perfections. ‘Our Lord! forgive us our sins and transgressions in our duties, establish our feet firmly, and help us against those who resist Faith’ [3:Ali Imran:147];

ربَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَإِسْرَافَنَا فِي أَمْرِنَا وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَنَا وانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ

Brotherhood of Believers

Funding a Winning Battle, Learned

2008-10-02T23:20:00.003+08:00

Addressing the people who embraced Islam after the fall of Mecca, the Prophet (saw) once said: “If you spend in God’s way a heap of gold equal to the mountain Uhud, it will not be equal to a mudd – roughly a kilo – of wheat which my comrades have spent, nor even half a mudd.” This explains the greatness of the first Muslims who responded to the Prophet’s call and believed in him, devoted their lives, spent their wealth and rendered great services to Islam.

This is the reason why the Qur’an says:

لَا يَسْتَوِي مِنكُم مَّنْ أَنفَقَ مِن قَبْلِ الْفَتْحِ وَقَاتَلَ أُوْلَئِكَ أَعْظَمُ دَرَجَةً مِّنَ الَّذِينَ أَنفَقُوا مِن بَعْدُ وَقَاتَلُوا

“You are not equal to those who spent money before the Conquest and fought; for they are far above those who spent afterwards and fought.” [57:the Iron:10]

Before the fall of Mecca the Muslims were a very poor community, so those who spent in the cause of Allah (swt) in such days of distress are superior to those who spent after the removal of poverty when economic prosperity was achieved.

It is a historical fact that the wealth of Khadijah al-Kubra (ra) inherited by Fatimah az-Zahra (ra) and her children was spent to feed not only the displaced muhajirs but also to finance the battles fought by the Holy Prophet (saw) to defend the small community of Muslims.

As far as the fighting in the way of Allah (swt) is concerned none can be cited save Ali (kwj) whose valour and courage won all the battles fought by the Holy Prophet (saw).

Imam Ali (kwj) said: "Allah told the Holy Prophet: ‘Wealth is Mine. The possessor of it is a trustee. The poor and the have-nots of this world are My family. Woe unto those possessors of wealth who do not discharge their duty concerning My trust.’"

O you who inherit wealth! You must remember that what came into your hands should have been spent in the cause of Allah (swt) by your ancestors, who by hoarding it have already earned the displeasure of Allah (swt) and now you must not follow your fathers’ footsteps but “spend out of what He hath made you trustees.”

أَنفِقُوا مِمَّا جَعَلَكُم مُّسْتَخْلَفِينَ فِيهِ

Ekonomi didorong nafsu tamak tidak akan berjaya - Anwar

2008-10-01T22:45:00.003+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR, 1 Okt (Hrkh) - Pemerkasaan ekonomi tidak akan berjaya selagi mana kemajuan dan pembangunan didorong oleh nafsu serta tamak yang bukan kepalang, tegas Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dalam Perutusan Eidulfitrinya.
"Pertumbuhan ekonomi dan kekayaan harus difahami dan dimaknai dengan pengertian yang lebih luas. Kekayaan tidak boleh berlegar di kalangan segelintir sahaja, ianya harus menjadi pendorong untuk membebaskan masyarakat dari penindasan dan kezaliman.
"Inilah yang kita tegaskan sebagai ekonomi yang manusiawi. Ekonomi yang dibangun di atas prinsip insan sebagai makhluk bermoral dan berakhlak, bukannya semata-mata homo economicus; yang hanya memburu kepentingan diri sendiri," jelas Ketua Umum Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) itu.
Menyentuh perubahan yang diusahakan pihaknya, Anwar berkata, perubahan yang ingin dilaksanakan bertapak di atas bongkah-bongkah yang kukuh, jauh sekali dari retorik kosong yang berasaskan kebencian dan persengketaan.
"Kita harus menyedari negara Malaysia bukannya ekabudaya. Kita harus memastikan negara ini tidak ditelan api asabiyyah dan karam dengan sikap taksub melulu. Ingatlah ‘siapa yang menyemai angin akan menuai badai,’” katanya.
Ramadhan, katanya, pastinya mengingatkan kepada kisah Pembukaan Kota Mekah (Fath Mekah).
"Kejayaan Rasulullah s.a.w. yang didokong para sahabat baginda wajar menjadi teladan. Kejayaan tersebut sudah tentu tidak datang sekelip mata. Dua tahun sebelum kejayaan membuka Kota Mekah, satu perjanjian yang dikenali sebagai Perjanjian Hudaibiyyah telah dimeterai di antara Rasulullah s.a.w. dengan wakil kaum Quraisy," katanya.
Tidak sedikit yang merasa ragu dengan perjanjian tersebut, kata Anwar lagi, namun ternyata ada hikmahnya di sebalik kesediaan dan kesabaran Rasulullah s.a.w. di dalam menerima perjanjian tersebut.
"Rupa-rupanya ‘jalan kemenangan sudah jelas nyata.’ Selepas sahaja termeterainya Perjanjian Hudaibiyyah, maka turunlah firman Allah s.w.t. yang berbunyi: Sesungguhnya Kami telah membuka bagi perjuanganmu (wahai Muhammad) satu jalan kemenangan yang jelas nyata. [48 :1 –ed.]
"Ayat ini menghilangkan keraguan umat Islam serta memperkuatkan lagi azam mereka bagi memastikan seruan untuk melakukan islah terlaksana," katanya lagi.
Dengan memulakan ucapan Salam Eidulfitri kepada umat Islam di Malaysia dan seluruh dunia amnya mewakili keluarganya dan segenap lapisan kepimpinan serta akar umbi PKR, Anwar mengakhiri perutusannya dengan berkata "Insya Allah kemenangan yang diredhai menjadi milik kita pastinya, sebagaimana yang dijelaskan di dalam Al Quran, ‘ibarat pohon yang baik, akarnya teguh dan cabangnya menjulang ke langit (Ayat 24, Surah Ibrahim)’"

teks penuh perutusan beliau: Perutusan Eidulfitri 1429 Hijrah; foto ehsan dinmerican

Fighting a Winning Battle

2008-09-28T23:58:00.003+08:00

For some the idea – hajis -- that Muslims could unite together into one unified Islamic State under the banner of a Khilafah is a distant pipe dream. But for us establishing the Khilafah is not a pipe dream. It is within the realm of qaba qawsayn, wait for that good time which is not so far.

To all Brothers & Sisters of Islam,

Firstly, we must all realize – tahaqquq -- that Allah (s.w.t) is not in any need of us. With Him lies all knowledge and power over all things. If we, the Muslims, embark on the mission to re-establish His deen in this world, we are indeed fighting a sure-win battle, for Allah (swt) will surely re-establish His deen on earth whether or not we contribute to the process. Hence, by taking part in this process, we are actually helping ourselves, and not helping Allah (s.w.t), for Allah only has to command "Be" and it is! -- kun faya koon. Hence, do not let shaytaan's whispers – waswas -- cast doubts in your hearts as to whether the caliphate is a practical reality, and let us place all our trust in Allah (s.w.t) and join in this process for which we already know the end result is victory to Islam. May Allah (s.w.t) reward us for our contributions and efforts.

Secondly, it might be of concern – himmah -- to some brothers & sisters as to how we can find a person who strictly leads an Islamic way of life and has the caliber to lead the entire Ummah in this time and age. Now, let's recall that Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) was sent to the tribe of Quraish, and he (s.a.w) was sent during the period of Jahiliyah -- ignorance. Most of the Quraishi were known to be corrupt evil-doers, and no one at that time could have imagined that the Messenger of Allah, the chosen one, would emerge from this sort of tribe. Eventually, he (s.a.w) managed to establish Islam to the perfect state by the will of Allah (s.w.t). Similarly, today, we find it unimaginable to find a truly righteous person who will be capable of leading the entire Ummah politically, socially, economically, militarily, etc. Hence, once again, we must place all our trust in Allah (s.w.t) to provide us such a rightly guided Imam -- Imam Al-Mahdi, and knowing that He is the All Mighty; we will find that chosen person as long as He wills. And judging from the authentic Hadith found in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad ibnu Hambal which ends as ".... afterwards, there will be Khilafah according to the ways of Prophethood...." So, let us pray to Allah (s.w.t) to reward us with that rightly-guided Imam.

And Allah (s.w.t) knows best.

JazakalLah
Brotherhood of Believers

How to increase our investment in Paradise?

2008-09-27T23:19:00.006+08:00

gambaq ehsan kalamjauhari seqadar hiasan semata
We have only one concern: the Hereafter. We are all fear for Hell and all love for Paradise and its pleasures and joys -- trees, rivers, maidens and servants, and all that is there.

Al-Khalil ar-Rahman and the Father of the Prophets, Ibrahim (as) asked our Prophet Muhammad (saw) on the Night of the Journey to convey his greetings to his Ummah and to tell them the way in which they could increase their share of the trees of Paradise. The Prophet (saw) said: “I met Ibrahim… and he said, ‘O Muhammad, tell your Ummah that Paradise is a land whose soil is good and its water is sweet. It is an empty plain, which will be planted with SubhanalLah, al-HamdulilLah, and AlLahu Akbar.’”

The trees – shajarah -- and all that is there in Paradise are the fruits – thamarat -- of good actions. The Prophet (saw) said: ‘Paradise has no trees, plant them there.’ He was asked: ‘How to plant trees there?’ He replied: ‘By saying the glory (tasbih) of God, by telling His praises (tahmid), by hallowing His names (tamjid) and by exalting His majesty (takbir).’

That is, if we say, ‘Glory to God’ we plant one tree in Paradise; therefore, the tree in Paradise is the effect and result of our tasbih. As the excellences of glorification appear here in the form of the sound and words of this kalimah, they appear there in the form of trees.

