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APCO: DISCOURSES MUST GO BACK TO THE FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND DUE PROCESS

Friday, December 24, 2010

APCO’s deep involvement in the Prime Minister’s administration is the clearest proof of UMNO/Barisan Nasional’s hypocrisy. For more than a decade, it has deafened the country with incessant propaganda to portray me as a Jewish agent when surreptitiously it hires a firm known for its strong link with the Israeli intelligence and political establishment to manage one of the most influential functions of the administration i.e. messaging and communication.

Therefore, the bulk of my contention when I first raised this issue in Dewan Rakyat was directed at the Prime Minister’s hypocrisy and carelessness in hiring a firm with a track record such as APCO’s. It is only natural that Pakatan Rakyat MPs requested for the government to come clean on the extent of APCO’s involvement in the formulation of policies and messaging under the current Prime Minister.

There are numerous records available publicly to substantiate APCO’s unhealthy track record of working for regimes with penchant for stifling human rights and democratic space. YB Tian Chua (Member of Dewan Rakyat for Batu) had written extensively on this in two articles (“APCO: In Mercenaries We Trust” and “APCO & Najib: Beneath the PR Veil”). Both articles; published by Malaysiakini provide insights into the workings of APCO and its cosy relationship with regimes or causes that are deemed to be detrimental to the promotion of democracy and public interest.

Thus, the issue was never about the simplistic question of who came up with 1Malaysia. It is about holding the government of the day accountable for its haphazard behaviour in spending the public money (to the tune of RM77 million for a one-year service) to hire a firm for its own image building. More importantly, it is about the lack of responsibility of a Prime Minister in ignoring APCO’s track record and potential security risks posed by the latter.

Unfortunately, UMNO/Barisan Nasional was never prepared to be engaged on these two critical issues. It went on an over-kill drive from the beginning which culminated in the suspension of four members of Dewan Rakyat recently. It trampled on every known ethics and norms including the natural process of allowing an accused to present and argue his case before a fair and just panel.

The fact that I was not allowed to present evidence to the Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee speaks volume of Prime Minister’s intention to avoid the fundamental issues of accountability and negligence on his part in hiring APCO. In the end, UMNO/Barisan Nasional created another first in the history of Dewan Rakyat when it orchestrated our suspension without a debate and based on a simple letter of denial from APCO.

I must also respond to UMNO/Barisan Nasional’s latest claim that a mere letter of denial from APCO and a statement from one Robert M. Shrum constitute an undisputable proof that APCO was not involved in the conceptualisation of 1Malaysia; neither was 1Malaysia adopted from One Israel campaign. In a normal court of law, such “evidence” would have to stand the scrutiny of cross examination to ensure that they are credible and acceptable for the purpose of a case. No court or parliamentary committee of a respectable standing would have dismissed a case and arrived at a biased verdict purely on an account of two letters produced by the prosecutor.

Going by the same UMNO/Barisan Nasional’s logic, a statutory declaration made by P Balasubramaniam on his allegation of the Prime Minister’s relationship with Altantuya Sharibu would have been taken as an undisputable proof. Likewise, the two contracts signed by APCO with the governments of Malaysia and Israel respectively that are in my possession would have to be taken as an undisputable proof of a link between the 1Malaysia campaign with other campaigns that APCO or its personnel had worked on previously.

Fortunately, the due process of law and natural justice administered in the fairest manner will dictate that any evidence produced will be subject to the highest scrutiny. It is in this respect that I have been vocal in my criticism because UMNO/Barisan Nasional is determined to avoid any scrutiny of its relations with APCO to the point that it would not allow the Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee from going through the proper motion of its proceedings.

Therefore, UMNO/Barisan Nasional’s release of the two documents is nothing more than an orchestrated media play that ensures no scrutiny of the “evidence” it claims to have. Anyone who is familiar with UMNO/Barisan Nasional’s history in orchestrating character assassination campaigns that often involve the manufacture of “false evidences” would naturally be sceptical of the latest trial by media.

In the end, the country must go back to the fundamental questions that Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak is so keen to avoid.

The most fundamental question arose from a report by news portal The Malaysian Insider dated 28 July 2009 entitled “Money Being Splurged To Boost Image of Najib’s Administration”. I reproduced here the key contents which had never been denied officially by the Prime Minister:

“It is understood that the services of Apco Worldwide was brought in by Omar Mustapha, the close aide of the PM who was recently embroiled in controversy over his proposed appointment onto the board of national oil company Petronas.

Apco Worldwide is understood to have had an official based in Najib’s office since the early days of the administration.

Apco and other public relations specialists from the United States have also been helping Najib craft his 100 days strategy. This includes his 1 Malaysia message and other key platforms of his administration.”

If this is indeed true, the Prime Minister must then be prepared to explain the other fundamental issue – his trigger happy attitude in using taxpayers’ money to hire a firm for the sole good of his party; especially one with such a questionable track record that could have compromised the country’s security.

-- Dato’ Seri Awar Ibrahim, Leader Of Opposition, Malaysia, 24 December 2010.

Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy Charges Conspiracy: The Singapore Intelligence and WikiLeaks Disclosures

Sunday, December 12, 2010

The online site Wikileak’s disclosure of the sodomy charges against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim fabricated by the Malaysian Special Branch is a serious matter as this is the surest sign yet that the persecution stems from a conspiracy at the highest levels.