And what is true of tasbih, is true of tahmid and true of others -- tamjid and takbir. Whatever is in Paradise is the fruit of good actions: the blessings of God that take the form of good words and right deeds, the same shall appear in the form of pleasure and joy in the Hereafter.

‘They are your libas and ye are their libas’

2008-09-26T01:21:00.001+08:00

During the fast eating and drinking, after the whiteness of the day becomes distinct from the blackness of the night, is prohibited until night.

In the beginning cohabitation between man and wife was not allowed for those who observed fast, whether night or day, but the future second Caliph (ra) and some other Companions confessed to the Holy Prophet (saw) that they had transgressed this prohibition.

“Our Lord! We have been unjust to ourselves; if You do not forgive us, and have mercy on us we shall be doomed.” [7:the Heights:23]

Through this verse [2:187] cohabitation between man and wife during the night was made lawful.

أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَآئِكُمْ هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَّكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَّهُنَّ عَلِمَ اللّهُ أَنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ تَخْتانُونَ أَنفُسَكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَعَفَا عَنكُمْ فَالآنَ بَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَابْتَغُواْ مَا كَتَبَ اللّهُ لَكُمْ وَكُلُواْ وَاشْرَبُواْ حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ ثُمَّ أَتِمُّواْ الصِّيَامَ إِلَى الَّليْلِ وَلاَ تُبَاشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ تِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللّهِ فَلاَ تَقْرَبُوهَا كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللّهُ آيَاتِهِ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ

“Permitted to ye, on the night of the fasts, to go in unto your women. They are your garments and ye are their garments.

Allah knoweth what ye used to do secretly among yourselves -- acted unfaithfully to yourselves & deceiving yourselves in this respect; so He hath turned in mercy toward you and forgave you and relieved your burden.

So now hold intercourse with them and seek that which Allah hath ordained for you, and eat and drink until the white thread becometh distinct to you from the black thread of the dawn, then strictly observe the fast till nightfall and touch them not, but be at your devotions in the mosques. Those are the limits imposed by Allah, so approach them not.

Thus doth Allah make clear His communications for mankind that they may guard against evil, learn self-restraint.”

[2:the Cow:187]

Man's actions must follow certain patterns, starting with the gross, and gradually ascending to the subtlest of the subtle. There were very few truly obedient devotees of God who observed every command of Allah (swt), but the merciful Lord also takes into consideration the wishes of the "not so careful Muslims" – alhamdulilLah!

“Praise be to God who has revealed this truth to us; we would not have got it had He not shown it to us. Verily, the messengers of our Lord have come down with truth.” [7:the Heights:43]

‘O ye who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere turning.’

2008-09-24T02:29:00.008+08:00

The oft-forgiving Lord (swt) invites us to turn to Him with sincere repentance so that He may bestow His grace on us and forgive our sins.

The Holy Prophet (saw) said: "A sincere repentant never sins again as the milk drawn from the breast never can go back to its source."

Imam Ali (kwj) said: "A sincere repentant (i) is ashamed of his past sins, (ii) takes up the duties overlooked and fulfils them, (iii) makes good the willfully ignored conditions of a trust managed by him, (iv) forgives those who provoke him, (v) does not demand repayment of loans from those who are in financial distress, (vi) makes firm determination not to sin ever again, (vii) surrenders his self to the adoration, devotion and service of Allah when it had swelled to the point of exploding due to inordinate consumption of worldly pleasures, transgression and disobedience."

Sincere repentance implies giving up and discontinuing of evil in thought and action with a firm determination not to repeat it ever again. If it is done then Allah (swt) will efface our past sins and admit us to the eternal land of bliss and happiness, Sa’adah.

So, we can expect this kind of Sa’adah to happen on the 27th night’s, Lailatul Qadr:

Our Light will run forward before us and on our right hands, while we say, “Our Lord! Perfect our Light for us, and grant us Forgiveness: for Thou hast power over all things.”

Our greeting will be: "Good news for you this day! Gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein ye are immortal. This is indeed the highest Achievement!"

We shall say: "Praise be to Allah, who hath revealed this truth to us; we would not have got it had He not shown it to us. Verily, the messengers of our Lord have come down with truth."

And we shall hear the cry: "Behold! The Garden before you! Ye have been made its inheritors, for your deeds of righteousness."

Now, we have made our object clear, so let us draw back upon the reins, try and see what is behind the curtains.

927 Lailatul Qadr

2008-09-21T02:31:00.007+08:00

Ummul Mu’minin A'ishah (ra) bertanya, "Apa pendapat kamu Ya Rasulullah jika aku berjumpa dengan malam Qadr?

Mengikut pengalaman – halan wa dhawqan, affective experience – waliwibowo, bahawa mengetahui akan malam Qadr itu merupakan ‘aqibat dari mendengar sesuatu – ilmul yaqin -- dan kemudian melihatnya – ainul yaqin. Dan menjumpainya pada diri sendiri – haqqul yaqin -- pula merupakan syarat untuk mendapat pahalanya.

Maka kita perlu mengetahui bahawa pada malam Qadr itu akan ada cahaya – Annur -- yang kuat dibuka kepada orang yang menunggunya. Dan kemudian orang yang menQiyamkan Lailanya akan mendapat Sa’adahnya.

Teruskan berQiyamullail sapertimana yang selalu diamalkan pada 10 terakhir bulan Ramadan terutama pada malam-malam ganjilnya – tumpukan pada 27.

“dan,” A’ishah (ra) terus bertanya, “apa yang hendak aku ucapkan?” Maka jawab baginda (saw), “Katakanlah : Ya Allah, sesungguhnya Engkau adalah Tuhan yang memberi kemaafan, Engkau mencintai kemaafan, maka maafkanlah aku."

Kefahaman dan amalan berdasarkan i’tibarat ‘ilmiyyah ada di website al-ahkam yang ditajukkan dengan pertanyaan: Apakah Lailatul Qadar bersifat khusus atau umum?

If you like you may mutala’ah it but bear this in mind: those ideal considerations -- i’tibarat ‘ilmiyyah -- may satisfy those scholars for whom the world exists in the realm of idea, and may account for the subsistence of ideal beings. But the world exists out there, kharij --- so understand.

Is Armageddon nigh?

2008-09-09T22:38:00.001+08:00

Is the end of the world nigh? Doom-mongers fear the consequences of scientists replicating the Big Bang.

On Wednesday (Sep 10, 2008; 7.30 AM GMT), Dr Lyn Evans - the man behind the world’s biggest scientific experiment - will fire up the Large Hadron Collider, a 17-mile-long doughnut-shaped tunnel that will smash sub-atomic particles together at nearly the speed of light.

Built by the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), the collider lies beneath the French-Swiss border, near the institution’s headquarters in Geneva, at depths ranging from 170ft to 600ft.

The aim of the £4.4billion experiment is to recreate the conditions that existed just an instant after the Big Bang – the birth of the universe – and provide vital clues to the building blocks of life.

It will track the spray of particles thrown out by collisions in a search for the elusive Higgs Boson, named after the British physicist Peter Higgs (pix), a theoretical entity that supposedly lends weight, or mass, to the elementary particles. So important is this mysterious substance that it has been called the ‘God Particle’.

Scientists also hope to shed some light on the invisible material that exists between particles – dubbed ‘dark matter’ as no one knows what it really is – which makes up most of the universe.

But a handful of scientists believe that the experiment could create a shower of unstable black holes that could ‘eat’ the planet from within, and they are launching last-ditch efforts to halt it in the courts.

One of them, Professor Otto Rossler, a retired German chemist, said he feared the experiment may create a devastating quasar – a mass of energy fuelled by black holes – inside the Earth.

‘Nothing will happen for at least four years,’ he said. ‘Then someone will spot a light ray coming out of the Indian Ocean during the night and no one will be able to explain it.

‘A few weeks later, we will see a similar beam of particles coming out of the soil on the other side of the planet. Then we will know there is a little quasar inside the planet.’

Prof Rossler said that as the spinning-top-like quasar devoured the world from within, the two jets emanating from it would grow and catastrophes such as earthquakes and tsunamis would occur at the points they emerged from the Earth.

‘The weather will change completely, wiping out life, and very soon the whole planet will be eaten in a magnificent scenario – if you could watch it from the moon. A Biblical Armageddon. Even cloud and fire will form, as it says in the Bible.’

He said that attempts were still being made in the European Court of Human Rights to halt the experiment on the grounds that it violated the right to life. The court has, however, already rejected calls for a temporary delay in the project, and it is unlikely to come to a speedy decision about whether the CERN experiment should be halted for good.

Meanwhile Dr Walter Wagner, an American scientist who has been warning about the dangers of particle accelerators for 20 years, is awaiting a ruling on a lawsuit he filed a fortnight ago in his home state of Hawaii.

He fears the experiments might unwittingly create something he calls a ‘strangelet’ that could result in a fusion reaction that might ultimately turn the Earth into a supernova, or an exploding star.

But Dr Evans, the leader of the project, who has devoted 14 years of his life to building the vast particle accelerator, is dismissive of the doom-mongers.

In fact, he is so relaxed about the project; he even wears shorts to work.

He said that Prof Rossler was a ‘crazy’ retired professor who had invented his own theory of relativity.

‘We have shown him where his elementary errors are, but of course people like that just will not listen,’ said Dr Evans.

Meanwhile, Dr Wagner’s fears were ‘totally and completely’ unfounded. ‘There are thousands of scientists around the world who have been preparing this machine and they know what they are talking about, unlike these guys,’ he added.

Are we all going to die next Wednesday?

Dr Evans says his real nightmare is not that he will destroy the world but that, with the cameras rolling, the machine will break down. ‘This is not the first accelerator I have commissioned, but the first under the glare of the whole world,’ he said.

‘My main worry is that we’ve got a huge amount of equipment and it is new. If something trips off, we are down for hours and we have all these Press people sitting around.

‘We are not used to that. We are used to setting things up quietly and announcing it afterwards.’

mailonsunday’s full report: Meet ‘Evans the Atom’

Direct Democracy: Islam will rulez the world, insha Allah!.. says Obamahdi in responze to Gaddafi’s kashf kawni and tasarruf

2008-09-02T06:32:00.006+08:00

Yeah!.. nothing is impossible. This is something unique; it is the stage where one should look for the truth of aw adna.

[YouTube] Muammar Gaddafi's Endorsement of Muslim Brother Obama on 6/11

Libya's Gaddafi promises wide political and economic reforms
AFP BENGHAZI, Libya, Mon.:
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi today promised wide political and economic reforms that he said would see ministries dismantled and oil revenues going directly into the pockets of the people.
The reforms would come into effect at the beginning of 2009, Gaddafi said in a speech marking the anniversary of the coup that brought him to power on September 1, 1969.
“Libyans should all be ready to receive a share of the oil revenues starting from the beginning of next year,” Gaddafi told the Popular Congress, which serves as Libya’s parliament, in the Mediterranean city of Benghazi.
All ministries except foreign affairs, defence, security and justice would be dismantled, he added in the speech, which he began delivering late yesterday and which continued into the early hours of today.
“You always accuse the popular committees (ministries) of corruption and poor management. These complaints will never end. So everyone (should) have their share (of oil revenues) in their pockets and manage,” Gaddafi said. - AFP

Gaddafi says Libyans should get oil cash directly
Reuters (Writing by Lamine Ghanmi; editing by Andrew Roche)
BENGHAZI, Libya, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Monday accused corrupt officials of looting the country's oil wealth and said its 5 million people should be given the money directly.
Gaddafi urged a sweeping reform of government bureaucracy, saying most of the cabinet system should be dismantled to free Libyans from red tape and protect the state budget from corruption.
"You have to be ready, each Libyan will get directly his share of the oil money," Gaddafi told a gathering of his supporters including ministers, top military and police officers and members of the General People's Congress, the country's top executive and legislative body.
"The implementation will start at the beginning of next year," he said, for the first time giving a date for the direct sharing of oil wealth. Gaddafi was speaking on the 39th anniversary of the army coup that brought him to power.
Tripoli's government wants to raise oil output to three million barrels per day by about 2012, from 1.6 million now.
Many Libyans say they have not benefited from rising oil revenues and foreign investment after Libya in 2003 abandoned prohibited weapons programmes and ended its international isolation.
"Corruption is linked to bureaucracy everywhere in the world. The solution to ending corruption is to end this administration which manages money spending, and put the money directly in people's hands," Gaddafi said in the speech, broadcast live on Libyan television.
PURGE
Gaddafi named justice, defence, interior and foreign ministries as the only ministries which would be spared the purge of bureaucracy.
"Corruption and theft of public money will remain if bureaucracy remains," he said, giving the example of state bank officials who had stolen millions in public funds and complaints by Libyans of corruption, misamanagement and nepotism.
Gaddafi said Libyans should not fear the consequences of changes which, he said, would encourage them to create a private sector that would make them healthier, richer and freer.
He said Libyans should decide for themselves how to spend the oil money, such as on better education for their children, healthcare and the freer import of goods to counter monopolies and fight price increases.
He warned that direct sharing of oil money and the dismantling of bureaucracy would unleash "chaos in the first stage", but added:
"Libyans, with oil money directly in their hands and bureaucracy dismantled, will set up a genuine popular administration and form a society of the masses ruled by a genuine direct democracy." - Reuters

“Just AS the MOORS conquered SPAIN for 800 years. Does the US intend to become the next Islamo/Christian battle ground?” taraisastar asked...

Coca-Cola Joins Islamic Caliphate

2008-09-01T06:33:00.000+08:00

"The Coca Cola bottling company will be displaying the same symbol that appears on the flag of every Islamic country in the world.

Coca-Cola celebrates with its consumers the joy of sharing, togetherness and acceptance throughout Ramadan. Coca-Cola consumers will feed orphans everyday during the holy month of Ramadan.
Muslims throughout the Muslim world celebrate the advent of Ramadan, that holy month of giving and sharing, and the important spiritual occasion for Muslims throughout the world. In Saudi Arabia, Ramadan is an excellent opportunity to strengthen relationships not only between family members, but also between all categories of the society.
Coca-Cola, in line with its social responsibility programs, is organizing a creative marketing campaign during the holy month of Ramadan for the benefit of “Insan” (Charity Committee for Orphans Care). The campaign will provide Coca-Cola consumers a unique opportunity to provide care to orphans during the blessed month of Ramadan. 10 % of Coca-Cola sold products (2.25L, 1.75L and 1L) carrying the campaign theme will go to “Insan”. Campaign proceeds will be dedicated to provide meals allowance to orphans during Ramadan.
“Insan” (Charity Committee for Orphans Care) is an organization that seeks to provide care and support to orphans. Insan receives support from all categories of the society, and is under the auspices of Prince Faisal ben Salman ben Abdul Aziz. Throughout the campaign, 10% of Coca-cola products purchased by Ramadan fasters will go to Insan to provide meals to orphans everyday during the holy month of Ramadan.
Expressing his appreciation to Coca-cola initiative, Prince Faisal ben Salman said, "Undoubtedly, Coca-Cola initiative to dedicate part of its sales returns for the orphans in Riyadh area is an obvious indication of the Company's interest to serve its community. We are proud with Coca-cola initiative and expect more from them."
Mr. Amer Ahmed Public Affairs and Communications Manager, Coca-Cola Export ‎Corporation‎ said: "Coca-cola believes that contributing to social events an essential part of its strategies. We have already participated in several important events throughout Coca-cola history in the Kingdom, specially that Coca-cola product have become an important element of the Saudi beverages."
"Coca-cola commitment to the Saudi community is not limited to this initiative. Instead, it is an ongoing and long-term commitment. We have several plans to extend support to Insan and other charity organizations in the Kingdom," Amer Ahmed added.
© 2008 Al Bawaba (http://www.albawaba.com/)

"The company has now become part of the Khilafah and will be providing prayer rugs for all of its employees.
"Allahuuuuu Akbaaaaar COKE!" takbir Point Rider Republican.

Selamat Menyambut Ramadhan Al-Mubarak

Fasting is one of the obligatory functions of the faith, next only to the prescribed 5 times a day prayers, in importance. It trains the Muslims to guard themselves against evil as well as conditions them to suffer physical affliction and exercise self control in the defence of faith and the faithful.
“O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you, as it was prescribed to those before you, so that you may guard against evil.” [2:al-Baqarah:183]
Fasting is a means of restraining and controlling the nafs, so that contentment and all the other blessings of this great discipline may be experienced. The fasting of the ordinary man is to withhold only from food and drink. The fasting of the pious man is to curb sensory desires, to refrain from looking at the unlawful, hearing the harmful, and thinking about the distasteful, or about what stimulates the lower nature. The fasting of a true believer is to seal the heart from paying any attention to other-than-Allah (ghayrallah), and safeguard himself with thorough awareness of the Divine laws.
Fasting, although not as perfectly regulated and decisive as in Islam, was prescribed for the followers of the previous Prophets also, and was also in vogue, in varying forms, in different parts of the world. Among the Jews it was done in times of sorrow and affliction. Among the Hindus in India, fasting is undertaken as a penance or to achieve spiritual power. The Sabians were also prescribed fasting for one full month and the object of fasting among them was almost identical to Islamic fasting.
The month of Ramadhan al-Mubarak is that in which the complete Qur’an was revealed to the Holy Prophet (saw) in the night of Qadr (Qadr:1,Dukhan:3). Thereafter he was intimated to deliver it gradually to the people as and when Allah (swt) deemed it suitable.
“Ramadhan is the month in which was sent down the Qur'an, as a guide to mankind and clear proofs of the guidance and the criterion of right and wrong.” [2:al-Baqarah:185]
All schools of Islam agree that the whole Quran was sent to bayt ul-makmur and thereafter it was revealed to the Holy Prophet (saw) on suitable occasions during a period of 23 years. Bayt ul-makmur is said to be the celestial counterpart of the holy Ka’bah. It is an allegorical term used for the heart of the Holy Prophet (saw).
The Qur’an is a guidance to mankind, and the Holy Prophet (according to Nisa:9, A’raf:158, Anbiya:107) had been sent as a Messenger to all mankind; therefore, Islam is a universal religion. According to Matthew 15: 4 Prophet Jesus (as) had said: "I was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and to them alone."

Takbiir!.. Al-Laahu Akbar!

Ali, Tong Seng & Ramasamy Menemui Kembali Erti Kemerdekaan di Permatang Pauh

2008-08-31T01:33:00.012+08:00

Ali, Tong Seng & Ramasamy telah menemui kembali erti kemerdekaan di Permatang Pauh. Begitulah gambarannya sebagaimana diceritakan oleh sheikh-sheikh kami di sana. Mereka melihatnya begitu.

Mereka terkenang kembali akan cerita muhibbahnya Ali, Tong Seng dan Ramasamy... begitu juga Salmah, Ah Moi dan Kumari. Mereka cukup gumbira. Tapi apa yang tidak mengumbirakan mereka adalah Ali-Ali di bawah ini… semua maklum akan el-kisahnya. Mutalaah perutusan hari kemerdekaan mereka, pasti akan terjumpa sesuatu.