What is more shocking is the fact that the leadership of the Republic of Singapore has chosen to partake in this deception by deliberately spreading disinformation to an Australian intelligence agency, the Office of National Assessments (ONA).


We must ask why the Singaporean intelligence services chose to collude with Malaysia’s Special Branch in spreading such lies about Anwar. The fact that Australian Members of Parliament, along with other members of the international community have been questioning the independence of the persecution of Anwar heightens such suspicions.

It should furthermore be pointed out that the cables exposed by Wikileaks are essentially information collected by third parties – like Australia – that were then shared to the US State Department. As a result, the cables contain all manner of information – including personal opinions and hearsay and hence are far from reliable.

I hope the ‘technical intelligence’ mentioned in Wikileaks could be revealed to the public since that was the basis that the Singaporean intelligence claimed led to their conclusion.

At the end of the day, the current campaign of persecution and vilification against Anwar is no different from the first: both rely on the abuse of the judicial process and only the reliance of flimsy medical evidence by the persecution. This, if nothing else should prove that this case is politically motivated and engendered by a conspiracy at the highest levels.

--- Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, ADUN Seri Setia, Selangor.

Everybody read English in Malaysia? Bullshit!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

An article is in Malay, though :-). READ MORE >>>

The great book robbery of 1948

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

A new documentary reveals a hidden chapter in the history of the Nakba -- the Palestinian expulsion and flight at the hands of Zionist militias as Israel was established in 1948 -- which saw the systematic looting of more than 60,000 Palestinian books by Israeli forces and the attempted destruction of Palestinian culture.

As the violence which came to mark the formation of Israel erupted, Palestinian families living in the urban centers and villages of the country fled their homes in search of safety and refuge. One Palestinian family after another escaped, and believing that they would soon return, many left behind their most precious belongings. As Palestinian homes sat silent in the haze of conflict, however, a systematic Israeli campaign was underway to enter the homes and rob them of a precious commodity -- their books.


Between May 1948 and February 1949, librarians from the Jewish National Library and Hebrew University Library entered the desolate Palestinian homes of west Jerusalem and seized 30,000 books, manuscripts and newspapers alone. These cultural assets, which had belonged to elite and educated Palestinian families, were then "loaned" to the National Library where they have remained until now. Furthermore, across cities such as Jaffa, Haifa, Tiberias and Nazareth, employees of the Custodian of Absentee Property gathered approximately 40,000-50,000 books belonging to Palestinians. Most of these were later resold to Arabs although approximately 26,000 books were deemed unsuitable as they contained "inciting material against the State [Israel]" and were sold as paper waste.


READ MORE >>


Related: Book review: Two Palestinian women recall their lives in exil

Novel gets to truth of Sabra and Shatila

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Israel's invasion of Lebanon and subsequent 22-year-long occupation has been the focus of three acclaimed Israeli films in recent years: Lebanon, Waltz with Bashir and Beaufort tell the story of this era from the perspective of the occupiers. All young men serving in the Israeli army, the films' protagonists question their roles in Lebanon.

However, this narrative perspective leads the viewer to empathize with the occupier and thus do little other than reinforce a simplistic falsification of Israel's history as a country always conflicted when waging necessary wars of self-defense. This is the narrative that continues to dominate the Western media.


Not one of these films makes the slightest attempt to humanize Israel's victims or tell the story from their perspective. In contrast, UK author Mischa Hiller's first novel,
Sabra Zoo is told through the eyes of a young man named Ivan. Sabra Zoo follows the adventures of this son of a Dutch mother and Palestinian father who serves as an officer in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Beirut during the most intense period of Israel's invasion of Lebanon.

READ MORE.

Racial hatred statement by principal is not isolated case – Azmin Ali

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) views with grave concern the continuing occurrence of incidents where racial hatred is incited, the latest being the statement made by the Johor school headmaster during a school assembly.

It is unacceptable to suggest, as stated by the Department of Education that it considers the matter closed and that the matter has been settled between the said principal and the students and/or their parents.


This incident has been widely publicized and is a matter that affects the whole nation. It is also irresponsible to suggest that it is merely a misunderstanding. Keadilan demands that the said Principal be suspended pending an investigation and if found true that she did indeed make such remarks, she should be immediately removed.

These recurring incidents of incitement of racial hatred and racial insults are a manifestation of a bigger problem i.e the Barisan Nasional Government’s tacit encouragement of incitement of racism and lack of real political will to curtail such behaviour.

As long as draconian laws such as the ISA and Sedition Act exists and used to stifle healthy discussions and openly allowing extremist groups to continue inciting racism with impunity, this problem will fester.

Keadilan's view is that statements such as that made by the Johor principal are not isolated incidents and must be dealt with a holistic and comprehensive approach. Our answer is to provide a genuine multiracial political paradigm based on principles of fairness, respecting human rights, democracy and justice to all and to reject race based politics.

Further, we and Pakatan Rakyat are committed to the enactment of a Race Relations Act to deal with such instances of incitement of hatred, to provide mechanisms for resolution of such problems when they occur and to safeguard unity and harmony of the rakyat.