Menemukan Kembali Erti Kemerdekaan
31 Ogos ini genaplah 51 tahun berdirinya Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara yang merdeka dan berdaulat.
Semenjak dari tarikh keramat kemerdekaan, kita rakyat Malaysia telah lalui bersama saat-saat sukar dan detik kejayaan. Kita menaruh harapan untuk melihat Malaysia yang adil, makmur dan perkasa.
51 tahun lalu rakyat negara ini telah membuat pilihan untuk berdiri sendiri, bebas dari pemerintahan penjajah, bersetuju bahawa negara ini ialah negara hukum yang mengamalkan sistem raja berperlembagaan dan demokrasi berparlimen. Rakyat Malaysia membuktikan mereka berani untuk memilih dan membuat keputusan. Memilih yang terbaik buat Malaysia.

Namun genap 51 tahun merdeka kita sekali lagi berada di persimpangan. Kita melihat perlembagaan diperlekehkan, demokrasi diinjak dan institusi kenegaraan dijadikan alat penguasa.
Sudah tiba masanya kita rakyat Malaysia membuat pilihan untuk menemukan kembali erti kemerdekaan negara ini. Adalah menjadi tanggungjawab kita sekarang untuk memastikan demokrasi bernafas semula di negara ini, keluhuran perlembagaan kembali dijunjung dan kedaulatan undang-undang terbina kukuh.
Marilah kita perbaharui persetujuan yang kita buat bersama 51 tahun dahulu; memastikan negara Malaysia ini kekal bebas dan merdeka.

ANWAR IBRAHIM
Ketua Umum Parti Keadilan Rakyat
Ketua Pembangkang Dewan Rakyat
Ahli Parlimen Permatang Pauh

Perutusan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Sempena Hari Kebangsaan Ke-51

Perutusan Bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad Sempena Hari Kebangsaan Ke-51

Perutusan Presiden PAS Dato' Seri Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang Sempena Ulangtahun Kemerdekaan ke-51

"Sesungguhnya Allah memerintah supaya kamu menunaikan amanah kepada ahlinya dan apabila kamu menjalankan hukum di kalangan manusia hendaklah melaksanakan hukum itu dengan adil. Sesungguhnya Allah memberi pengajaran yang sebaik-baiknya kepada kamu. Sesungguhnya Allah sentiasa mendengar lagi sentiasa melihat. Wahai orang-orang yamng beriman, taatlah kamu kepada Allah dan taatlah kamu kepada Rasul dan ulil amri (orang-orang yang mengendalikan urusan yang terdiri daripada pemimpin dan ulamak). Maka jika sekiranya kamu bertelingkah dalam apa-apa perkara, hendaklah kamu kembalikan penyelesaiannya kepada Allah (al Quran) dan Rasul (as Sunnah), jika kamu benar-benar beriman kepada Allah dan Hari Akhirat. Itulah sebaik-baik dan lebih elok penyelesaiannya." [4:An-Nisa’:58-59]

Selamat menyambut ulangtahun kemerdekaan negara yang ke-51, "Perpaduan Teras Kejayaan" dengan izin Allah SWT.

Kerajaan Baru 916: Insya-Allah, Anwar mampu melakukannya!

2008-08-28T23:16:00.009+08:00

siku harakahdaily: Detik mula perubahan ke arah kerajaan baru 16 September
Sekarang ini Barisan Nasional menghadapi masalah paling besar. Hasrat Umno untuk kekal berkuasa dengan mengekslpoitasikan isu Melayu dan agama diketepikan rakyat.
Gerakan sepatutnya berfikir semula untuk meneruskan hasrat keluar BN.
MCA yang terbahagi kepada dua pendapat, semakin cenderung meninggalkan BN
Kedudukan Perdana Menteri, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi terumbang ambing, Dato' Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak pula hampir pasti tidak berpeluang menjadi PM.
Parti Umno yang sedang menghadapi mesyuarat bahagian dan pemilihan Majlis Tertinggi sekarang semakin hampir terkubur.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad mungkin patut memikirkan secara serius untuk berhijrah keluar negara,
manakala Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, Mohamed Ezam Md Nor dan para kroni mereka harus bersedia menelan segala muntah dan sumpah seranah yang dihamburkan kepada Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Ada seorang lagi pembelit besar yang tiba-tiba menyerang Anwar tanpa memikir risiko yang bakal menimpanya. Dato' S. Nallakaruppan. Adeii Nalla..yenge poringge..? (Mana lu mau pergi). Mana lu mau taruk lu punya muka sekarang!
Hari ini pemimpin-pemimpin utama Umno/ BN terpaksa berhadapan secara 'live' dengan Anwar dan rakan-rakan dalam Pakatan Rakyat.
Sejak dari PRU 8 Mac lepas, laluan mereka di Parlimen tidak lagi mudah. Mereka semakin sukar sekarang ini berhadapan dengan Anwar – PM yang dinanti-nantikan.
Mulai hari ini, usaha membentuk Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat semakin hampir. Itulah kehendak rakyat sebenarnya. Insya-Allah, Anwar mampu melakukannya! - mks.

Yahoo!.. Sworn Into Parliament, Anwar Launches Attack Against Badawi, Najib & Co.

afp/msn m’sia: Malaysia's Anwar returns to parliament
"I'm glad to be back after a decade," Anwar told a press conference, attacking Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who has faced calls to quit since March elections in which the opposition gained unprecedented ground.
"The prime minister has lost the mandate of the country and the nation," Anwar said, calling on Abdullah, his deputy Najib Razak and "all their cronies" to be removed from power.
Asked if he was on track to carry out his plan to secure enough government defectors to oust the ruling coalition by September 16, he said "Yes".

m/insider: Anwar’s back in Parliament
Dressed all in black, including his songkok, as is required for the swearing in of an MP, Anwar later told the press that "everyone wanted me to take an oath, so it's done", a double entendre alluding to earlier calls for him to swear on the Quran to counter sodomy allegations reiterated in a similar oath taken by his accuser Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
Saying that he was glad to be back after a decade of "being denied of my rights, although it's been good that Azizah has been holding the fort as MP for Permatang Pauh and opposition leader," referring to his wife and PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
"I feel I am vindicated after all these personal attacks just to deny me — at all cost, Anwar must not be allowed to return to Parliament. But the people of Permatang Pauh are wise enough to want to see me in Parliament. All their machination, the might of those in authority, the massive power and billions of dollars cannot alter the minds of Malaysians," he stated.
He also commented on fresh calls for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to resign, saying that it is up to Umno but "clearly the PM has lost the mandate and the Deputy Prime Minister who spearheaded the campaign has been rejected outright. It's not just them but the entire Umno and their cronies who have amassed billions from the people".
the star: Anwar challenges DNA Bill
After Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (BN - Pasir Salak) interjected to ask Dr Siti Mariah whether the Bar Council "was a credible body" in the first place to cast doubts on the Bill, Anwar stood up.
"Don't Yang Berhormat agree with me that the one with no credibility is the corruption-ridden Government?
"This is the Government which tabled a Bill last Monday, giving no opportunity to MPs, including those of friends from the other side, to study it, and presented it with malicious intention.
"This is a Bill which has seen opposition from both the Bar Council and non-governmental groups," he said, adding that the Opposition would support any Bill that would benefit the people.
"But we are against the method employed by the Government to push this Bill through without taking heed of the public's voice," he said.

malaysiakini: DNA bill: PKR supremo leads walkout in protest
Pakatan Rakyat MPs staged an angry walkout over the controversial DNA Identification Bill this evening after the government refused to set up a parliamentary committee to study the ‘flaws’ in the new legislation.

Tomorrow…the former finance minister will be in parliament for Friday's reading of the 2009 national budget.

PM-In-Waiting To Be Sworn Into Parliament Tomorrow

2008-08-27T22:00:00.005+08:00

Special Report: Anwar's Return
Malaysia's Anwar to be sworn in Thursday
Agence France-Presse - 8/27/2008 3:04 AM GMT
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will be sworn in as a member of parliament on Thursday, his party said, after a landslide by-election victory that ended his decade-long political exile.
Anwar, who was sacked as deputy premier in 1998 and jailed on sodomy and corruption charges, returns to parliament as the head of the Pakatan Rakyat opposition alliance which controls a third of the lower house.
"The parliament speaker has said Anwar will be sworn in as an MP on Thursday," said Tian Chua, information chief of the Keadilan party which leads the three-member alliance.
"We will all be there to welcome Anwar as the leader of the opposition and the parliament will be very different with his voice," he told AFP Wednesday. "It is a real morale boost for the Pakatan Rakyat in parliament."
Anwar on Tuesday won the by-election in his old constituency of Permatang Pauh with a thumping majority, despite claims of a "dirty tricks" campaign mounted by the ruling coalition to sideline him.
The 61-year-old opposition leader spent six years in jail before the sodomy conviction was overturned in 2004. But he now faces new sodomy charges levelled by a former aide which he says have been concocted by the government.
Anwar has said that the Pakatan Rakyat will be able to form the next Malaysian government by mid-September. He needs to secure the support of 30 government defectors in order to topple the coalition.

Hurrah!.. el-Permatang Pauhi Menghantar Anwar Balik Ke Parlimen Untuk Meneruskan Perjalanan Menakluki Putrajaya

2008-08-27T06:06:00.002+08:00

SAH, tanpa ragu-ragu… Anwar menang besar: Majoriti 15,671 – Hurrah!.. Kita Menang! We Won!

Ternyata el-Permatang Pauhi telah menyahut seruan Merdeka Anwar sempena bulan Merdeka ini mendakap semangat merdeka yang sebenar di dada masing-masing untuk Merdeka dari kesengsaraan hidup aqibat KKN yang menghambat pembangunan negara dengan mengundi beliau sebagai wakil mereka di Parlimen.