-- Issued by
Azmin Ali, Vice President of Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

Biography of Muhammad bin Abdullah

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Muhammad bin Abdullah was born in Makkah in the year 570, at a time when Christianity was not yet fully established in Europe. Since his father died before birth, and his mother shortly afterwards, he was raised by his uncle from the respected tribe of Quraysh. As he grew up, he became known for his truthfulness, generosity and sincerity, so that he was sought after for his ability to arbitrate in disputes. The historians describe him as calm and meditative.

Muhammad was of a deeply religious nature, and had long detested the decadence of his society. It became his habit to meditate from time to time in the Cave of Hira near the summit of Jabal al-Nur, the ‘Mountain of Light’ near Makkah.


For those who want to read short Biography of Muhammad bin Abdullah in Malay language, go get it here, PTS Publications & Distributors. And please read my review of the book here. In Malay language, though.

(Ads): We provide catering services for the following; courses, trainings and seminars, product launching, PR events, birthdays, parties, family day, doa selamat, wedding, etc. Varieties of menus are available; Malay dishes, Chinese & Indian style & Western.

Unspoken Alliance between Israel and Apartheid South Africa

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

I found book review of The Unspoken Alliance: Israel's Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa. Read on, buddies. I don’t know whether this book available in Malaysia or not. The apartheid Israel is the real terrorist!
In The Unspoken Alliance: Israel's Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa, historian and Foreign Affairs editor Sasha Polakow-Suransky explores the rise and fall of the Cold War-era alliance between Israel and apartheid South Africa. Polakow-Suransky demonstrates that the relationship was a strategic and ideological pairing bound largely by Cold War posturing and international isolation. The Unspoken Alliance provides a fascinating and well-documented history of a pair of pariah nations and their love affair.

What makes The Unspoken Alliance "unspoken" today is more the -- largely Western -- short-term memory that has an Oslo-era image of Israel in mind. Dozens of nations established ties with Israel after the start of the Oslo process and this, combined with the fall of apartheid in South Africa, led to the notion that both nations were abandoning their oppressive regimes. In its own way, The Unspoken Alliance is a return to literature of the earlier anti-apartheid era. If this is indeed the case, and with the current movement against Israeli apartheid producing vibrations large enough to be reflected in popular and scholarly works, it may well portend the coming end of yet another apartheid state.
READ MORE.

Holocaust Denial

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Read MORE >>

Professor A. R. Butz was the first (and so far the only) writer to treat the entire Holocaust complex from the Revisionist perspective, in a precise scientific manner. This book exhibits the overwhelming force of historical and logical arguments which Revisionism had accumulated by the middle of the 70s. This new edition comes with several supplements adding new information.

The first book to treat the central questions of the Holocaust allegation -- the evidence for a German extermination program, for mass killings by poison gas, and for the deaths of some six million Jews -- with academic rigor, The Hoax of the Twentieth Century created Holocaust revisionism as a discipline with its appearance in 1976.

Few professional historians could have devised the brilliant investigative strategy that is central to The Hoax: author Arthur Butz's focus on the information long available to the Allies on the operations of Auschwitz, a strategically important petrochemical center (Butz correctly surmised the existence of U.S. aerial photos of the camp years before it was admitted).

The Hoax's several chapters on the question of Allied knowledge of Auschwitz have busied orthodox experts for nearly three decades with trying to explain how mass operations seem to have gone unnoticed for several years -- to no avail. The Hoax remains at the center of the revisionist inquiry, valuable even in those few areas in which it has been superseded by subsequent revisionist research: a book that, especially in this handsome new design and printing, needs to be read, and re-read, then read again, by every serious revisionist.

Brother Anwar, may Allah blessed you, amen

Friday, July 30, 2010

The controversial "sodomy" trial of Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s charismatic opposition leader, who is also the Party Leader of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (KEADILAN), is due to resume in the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Monday, 2 August 2010. Observers and leaders around the world concur that the charge against him is baseless and politically motivated, but the authorities seem determined to proceed with it.

The trial looks set to be a replay of the shameful trials he went through in 1998-1999, which were condemned worldwide and resulted in a lengthy prison sentence. Thus far, a number of unfair rulings have already been made by the courts, making it very difficult for Anwar's lawyers to mount an effective defence.


The Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General, who are both personally involved in this high-profile sequel, were earlier shown to have played roles in fabricating evidence against Anwar in the 1998-1999 trials.


In recent days, yet another scandal has emerged: Renowned blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin revealed that a member of the prosecution team was having an affair with Saiful, who is not only Anwar’s accuser but also the main prosecution witness. She was swiftly removed from the Federal Counsel line-up soon after the affair was exposed.


To put things in the correct perspective, this new trial should be viewed as part of a wider, concerted attack against Anwar Ibrahim and other Pakatan Rakyat (PAKATAN) leaders close to him. Indeed, the comprehensive assault through instruments of government by the Umno-Barisan Nasional regime have gained considerable momentum over the last year.


These include frequent attempts to tarnish the image of Anwar Ibrahim using the mainstream media (almost exclusively owned or controlled by the ruling regime), as well as determined efforts to bring about the collapse of the PAKATAN-controlled state governments – especially Selangor, which is both the richest state and the flagship of KEADILAN. A sterling example of this is the constant harassment by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission against PAKATAN leaders in Selangor.


Further, last month, the renewal of the publishing permits for the official organs of all three PAKATAN component parties were either denied or delayed. Recently, although the permit for the PAS newspaper, Harakah, was renewed, the renewal was attached with stifling conditions.