Dengan menghantar beliau balik ke Parlimen, langkah demokratik terakhir di kalangan rakyat telah termakbul – syukur al-hamdulillah . Kini, langkah seterusnya adalah tindakan parlimen Anwar memenangi hati dan fikiran Ahli-ahli Parlimen BN untuk menyeberang ke kem beliau, Pakatan Rakyat, bagi menggapai matlamat menakluki Putrajaya pada 16 September mendatang – insya’Allah.

Rakyat melalui el-Permatang Pauhi telah membuka jalan buat Anwar ke Parlimen, maka kini adalah menjadi tanggungjawab Ahli-ahli Parlimen pula untuk membuka gate buat beliau ke Putrajaya.

Adalah amat bijaksana bagi Ahli-ahli Parlimen BN memberi laluan mudah buat Anwar ke Putrajaya dengan menyahut seruan beliau menyeberang ke kem Pakatan Rakyat sebagaimana rakyat melalui el-Permatang Pauhi menyahut seruan beliau menghantar beliau balik ke Parlimen buat meneruskan perjalanan menakluki Putrajaya.

Setelah rakyat melalui el-Permatang Pauhi menitip Anwar di Parlimen maka janganlah pula Ahli-ahli Parlimen melengah, apatah lagi menyekat perjalanan beliau ke Putrajaya, nanti ditakuti… rakyat mendahului dengan tindakan yang tidak berparlimen dan tidak demokratik – na’uzubillah min zalik.

malaysiakini’s report: Now we have reason to celebrate Merdeka

Exit polls show Anwar won 61 percent of vote

2008-08-26T18:05:00.006+08:00

Malaysia's Anwar won 61 percent of vote: party exit polls
Agence France-Presse - 8/26/2008 7:55 AM GMT
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's party said Tuesday its exit polls indicate he has won 61 percent of the votes in a by-election expected to return him to parliament.
"From our exit poll figures and what we are tracking, Anwar is safely leading in the polls and... I think that it is right to say about 61 percent," said Sivarasa Rasiah, vice president of the Keadilan party.
Sivarasa said that Anwar's opponent from the Barisan Nasional coalition, Arif Shah Omar Shah, had garnered about 39 percent of the vote.
"We are still not declaring victory as we will wait for the official election results from the Election Commission," he told AFP.
Polling booths opened at 8:00 am (0000 GMT) and are due to close at 5:00 pm. Official results are expected to be released by 10:00 pm.
Anwar has been widely tipped to win the vote in Permatang Pauh, an electorate in his home state of Penang which he held until he was sacked as deputy prime minister in 1998 and jailed on sodomy and corruption charges.
But political pundits said they will focus on the size of the winning margin, compared to that attained by Anwar's wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail who held the seat during his political exile.
"We are expecting Anwar's win to be the same as big as when Wan Azizah contested but we think that it will be less in terms of absolute numbers due to it being a working day for many," Sivarasa said.
Wan Azizah won about 64 percent of votes cast in March general elections. The groundswell of support allowed the opposition to take control of five states and a third of parliamentary seats.
Turnout in March was 81 percent, but Keadilan information chief Tian Chua said only 60 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballot by mid-afternoon Tuesday, and that numbers from ethnic minorities were low.
"Chinese and Indian voters are not coming out as much as we had expected. This could be due to intimidation," he told AFP. "We are trying to round them up to come out and vote."
The opposition has accused the government of stoking tensions between Muslim Malays and the nation's ethnic minorities to try to undermine Anwar, by painting him as a "Chinese agent" who has sold out Malay interests.

"Of course, Anwar Ibrahim."

2008-08-26T14:32:00.004+08:00

An AFP reporter at the Penanti polling station where Anwar cast his ballot said that voting got under way peacefully, with good weather expected to increase turnout in a boost for the opposition leader.
Hundreds of his supporters shouted the opposition battle cry of "Reformasi" (reform) as Anwar walked out of the polling station here.
A group of three women in traditional Malay outfits and Muslim headscarves walked out of the voting centre smiling. Asked who they voted for, they said: "Of course, Anwar Ibrahim."
"Our grandparents, parents are all friends of Anwar's parents and grandparents, so we know all these allegations against him are untrue," said 42-year-old housewife Siti Ismail.

AFP’s full report via MSN Malaysia: Malaysia's Anwar tips victory in a critical by-election set to return him to parliament

Malaysians vote in Anwar by-election to return him to parliament

2008-08-26T10:29:00.004+08:00

klik gambaq: Anwar Watch - Special Report by MSN Malaysia

Malaysians vote in Anwar by-election

Agence France-Presse - 8/26/2008 12:33 AM GMT
Voting opened Tuesday in a by-election that is expected to return Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to parliament after a decade-long absence.
Anwar, a former deputy premier who was sacked in 1998 and jailed on sodomy and corruption charges, held the seat of Permatang Pauh in his home state of Penang from 1982-1999.
Anwar's wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail held the seat during his political exile, and stepped aside to trigger the by-election.
An AFP reporter at the Penanti polling station where Anwar was due to cast his ballot said that voting got under way peacefully, with good weather expected to increase turnout in a boost for the opposition leader.
Security was tight with 200 police on duty at the Penanti station alone, among a force of some 4,500 police who have been deployed amid allegations of misdeeds and attacks on supporters by both sides.
The 61-year-old has accused the government of mounting a dirty-tricks campaign to undermine him, including vote-buying and stoking racial tensions, but has said he is nevertheless confident of victory.
Anwar faces new sodomy allegations levelled by a 23-year-old male aide, which he says have been concocted by the government to thwart his ambitions of seizing power with the help of defecting government lawmakers.
Polling booths opened at 8:00 am (0000 GMT) and are due to close at at 5:00pm. Results are expected to be released by 10:00 pm.
There are a total of 58,459 eligible voters in Permatang Pauh.
Pollsters have said they expect Anwar to win, but that the government's negative campaign may impact on his winning margin, which will be seen as an indicator of his ability to shrug off the sodomy allegations.
However, Anwar has drawn huge crowds during the intense 10-day campaign, including a rally that drew tens of thousands on Monday night.
Roslie Ismail, a 37-year-old factory worker who attended the rally and then came to Penanti to cast his vote, rejected the ruling coalition led by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).
"I will vote for Anwar, he represents the voice of the people. God willing, he will win," he told AFP.
"I have no more faith in UMNO because there's corruption and abuse of power."

pekena mee goreng kote mamak di gurney drive

2008-08-23T23:59:00.003+08:00

pi penang last weekend, singgah p44 ; nekad cari pelam, malamnya ke gurney drive – keponakan nyonya tanya el-montokya bawak pi makan sana, katanya sedap. sebelumnya she shows me tis - telioq aku! - dia ajaq cara order: mamak!.. mee goreng satu, goreng basah-basah, cabai siiiiiiikit sudah. siiiiiiikit tau. tak mau ubi, tak mau tawkuaw, taruh kote mamak cukup!, kata lilian.
ummppphhhh! no doubt – emangg sedap!
tengah sedap-sedap jamah sama tanya, kroni lama mai…tegoq kat dia, kacau daun hang ni! disclose kat dia, fajar menyinsing kami bertolak bayan lepas.
sekutu dia tanya, tak menyeberang ka? aku jawab, uhh! dah menyeberang dah! dah lama dah!
dia sambung tanya, lama tak pi kepala batais? spontan aku jawab, uhh! meluat dah! asyik juboq, boleh belah lah!, sampuk tanya.
mungkin tersinggung, dia pun belah sama sekutunya – kempunan kote mamak depa!

We want change. The future is Anwar. Long live Anwar!

2008-08-16T23:59:00.000+08:00

Agence France-Presse - 8/16/2008 6:40 AM GMT
A huge crowd cheered Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim Saturday as he registered for a by-election to return him to parliament, the next step in his plan to become prime minister.
The August 26 ballot in Anwar's home state of Penang is also seen as a test of his popularity after a young male aide accused him of sodomy -- the same charge that saw him jailed a decade ago.
"I am touched by the support. This is an overwhelming support," Anwar said as he arrived at the nomination centre in the Permatang Pauh constituency, which was locked down by barricades and an armed security presence.
Some 30,000 supporters shouted Anwar's battle cry of "Reformasi" or "Reform", and waved party flags, facing off against 5,000 government supporters and trading taunts and insults.
At least 3,000 police including the riot squad were deployed to keep the peace and a police helicopter hovered overhead.
"We want change. The future is Anwar. Long live Anwar!" chanted supporters of the opposition leader, a former deputy premier who was sacked in 1998 and convicted on a sodomy charge that was later overturned.
Anwar, 61, has said the sodomy allegations have been fabricated to prevent him from ousting the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, after March elections that handed the opposition alliance a third of parliamentary seats.
He was formally charged earlier this month, just after his wife vacated the Permatang Pauh constituency -- which she has held since he went to jail -- to allow him to return to parliament after a decade-long absence.
The coalition has fielded a little-known candidate for the by-election and is gloomy about its chances.
"Barisan Nasional is contesting as an underdog. We will continue to work hard. This will be an uphill task. But it is not impossible," said Deputy Premier Najib Razak who attended the nomination day.
The government candidate, Arif Shah Omah, speaks Mandarin and the local Hokkien dialect which is a plus in the multi-racial seat, but is nevertheless unlikely to win the seat which Anwar held from 1982-1999.
In a racial breakdown that broadly mirrors the national population, more than two-thirds of voters in Permatang Pauh are Muslim Malays, alongside Chinese who make up 26 percent and Indians at six percent.
Anwar has said he is still pursuing his plan to wrest power within months, with the help of government defectors, despite the looming sodomy trial.
On Friday, Anwar's accuser Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, a 23-year-old former volunteer in the opposition leader's office, visited a mosque to swear he was telling the truth and challenged Anwar to do the same.
He also said he was sodomised against his will, although when Anwar was formally accused in court the charge indicated the alleged sex act was consensual.
Anwar said at a rally Friday night that Saiful's action was part of the government plot.
"They are afraid of me being an MP and going on to become the opposition leader in parliament," he said.
Sodomy is a serious offence in Malaysia, a conservative and predominantly Muslim nation, and carries a penalty of 20 years' imprisonment.
Sarimah Ali, a 33-year-old teacher who was among the huge crowd of Anwar supporters, said the renewed allegations were of no concern.
"Nobody believes Saiful. His swearing in the mosque yesterday makes it more clear that it's a government conspiracy to bring down Anwar," she said.