The trial of Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to continue until the end of the month.


--- Released by the International Bureau, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (KEADILAN)

Home-made Cookies For Eid Mubarak (Eid ul-Fitr)

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Eid ul-Fitr often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fiá¹­r means "to break fast"; and so the holiday symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period. It is celebrated after the end of the Islamic month of Ramadan, on the first day of Shawwal.

Eid ul-Fitr lasts for three days of celebration (or more, depending on the country) and is sometimes also known as the "Smaller Eid" as compared to the Eid al-Adha that lasts three days (or more) following the Hajj and is casually referred to as the "Greater Eid".


Muslims are commanded by the Qur'an to complete their fast on the last day of Ramadan and then recite the Takbir all throughout the period of Eid.

For Muslim in
Malaysia, the celebration of Eid ul-Fitr will not be completed without cookies, be it traditional or modern. If you want to know the modern cookies favourite by Malaysians Muslim’s, click photos attached. Cheers!

MORE....

What is this?

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

We provide catering services for the following; courses, trainings and seminars, product launching, PR events, birthdays, parties, family day, doa selamat, wedding, etc. Varieties of menus are available; Malay dishes, Chinese and Indian style, and Western.

What is this? Click photo for info.

Anwar Ibrahim, Zionist and Apco Worldwide

Friday, July 2, 2010

From Washington Post, By Jackson Diehl, Monday, June 28, 2010; A15

Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of Malaysia’s political opposition, has become known over the past decade as one of the foremost advocates of liberal democracy in Muslim countries. His many friends in Washington include prominent members of the neoconservative movement — such as Paul Wolfowitz, the former World Bank president and U.S. ambassador to Indonesia — as well as such Democratic grandees as Al Gore.

Lately, Anwar has been getting attention for something else: strident rhetoric about Israel and alleged “Zionist influence” in Malaysia. He recently joined a demonstration outside the U.S. embassy in Kuala Lumpur where an Israeli flag was burned. He’s made dark insinuations about the “Jewish-controlled” Washington public relations firm Apco Worldwide, which is working for Malaysia’s quasi-authoritarian government.


Therein lies a story of the Obama era — about a beleaguered democrat fighting for political and personal survival with little help from Washington; about the growing global climate of hostility toward Israel; and about the increasing willingness of U.S. friends in places such as Turkey and Malaysia to exploit it. (Full article here)


Di bawah ialah siaran media oleh Parti Keadilan Rakyat berhubung mainan media UMNO dan beberapa pemimpin UMNO, yang saya kira, tiada tujuan lain melainkan untuk memusnahkan karektor dan karisma Anwar Ibrahim di mata umat Malaysia, khususnya orang Islam.


Anwar and KEADILAN's stand on 'Zionist' aggression clear


The plight of the Palestinian people and the role of the 'Zionist' government of Israel is a matter of international and humanitarian concern, not a matter for Malaysian politicians to score points with the Malay-Muslim electorate. The prime concern of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (KEADILAN) has always been, and will always be, the fair and humanitarian treatment of all Malaysians and also the downtrodden peoples of other nations.


Four Umno leaders have voiced their opinions on Anwar Ibrahim's stand on Zionist aggression, especially in light of The Washington Post article that was published recently. These Umno leaders — Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi, Information Minister Rais Yatim and Umno Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin — are jumping at the opportunity to distort the words of the writer, who wrote:

He [Anwar] said he regretted using terms such as "Zionist aggression," which are common coin for demagogues like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "Why do I need to use it if it causes so much misunderstanding?" he said. "I need to be more careful."

In case these Umno leaders cannot comprehend proper English, what that means is that Anwar regrets using terms which demagogues like controversial Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad use, especially when it causes a misunderstanding in the international community. Anwar then humbly concedes he needs to be more careful in how he criticizes Israel's Zionist government, in light of the fact that accusations of anti-semitism are rampant.


Nevertheless, the stand of Anwar Ibrahim and KEADILAN on 'Zionist' aggression towards Palestine is crystal clear. We denounce the recent violent attack on the Gaza flotilla, the continued discrimination, repression and brutality against Palestinians by the Israeli government, as well as question the role of the United States of America in supporting the 'Zionist' regime. At the same time, we respect the right of all Jews to have a homeland and to live in peace together with Muslim and Christian Palestinians. Indeed, we reject discrimination, repression and brutality both in Malaysia and abroad.


On the insinuations that Anwar is close with American Jews, he has already openly clarified that they are acquaintances from the time he was the Finance Minister of Malaysia. Indeed, Anwar Ibrahim has used every opportunity he could to raise the issue of Palestine and push for a quick resolution of the Middle East dispute.


What has the Umno-led government done? Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi has had a secret meeting with his Israeli counterpart. DPM Muhyiddin Yassin and Umno Youth Chief support PM Najib Razak's decision to appoint Apco (which has questionable Zionist links) at the rate of RM77 million a year. And, to top it all off, Information Minister Rais Yatim is using his authority to ensure that the mainstream media plays to the tune of Umno-Barisan Nasional, who is now being advised by Apco.


If the Umno-BN government really wants to keep Malaysians informed about the plight of Palestinians and show their stand on 'Zionist' aggression, please instruct the mainstream media to translate and publish The Washington Post article in full and arrange for a televised debate betweeen Anwar Ibrahim and Najib Razak. Let all Malaysians see and hear for themselves what Apco is doing in Malaysia.

Related: Zionis Yahudi memang jahat

Zahid Hamidi bermuqabalah dengan Zionis Yahudi Ehud Barak
?

Barack Obama, what say YOU?!!!

Monday, June 7, 2010

Israel rejects international inquiry into lethal raid

Israel rejected on Sunday a proposal by U.N. Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon for an international investigation into its deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship and said it had the right to launch its own inquiry.

"We are rejecting an international commission. We are discussing with the Obama administration a way in which our inquiry will take place," Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to Washington, said on the U.S. TV program "Fox News Sunday."

Barack Obama, you was practicing double-standard! I HATE YOU!!! Malaysians HATE YOU!! MUSLIMS HATE YOU!! You just inherited George Bush's (father and son) policy!! YOU'RE COWARD!!



RICHARD TILLINGHAST
Richard Tillinghast is an American poet who lives in Co Tipperary. He is the author of eight books of poetry, the latest of which is Selected Poems (Dedalus Press, 2010 ), as well as several works of non-fiction

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2010/0605/1224271903842.html

No tinned meat is allowed, no tomato paste,
no clothing, no shoes, no notebooks.
These will be stored in our warehouses at Kerem Shalom
until further notice.
Bananas, apples, and persimmons are allowed into Gaza,
peaches and dates, and now macaroni
(after the American Senator’s visit).
These are vital for daily sustenance.

But no apricots, no plums, no grapes, no avocados, no jam.
These are luxuries and are not allowed.
Paper for textbooks is not allowed.
The terrorists could use it to print seditious material.
And why do you need textbooks
now that your schools are rubble?
No steel is allowed, no building supplies, no plastic pipe.
These the terrorists could use to launch rockets
against us.

Pumpkins and carrots you may have, but no delicacies,
no cherries, no pomegranates, no watermelon, no onions,
no chocolate.

We have a list of three dozen items that are allowed,
but we are not obliged to disclose its contents.
This is the decision arrived at
by Colonel Levi, Colonel Rosenzweig, and Colonel Segal.

Our motto:
‘No prosperity, no development, no humanitarian crisis.’
You may fish in the Mediterranean,
but only as far as three km from shore.
Beyond that and we open fire.
It is a great pity the waters are polluted
twenty million gallons of raw sewage dumped into the sea every day
is the figure given.

Our rockets struck the sewage treatments plants,
and at this point spare parts to repair them are not allowed.
As long as Hamas threatens us,
no cement is allowed, no glass, no medical equipment.
We are watching you from our pilotless drones
as you cook your sparse meals over open fires
and bed down
in the ruins of houses destroyed by tank shells.

And if your children can’t sleep,
missing the ones who were killed in our incursion,
or cry out in the night, or wet their beds
in your makeshift refugee tents,
or scream, feeling pain in their amputated limbs –
that’s the price you pay for harbouring terrorists.

God gave us this land.
A land without a people for a people without a land.

TERRORIST Israel vows to stop aid ship as it nears Gaza

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Agencies from Jerusalem reports that Israel vowed Friday to keep an Irish aid ship from breaching its blockade of the Gaza Strip, setting the stage for another maritime showdown as the vessel made its way toward the impoverished Palestinian territory.

Concern about more violence loomed large as Israel stood fast by its blockade, despite rising pressure to lift it following Monday's raid against another aid ship that left nine activists dead.


Irish Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan, who was on the ship with other activists, said they were determined to press on but would offer no resistance if Israeli forces came aboard. "We will sit down," she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from the ship. "They will probably arrest us ... But there will be no resistance."
(Source: Alarabiya)

Below is press statement release
d by Free Gaza Movement on recent development of the Rachel Corrie.

[Cyprus, June 4, 2010]
The Rachel Corrie is 150 miles away from Gaza in international waters and on her way. They will arrive on Saturday morning. The 1200 ton cargo ship is the last ship from the Freedom Flotilla and is loaded with construction materials, 20 tons of paper and many other supplies that Israel refuses to allow into the imprisoned people of Gaza.


Some of the High-Profile people on board:


Mairead Maguire from Belfast, Ireland, a Nobel Peace Laureate (l976) and Co-founder of Peace People, Northern Ireland. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work for peace and a nonviolent solution to the Ethnic/political conflict in Northern Ireland. Mairead went on the maiden Voyage of Dignity in October 2008, the second successful voyage for the Free Gaza Movement. She was also on Board ‘Spirit’ when Israel hijacked the Boat in International Waters, taking all 2l humanitarian passengers to Israel, where they were arrested, detained for a week in an Israeli prison and then deported.


Denis Halliday, from Ireland, a UN Assistant Secretary-General from 1994-98. Appointed by SG Boutros Ghali, he served as ASG UN Human Resources Management in New York and in mid 1997 to end 1998 as Head, Humanitarian Programme in Iraq to support the Iraqi people struggling under the genocidal impact of UN Sanctions. Since resigning from the UN in 1998, Halliday has delivered numerous parliamentary briefings, provided extensive media inputs and has given public/university lectures on Iraq, human rights, and the UN, in particular its reform.