Sumpah Sesumpah: Tunggu dan lihat, siapa yang kena makan sumpah!

2008-08-16T23:13:00.001+08:00

Saiful Sesumpah telah pun bersumpah seperti mana yang ia telah janjikan sebelum ini… Walaupun ada sesetengah ulamak yang berpendapat ianya menyerupai amalan golongan Kristian dan tidak mengikut adab Hukum Syarak akan tetapi Sumpah Sesumpah sudah pun berlaku... maka insyAllah dalam masa 40 hari sesudah ini akan berlaku pula suatu hal yang cukup besar(negatif atau positif) baik terhadap Saiful atau pun DSAI.

mari kita lihat balasan Allah kepada para konspirator 1998
telah terbukti doa orang teraniaya adalah amat makbul dan tanpa hijab waima doa orang kafir sekali pun tetap akan dimakbulkan. rasanya mungkin ada yang masih belum tahu lagi nasib yang menimpa kepada perancang konspirasi 1998 lepas.

Lihat senarai mereka yang telah diadili.

Ummi Hafilda Ali------> salah seorang dalang utama dalam konspirasi Anwar, telah digugurkan menjadi anak kepada bapanya sebelum beliau meninggal. Azmin Ali yang sebapa dengan Ummi mengesahkan perkara tersebut. Apakah nasib yang menanti seorang anak yang telah diakui anak oleh bapanya sendiri dan bapanya meninggal sebelum sempat memaafkannya?

Azizan Abu Bakar------> rakan konspirasi Ummi, telah terlibat dalam kemalangan kereta, menyebabkan kematian isterinya. Dia kemudian ditangkap kerana khalwat dan dihukum enam bulan penjara.

Aziz Shamsuddin------> ketua dalang dalam konspirasi terhadap Anwar, juga terlibat dalam kemalangan jalanraya dan isterinya juga meninggal dunia. Apabila mereka mengambil jenazahnya daripada hospital, didapati sekeping cek bernilai RM3 juta padanya, iaitu pemberian rasuah bagi meluluskan kontrak kepada sebuah syarikat Cina. Semua orang akan mati satu hari nanti, tetapi mati dalam keadaan menerima wang rasuah ialah cara mati yang keji.

Dan semua orang tahu apa yang terjadi kepada Peguam Negara pada masa itu, yang bertanggunjawab menyediakan perbicaraan Anwar. Dia berada dalam koma selama setahun, setelah jatuh dan terhentak kepalanya, semasa mengalami angin ahmar. LAGI

Semua tragedi di atas merupakan pembalasan dari Allah (swt) di dunya – walaubagaimanpun, ianya tidak melibatkan sumpah mubahalah sebagaiamana dilakukan oleh si Saiful Sesumpah. Pastinya pengadilan Allah keatas Sumpah Sesumpah lebih cepat dan dahsyat dari yang semua tadi. Tunggu and lihat, petaka apakah yang akan turun dan menimpa keatas yang bersalah: Tunggu dan lihat, siapa yang kena makan sumpah!

deputy of god: the merit of global caliphate state lies in making perfection manifestation possible.

2008-08-16T15:13:00.001+08:00

why do we wonder at the achievements of global caliphate state! this marvelous civilization of the world has been erected on its foundations. think of the mighty power of god; he has created the entire world out of nothing, and revealed the perfections of being through their opposites. the merit of global caliphate state lies in making a new political unity possible. the ideal forms of divine names reside in the abode of global caliphate state, sit in its arms and lie on its bed. he is blind who does not realize that there is an open road from appearance to reality and from shadows to the original essence. “this is a reminder: if you like you may take the path to your lord.” [76:29]
god bestows upon the lover of faith quite different honours. he raises him to the stage of muhaddath, shahid and hawari; that is, he reveals in his heart the truths of religion, makes him its witness, and raises him as its preacher and defender. he bestows on him real conviction, and elevates him to the position of his own deputy – khalifat allah – as he did with david (as), helps him to establish his shariah, defeat his enemies and overcome his opposition. he is blind who does not realize that there is an open road from appearance to reality and from shadows to the original essence. “this is a reminder: if you like you may take the path to your lord.” [76:29]

Hoorah!.. “Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!”

2008-08-14T22:51:00.005+08:00

gambaq hiasan: laungan merdeka tunku abdul rahman – bapa kemerdekaan malaya
P44 Permatang Pauh: Anwar umum slogan “Merdeka”
Khamis, 14 Ogos 2008 •
PERMATANG PAUH, 14 OGOS (SK)- Jentera KeADILan lebih bersemangat apabila calon KeADILan, Anwar Ibrahim mengumumkan slogan “Merdeka” bagi pemangkin kemenangan pilihan raya kecil P44 Permatang Pauh.
Ketika mengumumkan didalam satu taklimat jentera parti yang diadakan di Bilik Gerakan Pusat di Yayasan Aman Permatang Pauh malam tadi, slogan berkenaan merangkumi pelbagai aspek.
“Ini medan untuk kita merdeka, malam ini saya nak (mahu) isytiharkan moto kita merdeka. Bulan ini bulan ogos, kita merdeka, kita tuntut kemerdekaan. Itu motto kita.
kita hendak merdeka dari kezaliman,
kita hendak merdeka dari rasuah,
kita nak merdeka dari penindasan,
kita nak merdekakan rakyat supaya keadilan tertegak,” katanya.
Mesyuarat yang turut dihadiri oleh Ahli-ahli Majlis Pimpinan Tertinggi (MPT), Ahli-ahli Parlimen KeADILan, Ketua-ketua Perhubungan Negeri dan beberapa Ketua Bahagian dari serata Malaysia, Anwar mengulangi bahawa pilihan raya ini akan dijadikan medan untuk Barisan Nasional melemparkan fitnah kepada beliau.
Menurut Anwar, beliau akan dituduh menjadi alat kepada kaum Cina, namun Anwar menegaskan beliau rela menjadi alat kepada seluruh masyarakat Malaysia.

komentar: Wow!.. Brader Anwar, kami cukup gembira membaca berita ini. Tepat sekali sasarannya slogan itu – terus menusuk ke dalam lubuk hati, kami kira, semua rakyat Malaysia: Melayu, Cina, India, Kadazan, Iban dsbnya. Kalo dulu Tunku Abdul Rahmaan digelar Bapa Kemerdekaan Malaya dek keramatnya slogan Merdeka ini, maka kini dengan slogan Merdeka itu juga, saudara layak pula digelar sebagai Bapa Kemerdekaan Malaysia. Tidak pernah ada sesiapa pun pimpinan selepas Tunku, seingatan kami, mempopularkan slogan ini, melainkan pada bulan perayaan kemerdekaan Augustus sahaja. Saudaralah yang pertama, maka saudara cukup layak mendapat gelar Bapa Kemerdekaan Masyarakat Malaysia pada Hari Malaysia 16 September mendatang yang mana, kami difahamkan, adalah sasaran saudara dalam Pelan Hari Malaysia saudara menakluki Putrajaya. Tahniah! Kami menanti saudara dan tim saudara di Putrajaya.

Shahrizat mamai!.. isytihar jihad terhadap Anwar

2008-08-12T21:39:00.001+08:00

klik pada gambaq: Shahrizat nak balas dendam kalah di Lembah Pantai hari tu!
BN terdesak hingga isytihar jihad
Bashir Ishak, harakahdaily Tue Aug 12, 08 3:42:00 pm MYT
KANGAR, 12 Ogos (Hrkh) - Umno-BN semakin terdesak dan mengelirukan untuk menghadapi pilihan raya kecil parlimen Permatang Pauh sehinggakan sanggup mengisytiharkannya sebagai satu jihad.
Sebuah akhbar berbahasa Inggeris hari ini melaporkan Timbalan Ketua Pegerakan Wanita Umno, Dato' Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil mengisyhtiharkan demikian di Pulau Pinang dengan alasan untuk menghalang seorang individu bercita-cita tinggi mencapai impiannya dan kejayaan peribadi.
Kata Shahrizat lagi, pilihan raya kecil tersebut bukan sahaja penting untuk Barisan Nasional tapi juga untuk seluruh negara dan rakyatnya.
Begitu juga katanya, pilihan raya ini adalah satu jihad bagi menyekat individu yang boleh menggugat kestabilan politik negara dan membawa negara ke arah kehancuran.
Mengulas kenyataan tersebut, Ketua Dewan Pemuda PAS Perlis, Ustaz Ya'akub Abu Seman menyifatkannya sebagai satu kenyataan yang pelik dikeluarkan oleh golongan yang terdesak.
"Layakkah mereka bercakap tentang jihad? Wanita Umno perlu berusaha berjihad melawan hawa nafsu mereka dulu dengan menuruti perintah Allah. Tak payah bercakap bab jihad kalau masih ramai ahli wanita Umno yang belum menutup aurat. Ajak mereka tutup aurat dulu barulah cakap tentang jihad," katanya.
Menurutnya lagi, amat menggelikan hati apabila mendengar Umno bercakap tentang jihad sedangkan dasar perjuangan mereka adalah menyimpang dari apa yang dikehendaki agama.
"Mereka bukannya mahu kepada Islam, dasar mereka adalah kebangsaan dan assobiyyah. Bagaimana Shahrizat boleh katakan ini satu jihad? "Lihat balik segala kebobrokan yang berlaku di negara ini, penyelewengan, pecah amanah, membazirkan harta negara, bukankah semua ini hasil tangan-tangan Umno-BN yang selama ini memerintah negara?," soalnya.
Justeru beliau, menyeru agar para pengundi di Permatang Pauh agar tidak terkeliru dengan kenyataan-kenyataan sebegini yang jelas menunjukkan Umno/BN semakin terdesak bagi menghadapi pilihanraya kecil tersebut. - mks._