Matthias Chang Wen Chieh is a Malaysian of Chinese descent. He is a Barrister of 32 years standing and once served as the Political Secretary to the Fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. He is the author of three bestsellers, “Future Fast Forward”, “Brainwashed for War, Programmed to Kill”, and “The Shadow Money-Lenders and the Global Financial Tsunami”, published in the US and in Malaysia.


Mohd Nizar bin Zakaria, Perak, Malaysia, MP Mohd Nizar bin Zakaria is a Member of the Malaysian Parliament.


In addition, there is a three-member camera crew on board from Malaysia TV3 and journalis Shamsul Akmar bin Musa Kamal.


The passengers on board the ship have stated, “Communication is difficult and sometimes impossible and there are many rumors out there started by Israeli authorities, but there is no way we are going to Ashdod. We are, for sure, on our way to Gaza.”

Binyamin Netanyahu, you are the TERRORIST!

Friday, June 4, 2010

The Turkish president has said that Israel's military raid on civilian aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip has caused "irreparable" damage to his country's relations with Israel, and will "never" be forgiven.

"From now on, Turkish-Israeli ties will never be the same. This incident has left an irreparable and deep scar," Abdullah Gul said in a televised speech on Thursday, as thousands gathered in the streets of Istanbul to pay their respects to the humanitarian activists killed during the raid. (Source: Al-Jazeera)



Gaza Freedom Flotilla: The court of ISRAEL TERRORIST detains Arab political leaders

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Legal defense team: “The court’s decision to detain the Arab political leaders who took part in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla is discriminatory and constitutes selective prosecution. They are not being detained because of their Israeli citizenship but because they are Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel. Instead, the Israeli military, which attacked the ship and its passengers, should be investigated for violations of international law.”

(Haifa, Israel) Last night, 1 June 2010, Judge Dina Cohen of the Magistrates’ Court in Ashkelon, after a nine-hour hearing before a packed courtroom, decided to extend the detention of Arab political leaders — Mr. Muhammed Zeidan, the Chairman of the High Follow-up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel; Sheikh Raed Salah, the Head of the Islamic Movement in Israel (northern branch); and Sheikh Hamad Abu Daabes, the Head of the Islamic Movement in Israel (southern branch) — and Ms. Lubna Masarwa of the Free Gaza Movement and Al Quds University for one week, until 8 June 2010.


The four Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel were arrested from the ship Mavi Marmara, part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, which was attacked by the Israeli navy on 31 May 2010. Adalah Attorneys Hassan Jabareen and Orna Kohn, as well as Attorney Hussein Abu Hussein, and Attorney Khaled Zabargha of the Al Mezan Legal Center in Nazareth represented the four before the court.


While no indictment has been issued, the state argues that a range of criminal offenses could apply, including conspiracy to commit an offense, and possession and use of weapons. The state prosecution clearly emphasized in court that their request to remand the leaders was made in accordance with the state’s policy of investigating and detaining citizens of Israel who participated in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla.


In the view of the legal defense team, the state’s request and the court’s decision contradict the basic principles of criminal law, which require that individuals should be criminalized solely on the basis of their individual deeds. The prosecution argued that the Israeli naval soldiers were attacked by the passengers on the ship; however, they did not furnish any evidence to demonstrate that one of these four individuals had participated in or were responsible for the attack.


Further, the legal defense team asserts that the decision discriminates against the detainees and amounts to selective prosecution due solely to their national belonging. They are not being detained because of their Israeli citizenship but because they are Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel.


The attorneys raised numerous preliminary arguments before the court in arguing for the release of the four leaders. They argued that the Israeli courts had no jurisdiction over the case, as the ship had been in international waters at the time of the Israeli navy’s attack. The state prosecution was unable to respond to the question of what the legal authority of the Israeli military was to attack the boat in international waters.


The attorneys also argued that the detention was illegal, prima facie, as the law requires those arrested to be brought before a court within 24 hours. In this case, however, the four individuals were kept in detention for almost 40 hours before being brought to court.


The state prosecution and the police argued that the hours of detention should be calculated only from time that the ship reached the Ashdod Port. The defense attorneys countered that since their liberty was taken from them when they were arrested on the ship, the detention began with their arrest. They were not allowed to meet a lawyer and were not brought before a judge within the limits of the law.


Adalah will submit an appeal against the decision to remand them in custody to the District Court of Beer el-Sabe tomorrow, 3 June 2010.


-- Adalah press release, written by Greta Berlin, 2 June 2010. (Gaza Free Movement)

Related:
PKR condemns Israeli Attack against International Humanitarian Aid Flotilla

The People’s Justice Party (KEADILAN) strongly condemns the unwarranted Israeli commando attack on a ship bearing humanitarian aid for Gaza, which has quite unnecessarily and unjustifiably resulted in the tragic loss of many innocent lives.

The ship had not committed any hostile act and was still in international waters and, as such, the Israeli authorities had no right to board the ship. Their excuse that those on board the ship were the first to attack is an insult to intelligence, since their boarding of the ship was in itself
an act of aggression and it was those on board who had every right to defend themselves.

This incident is yet another example of Israel resorting to extreme and shocking brutality in reaction to an act which the Israeli authorities are alone in seeing as a threat to their sovereignty.

We are deeply disappointed with the failure of some countries to condemn this blatant act of violence, including the US which only expressed “deep regret” and the UK, Canada and Australia which have been entirely silent. These governments have signally failed to reflect the feelings of the majority of their own citizens.

It is time for the entire international community to be put its full weight behind an effort to coerce Israel to fall in line and adhere to universal norms of human rights as well as implement all United Nations resolutions related to Palestine.

--- Issued by Mustaffa Kamil Ayub, chairman, International Bureau People’s Justice Party (PKR), Malaysia.

PKR condemns Israeli Attack against International Humanitarian Aid Flotilla

Monday, May 31, 2010

KEADILAN (PKR) strongly condemns the brutal and fatal attack by the Israeli Defence Forces against an international humanitarian aid flotilla of ships (Freedom Flotilla) on international waters which were bringing much needed medical supplies, food, building materials and other necessities into Gaza.

The killing of up to 15 people on board these ships and injuring many more is totally illegal, unjustified and disproportionate under international law. The ships were also carrying EU parliamentarians, a Nobel Prize Laureate, women, and hundreds of peace/humanitarian/human rights activists.


PKR calls for worldwide condemnation and action, and demands the Malaysian government to send a strong protest message by cancelling its contract with APCO.

-- Issued by Latheefa Koya, Information Chief of People's Justice Party (PKR)

*** Israel is THE TERRORIST!!!! & THE AXIS OF EVIL!!!



Related: Pergi jahanam dengan Israel laknat! (video)
Israel defending the indefensible
Gaza's real humanitarian crisis



Aurat: For Syed Akbar Ali

Saturday, May 15, 2010

"The words hijab, purdah and tudung or head covers are really secondary issues. The primary issue is why are they necessary? Hence we come to the word AURAT or nakedness.

"But if a woman hair is also considered part of her aurat or nakedness then from this verse it should follow that a mother cannot show her hair (or her neck, ears, arms and/or ankles) even to her children."

The Quran says:

“And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O ye Believers! turn ye all together towards Allah, that ye may attain Bliss.” (Surah an-Nur, verse 31)

Read MORE HERE. Specially for you, brother Syed Akbar Ali:
HIJAAB FOR WOMEN


Why the hijab?

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Two FREE ebooks: Catering and Hasan al-Banna

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Guys, two ebooks to be downloaded. Yes, its FREE! One is about my experience in catering business (part 1.1 & 1.2) and the other one is story of the late Hasan al-Banna, Islam Mujahid.

Here and here for catering ebook. Here for Hasan al-Banna.

Sensitive issues that touch on religious and ethnic sentiments should be handled delicately – Anwar Ibrahim

Thursday, March 11, 2010

altmuslim.com: Malaysia promotes itself as a peaceful, democratic, multi-ethnic, Muslim country. On December 31, a court ruled that non-Muslims, namely Christians, were finally allowed to use the word "Allah" as a term for God, which quickly prompted a government appeal. Following the ruling, nearly 11 churches have been attacked, Christians have been harassed, and even a Sikh temple and several mosques were vandalized. Both the government's appeal and the conduct of several Malays seem to suggest discrimination towards their non-Muslim neighbors. Many in America assume this is due to an innate Muslim antagonism and elitism towards the "other." How would you explain this current phenomenon, and why is the term "Allah" only reserved for Muslims?

Anwar Ibrahim: The handling of the Allah issue sent the wrong message to people around the world about Islam. In the current climate of xenophobia in Europe and the U.S., how can we as Muslims say we are any better when we treat our non-Muslim citizens with disrespect and disdain? It is odd that this issue seems relevant only in Malaysia and not in the Middle East or even Indonesia.

Dialogue and engagement are essential. The mainstream media all controlled by the ruling coalition should present all viewpoints and not just the most extreme views supported by the government. Sensitive issues that touch on religious and ethnic sentiments should be handled delicately. Instead the government allowed the case to be dragged through the courts, sanctioned incendiary public demonstrations and only after the situation exploded in violence did its leaders start to make more measured statements and call for calm. I find this deplorable.

In Malaysia such posturing by Muslim leaders has much more to do with politics than religion and ideology. The ruling government hopes that by taking a hard line it will curry some favor with an increasingly radical right wing upon which its party is increasingly based. The recent caning of individuals for illicit sexual relations is likewise part of an effort to boost the perceived Islamic credentials of the government and portray the opposition as soft on morals and subservient to international pressure.

I understand there are broader concerns about the ability of contemporary Islamic societies to deal with issues of pluralism and diversity. Malaysia's handling of this issue is certainly not helping to abate these fears. But there is a silver lining. We have used this incident as an opportunity to launch a series of interfaith dialogues around the country. And I am very encouraged by statements from Pan Islamic Party of Malaysia, PAS, which has come out strongly in support of the rights of all Malaysian citizens under the Constitution, which guarantees the freedom of conscience and religion. (Part 1)

(Source: altmuslim.com)

Get free BLOG Bash eBook!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

BlogBash - 30 days 30 experts! was one of the most successful events ever done on the Chitika Blog. Dreamed up by Chitika's CTO Alden DoRosario and inspired by an interesting series from the Month of Apple Bugs, Chitika's goal for this event was to "empower the blogger."

The experts wrote about an array of wide-ranging topics, from "Dare to be Odd" and "Shopping and Blogging: How to make the marriage work", to "Help me! My mom is my blogs only reader!" and many more.


Go ahead; explore the deep secrets of these 30 expert bloggers, learn from their mistakes and their success as we celebrate YOU the blogger! Get Free BLOG Bash eBook!