Sex-juboq taktik kotoq UMNO, PAS mahu kes Anwar dibawa ke Mahkamah Syariah

2008-08-12T19:03:00.004+08:00

klik pada gambaq: The real dalang behind the Anwar sodomy allegation
Kes umat Islam, hanya Mahkamah Syariah beri keadilan - Presiden
Mohd Zamirul Mohd Dzaki, Harakahdaily
Mon Aug 11, 08 12:53:58 pm MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, 11 Ogos (Hrkh) - Presiden PAS, Tuan Guru Dato' Seri Abdul Hadi Awang berkata, PAS mahukan isu liwat yang dikait dengan Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim dibawa ke mahkamah syariah dan bukannya dibicarakan di mahkamah sivil.
Beliau berkata, kes liwat yang membabitkan orang Islam adalah perkara jenayah di dalam perundangan Islam sama seperti kes zina dan lain-lain maka ianya perlu dibawa ke mahkamah syariah.
"Negeri yang ditadbir oleh Pakatan Rakyat seperti Selangor perlu menggubal perundangan tersebut kerana melalui mahkamah syariah sahaja keadilan dapat diperolehi," katanya ketika sidang akhbar selepas merasmikan Konvensyen PAS Pulau Pinang di Dewan SEAMO, RECSAM semalam.
PAS juga, tambah Dato' Seri Abdul Hadi, menolak sebarang bentuk campur tangan kuasa luar dalam penyelesiaan pertuduhan kes liwat terhadap Anwar.
"Kalau Amerika nak campur tangan, biar mereka selesaikan di Gautonama dulu" katanya.
Menurutnya lagi, pertuduhan liwat yang dikenakan terhadap Dato' Seri Anwar adalah satu kezaliman.
Ini kerana, ianya dilihat sebagai taktik (kotoq –ed.) Umno untuk memusnahkan masa depan politik mantan Timbalan Perdana Menteri itu.
"Kita perlu bersimpati kepada mereka yang dizalimi walaupun kepada mereka yang bukan dari ahli parti kita," katanya.
Tambahnya lagi, menurut Islam seseorang itu tidak bersalah selagi dia belum didapati atau berjaya dibuktikan bersalah.
Turut hadir dalam majlis tersebut adalah Timbalan Pesuruhjaya PAS Negeri, Dr Mujahid Yusuf Rawa; Pesuruhjaya PAS Pulau Pinang, Ustaz Salleh Man; Penyelaras Pilihan raya PAS Pusat di Permatang Pauh, Wan Rahim Wan Abdullah dan beberapa pemimpin PAS lain. - mks. _

Ummah Solidarity: Hur! Hur! Hoorah!!

2008-08-10T20:51:00.010+08:00

Rival groups unified in protest [vid]
By Andrew Ong, malaysiakini Aug 9, 08 4:10pm
In a rare display of solidarity, rival Muslim groups today put aside their political differences and joined forces in protest of a controversial forum on the Federal Constitution.
Although they appeared to have a uniform objective, the crowd appeared to have split into two entities - Umno-linked and opposition-linked - as the protest drew on.
> Same objective, different methods
> Relatively incident-free

Protest stops Bar Council conversions forum
Several hundred protesters demonstrated outside the Bar Council forum on conversions to Islam Saturday morning, with some forcing their way into the hall as police called on the organizers to wrap up proceedings by 10am.
Witnesses said several protesters entered the building escorted by police, stood in the middle of the hall and stared at the several hundred participants attending the "Conversion to Islam: Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution, Subashini & Shamala Revisited" forum. The protesters had gathered since 8am and brought out banners criticizing and condemning the forum which has received objections from both government and opposition leaders.
At 9.25am, Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan interrupted the forum to say the police have advised them to wrap it up by 10am as protest still going on outside the building. The forum began at 8.45am.
At about 10.15am, the protesters were seen trying to barge into the building to end the forum but Unit Amal members, who were squeezed between the riot police and the protesters, managed to stop them.
Ambiga closed the forum 3 minutes before 10am deadline.

Harsher actions if Bar Council holds more forums on religion, warn Muslim protesters
By Adib Zalkapli, m/insider
pix: Police face off the protestors outside the Bar Council building. — Pictures by Choo Choy May
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 9 — Muslim protesters threatened to take harsher actions against the Bar Council if it holds similar forums on religion. The group of about 300 protesters managed to shut down the controversial council forum on conversions to Islam today.
Parti Keadilan Rakyat's Zulkifli Noordin, who took the lead this morning to address the protesters, said: "If they do it again we will take stern action."
The first-term Kulim Bandar Baharu MP, who is also a lawyer, declared their protest a success after the forum was declared closed a little before 10am after the police advised the organisers to end it due to the noisy protest outside and in the hall. The forum was supposed to end at 1pm.
The protesters shouted
"Allahu Akbar" (God is Great),
"Hancur Bar Council" (Destroy Bar Council),
“Hidup Islam" (Long Live Islam) and
"Death to the Jews".
Before the forum ended, Zulkifli told the protesters that the forum organiser was trying to challenge the position of Islam.
"I have negotiated with the Dang Wangi police to stop the forum at 9.30am or else we will act," he said. – MORE

Yes! Anwar’s case is a conspiracy.

2008-08-08T00:29:00.006+08:00

NST reports Anwar cries conspiracy… PM: No, it isn’t. We say, Yes! Anwar’s case is a conspiracy. We echo this (excerption of AFP’s article)…

The timing of the allegations, after Anwar announced he would oust the government with the help of defectors in the wake of elections that handed the opposition a third of parliamentary seats, has raised fears of a conspiracy.
"The Malaysian government appears to be manipulating the legal system to shore up support for its continued rule and undermine the opposition," Human Rights Watch's Asia director Brad Adams said in a statement. "This case is really about preventing challenges to the government's rule," he said of the coalition, which has ruled since independence from Britain half a century ago.

Amnesty International also expressed grave concern over the charges and said they appeared to be an attempt to prevent the 60-year-old opposition leader from re-entering parliament.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Wednesday denied Anwar's claims that the government had engineered the allegations. "There's no conspiracy," he said, according to the New Straits Times daily. "How could I insist that he be charged? The police are not so stupid to simply charge if there is no evidence."
Anwar's allies in the opposition alliance urged the government to drop the prosecution, which they said would harm Malaysia's standing abroad. "It is totally against Malaysia's interests and international reputation -- the country is in the dock, it is not just Anwar on trial," said Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party. However, he welcomed the bail decision. "His being released on a personal bond I think shows that the case is not irredeemable. The people's hope that there is some independence in the judiciary is not totally gone," he said.

Loqluck govt... They are charging PM-in-waiting tomorrow for sex-juboq

2008-08-06T23:37:00.003+08:00

PM-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim said Wednesday he had been informed he would be formally charged with sodomy on Thursday -- a crime punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment. "They are charging me tomorrow. It's for sodomy," Anwar told reporters, adding that the authorities had informed him of the move in a letter.
Meanwhile Deputy Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar said today the move to charge Anwar was made following a decision by the Attorney-General's office. He said a written notice had been issued to Anwar to be present at the Kuala Lumpur Session's Court, Jalan Duta, at 10am tomorrow.
The move by the police is the culmination of a month-long investigation into a sodomy complaint by Anwar's former aide that grabbed headlines. Coincidentally, the serving of the notice comes on the day the Election Commission (EC) fixed Aug 16 as nomination day for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election in Penang and Aug 26 for polling if there is a contest.
Anwar announced last week he would contest a by-election for a seat vacated by his wife.
In a press conference at the PKR headquarters after he had received the police notice, Anwar said he was being prosecuted for "a crime that I did not commit". He also slammed the timing of the decision, saying it was a conspiracy to bring him down.

the star’s report: It's a conspiracy: Anwar

Anwar is on track, ticket to Putrajaya

2008-08-05T23:32:00.004+08:00

text: worldfutures, pix: m/insider

IPOH: PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is the people's ticket to a new Federal Government, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said.
Lim, who is also Penang Chief Minister, said Anwar's return to Parliament after he wins the Permatang Pauh by-election would pave way to programmes for an improved new Government. "We hope Anwar can win and win big so that he can bring to Parliament the hopes of the Pakatan Rakyat and all Malaysians for a fairer, more democratic and transparent Government.
"We are confident that with the cooperation among the partners of Pakatan Rakyat, there will be new politics," he said when opening the Ipoh Timur and Ipoh Barat DAP Parliamentary Liaison Committee annual general meetings here on Sunday night.
Lim said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi would not succeed as an efficient prime minister as he was still not ready to create policies that benefited everyone. "But it doesn't matter because we have a prime minister-in-waiting," he said.

Ezam the Chameleon - Special Branch’s biggest success story

2008-08-05T22:39:00.004+08:00

Ezam - the lizard that changes color - suffered a syndrome called Alcibiades, according to Khalid Jaafar a Parti Keadilan Rakyat supreme council member and a close confidante of Anwar. In his blog's post al-Telawi exposed Ezam’s personality and why he failed the test as Reformasi hero. Let me share a little bit (excerpted from his blog) here…

Ezam, I suppose, must be the Special Branch’s biggest success story in turning over. If he wasn’t turned over how he could have written a letter to Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi while serving his prison term in Kajang. He was the most celebrated of the ISA detainees but upon his release he refused to be present with them at a press conference. He also avoided being on the same platform at any rally.
When Anwar was released and regained his health, leaders fought tooth and nail to have him speak at their constituency. But Ezam evaded offers by Anwar to speak in Shah Alam, his division, and asked Shamsul Iskandar to sit in for him as Anwar toured of the country.
Why Ezam failed the test while the rest continue to walk tall as Reformasi heroes? I think he suffered from a disease I call Alcibiades syndrome. Alcibiades was the most controversial Athenian politician during the Peloponnesian War and one of the disciples of Socrates. He was immortalized in Plato’s dialogue called “The Symposium”. Instead of trying to understand Socrates’ philosophy he was enthralled with the personality of the philosopher.
His speech in the symposium was all encomia to his teacher. In his politics he betrayed Athens by joining the city’s mortal enemy, Sparta, then rejoined Athens to fight against Sparta and later betrayed Athens to join the Persians.
I saw Ezam giving a similar speech in Jakarta, when we were in a short exile, at the launching of the Indonesian version of Anwar’s Asian Renaissance. He didn’t say a sentence on the book, or about Tagore, or Iqbal, or Rizal and Okakura. He was saying “Anwar this, Anwar that” and I at the time was praying that lightning and thunder would strike so that he could end his dumb speech.
I saw him in Ipoh where I heard him say: “I joined Umno because of Anwar Ibrahim, and left Umno because of Anwar Ibrahim.” Of which he received a standing ovation among the youth delegates.
I saw his character in the Romance of Three Kingdoms, in the personality of Lu Bu whose politics is marked with a series of betrayals. But both Lu Bu and Alcibiades ended in ignominious
deaths.

Question: Who’s Next?

Malaysian troops in Mindanao to stay; Our services are needed, says Foreign Minister

2008-08-04T23:59:00.003+08:00

Malaysia reverses decision on Philippines pullout

Agence France-Presse - 8/4/2008 8:57 AM GMT

Malaysia said Monday it had reversed its decision to withdraw troops from the southern Philippines, where they are monitoring a ceasefire between the government and Muslim separatists.
"Our services are needed," Foreign Minister Rais Yatim told a press conference, adding that troop numbers could be "significantly enhanced."
The pullout of 40 Malaysian troops stationed in four cities in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao began in May, and there are currently just 12 remaining.
"The people domestically there require our presence and the Philippines government has been kind enough to also indicate that Malaysia's presence will be a plus point," Rais said.
"So deriving from that, we will continue our work," he said, adding he would consult with the prime minister on how large the contingent should be.
Malaysian forces had made up the bulk of the international team monitoring a 2003 ceasefire between the Manila government and separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Malaysia, which has also hosted resulting peace talks, had declared it would not send further troops after peace negotiations stalled over the issue of "ancestral domain" claimed by the MILF. After a recent breakthrough on that issue, the MILF was due to sign a pact here Tuesday giving them control of large swathes of land in an autonomous region.
But in another hitch, the Philippine Supreme Court on Monday issued an order stopping the government from signing the deal following massive street protests against it.

The announcement on Malaysia's ceasefire monitors came just before reports emerged about the court decision.

LEARNING FROM THE FUTURE: BANGSAMORO

Mass rally for peace in Mindanao – WorldFutures

Moro group opposes Sulu oil exploration- Suara Bangsamoro

Iran suggests Asia parliament formation

2008-08-04T20:25:00.005+08:00

pix: Iran's FM Mottaki speaks to reporters.
Iran suggests Asia parliament formation
Sun, 03 Aug 2008 09:47:04
Iran's foreign minister has proposed the foundation of an Asian parliament to play a more active role in the international community.
"The Asian unions including the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) , the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) should strengthen convergence within the framework of an Asian parliament with the aim of playing a greater international role," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters in Sri Lanka Saturday.
Mottaki is in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo to attend the 15th SAARC summit. Iran has observer status in the organization.
Mottaki expressed hope that practical measures would be taken in the near future aimed at bolstering political and economic cooperation between Tehran and SAARC member countries.
He said that the expansion of Tehran-Colombo relations would prepare the appropriate groundwork for participation of Iranian companies in various projects in Sri Lanka.
SAARC was established in 1985 to provide a platform for the peoples of South Asia to work together in a spirit of friendship, trust and understanding. It aims to accelerate the process of economic and social development in member states.
Senior officials from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives Islands, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are attending the two-day SAARC summit. China, Iran, Japan, Mauritius, South Korea and the US are taking part as observers.
SF/MR/BGH

Malaysia unveils new plan to fix fuel prices: Petrol price floats from Sept 1 to reflect world crude price

2008-08-02T21:42:00.005+08:00

Malaysia unveils new plan to fix fuel prices
Agence France-Presse - 8/1/2008 12:11 PM GMT
Malaysia will next month introduce a new system linking domestic fuel prices to the global market, but will cap prices at their current levels, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Friday.
Crude oil costs have fallen around 23 dollars since Malaysia introduced a 41-percent fuel price hike in June to ease the burden of spiralling energy subsidies, sparking angry street protests.
"The government would like to announce that effective September 1, 2008 the retail fuel price will be adjusted according to the monthly average, and the subsidy of 0.30 ringgit (per litre) will be maintained," Abdullah said in a statement Friday.
"The retail price of fuel will be fixed on the first day of every month."
An aide to the prime minister said that if global crude oil prices continued to ease, "then pump prices could be adjusted lower in September."
"The pump price of fuel at the beginning of each month, from September onwards, will reflect the average crude oil prices for the month before," he told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Oil was trading at around 123 dollars on Friday after being pushed lower on fears of easing energy demand. But prices are still much higher than in recent history, having traded at under 10 dollars in the late 1990s.
In June the government fixed pump prices at 2.70 ringgit per litre (0.83 dollars) based on crude oil prices of 125 dollars per barrel, and Abdullah said there would be no further hikes in 2008.
The government increased petrol prices to ease the burden of spiralling energy subsidies, but crude oil costs have fallen by about 23 dollars from record highs above 147 dollars per barrel, which hit earlier in July.
Malaysia's annual inflation rate soared to a 26-year high of nearly eight percent in June due to the rise in fuel costs, echoing a surge in inflation across Asia that has stoked fears of slower regional economic growth.

Sex-juboq: ‘Under the law, Anwar is innocent until proven guilty.’ – Syed Hamid

2008-08-01T23:52:00.000+08:00

PUTRAJAYA: Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar yesterday confirmed that police have completed their investigation into the sodomy allegation against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
"The (investigation) papers have been submitted to the Attorney-General's Chambers for further action but I do not know the contents.
"No doubt I am the minister in charge. But I am not in the habit of finding out (the contents) because that is not my job," he said when asked about the probe after meeting Immigration officers here.
It is understood that the IPs had been sent to solicitor-general Datuk Idrus Harun.
Syed Hamid refused to comment on rumours that the Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader would be arrested following completion of investigations.
"Let the due processes take place. Under the law, Anwar is innocent until proven guilty.
"There should be no talk about charges or him being arrested.
"The police have completed their investigations and the papers have been submitted.
"It is up to the A-G's Chambers to decide whether to press charges against him or not."
Syed Hamid said newspapers were "conducting a trial for the public to make a decision on the case".
"I think when you have a mob court, it will be very difficult to uphold justice.
"Anwar is a free person and there have been no charges brought against him yet."

Anwar’s prayer of need:'by Sept 16, we will be in Putrajaya.'

2008-08-01T21:53:00.006+08:00

Anwar’s prayer of need
By Adib Zalkapli, m/insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — Five hours after Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail announced her resignation as Permatang Pauh MP to make way for her husband Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to contest in a by-election, a solat hajat (prayer of need) was performed at their house in Bukit Segambut here last night.
They were praying to seek God's assistance to ensure Anwar's smooth return to Parliament and to eventually take over the federal government.
Hundreds of supporters joined him in the special prayers, although some of them appeared worried about his imminent arrest over a sodomy complaint against him by his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan. [Syed Hamid’s comment here –ed.]

After the prayers, the PKR de facto leader addressed the congregation for 20 minutes, reminding them to continue the fight for justice even if he was arrested and charged in court.
He also informed the crowd that he would formally announce his intention to contest the by-election in Permatang Pauh tomorrow night when he returns to his hometown.

The man, who spent six years in prison, is confident of his plan to take over the government, saying that he had full support of Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and DAP leader Lim Kit Siang. [Pas and DAP promise full support –ed.]

"I am contesting because I want to return to Parliament but they tried to stop from even entering Parliament House," Anwar said, alluding to a court order obtained by the police to bar him from the august House on July 14. [Anwar free to contest by-election, says PM –ed.]

"But do not despair.

By Sept 16, we will be in Putrajaya," he said to a cheering crowd. [Abdullah says Anwar threats to seize power a bluff –ed.]

He ended his short speech by exclaiming that "without your support, who is Anwar Ibrahim," before rushing for a late-night meeting with some of his close associates.