What would Muhammad do? (By Asma Uddin)

Monday, February 8, 2010

Washington DC Omid Safi is best known to many of us as being at the forefront of the Progressive Muslims movement, a movement that finds in Islamic spirituality a powerful voice for social justice and pluralism. In his latest book, Memories of Muhammad: Why the Prophet Matters (Harper Collins), Safi explores the origins of that spirituality: the character and being of the Prophet Muhammad.

For Muslims, the book is a refreshing call to return to our spiritual roots, an element of faith that these days seems to be lost in the constant social commentary we are forced to engage in about Islam. For non-Muslims, Safi's explanation of Muhammad as the bridge between humanity and the Divine, insofar as emulating him brings one closer to Him, helps explain the connection Muslims have to their Prophet. It helps others feel as devout Muslims feel. In a time when the Prophet is so deeply misunderstood, such an emotional bond can go a long way in healing interreligious wounds.


What makes Safi's prose ingenious - indeed, what makes it especially relevant - is the way it moves back and forth between biographical details of the Prophet to the ways these historical points have been interpreted and emulated by Muslims. For instance, the Prophet's horizontal journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and his proceeding vertical movement from Jerusalem to the Heavens to meet his Maker, in the famed isra and mi'raj, signify first his connection to Jesus' and Moses' message and then his ultimate communion with the Divine.


The horizontal isra, along with the Prophet's meeting with Adam, Jesus, John the Baptist, Joseph, Enoch, Aaron, Moses and Abraham during the mi'raj, underscores the commonality of the Abrahamic faiths and the sanctity of each. Some Muslims reject this reading of Scripture, choosing instead to believe that the Qur'an supersedes rather than affirms previous revelations. (195) While it may be true that there are theological details that the three monotheistic faiths cannot ever agree on, there is ample Qur'anic proof of the essential connection among Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and a wide scope of spiritual traditions.


The Qur'an refers to the Prophet as a messenger to all of humanity and emphasizes time and again that each prophet brings the same message and one should not be favored over the other. The Prophet's message at its core is about spiritual submission to the Divine, designating as "muslim" anyone who adheres to such principles. While there are parts of the Qur'an that delineate factors for what makes one a Muslim with a capital "M", "in the Qur'anic worldview, 'Islam' is not so much the name of a new religious tradition as it is the quality of submitting oneself to God wholeheartedly... Islam is a path that leads one to Truth, but it is not the Truth itself." (200-1)


Refocusing one's conception of religion as a means to the Truth as opposed to the Truth itself not only allows for pluralistic interpretations of scripture, but also makes proper behavior central to one's religiosity. Being a Muslim ceases to be an identity; instead, it is a way of being and doing. The search for Truth becomes a process that requires effort - a process that is rooted in submitting to God by, among other things, working for social justice.


Safi
's biography of the Prophet serves to do precisely that - to refocus the reader's attention on the person through whom the Qur'an was revealed. As Safi says, quite rightly, the modernist Muslim understanding of the Prophet's role is little more than that of a "UPS delivery man, dropping off the divine revelation of the Qur'an at the doorstep of humanity, maybe pausing long enough to obtain a signature to ensure that the item has been received, and then departing, never to be seen again." (265) Lost on these modernists is the "tradition of Islamic piety, learning, and spiritual practice" that developed around memories of Muhammad.

Lost also is the fact that spiritual purification can happen only through implementing the Prophet's larger message of socially conscious action. Safi's book digs back into these memories of Muhammad in order to revive them, the traditions constructed around them, and their call to embrace Islam through refined character.


The concluding chapter of Safi's book thus appropriately focuses on the question, What Would Muhammad Do? (WWMD). It is a question that brings the Prophet into the present, making his memory a living one. As Safi notes, in the modern landscape, many Muslims find themselves fighting stereotypes and misconceptions by defining what Islam and its Prophet are not. (301) WWMD is about digging into the Prophet's core message of mercy to discover what Islam is, has been, can be, and should be.


Asma Uddin is Associate Editor of altmuslim.com and Editor-in-Chief of Altmuslimah. This article was previously published in Newsweek/Washington Post's On Faith


Book Description


Who was the historical Muhammad, and how do Muslims remember him—as a holy prophet, a cultural revolutionary, a military leader, or a spiritual mystic? Unending media coverage of extremist fanatics, the controversy over offensive cartoon depictions of Muhammad, and fatwas against journalists and authors are all hard to ignore and have prejudiced our Western perceptions of Muslims and their founder.


This definitive biography of the founder of Islam by a leading Muslim-American scholar will reveal invaluable new insights, finally providing a fully three-dimensional portrait of Muhammad and the one billion people who follow him today.


Memories of Muhammad
presents Muhammad as a lens through which to view both the genesis of Islamic religion and the grand sweep of Islamic history—right up to the hot button issues of the day, such as the spread of Islam, holy wars, the status of women, the significance of Jerusalem, and current tensions with Jews, Hindus, and Christians. It also provides a rare glimpse into how Muslims spiritually connect to God through their Prophet, in the mosque, in the home, and even in cyberspace.

This groundbreaking book offers the opportunity to move from telling Muhammad's story to talking about how different Muslims throughout Islamic history have both honored and contested Muhammad's legacy.