HAPPY MERDEKA, MALAYSIA!

Hari Raya 2011

It's 12.25am, Tuesday. It's Hari Raya.

How swiftly time flies. Somehow you could feel it this Ramadan. It's amazing.

Also Ramadan has been notably good. Could be the weather. Mostly cool days.

People I talked to agree that this time they could feel how time swiftly flew by.

Hari Raya 2011. Another Hari Raya? Always another Hari Raya.

I am now at Bapak's place. Our customary Raya eve at Bapak's.

There was a time, Raya eve was noisy and riotous. We'd be firing crackers and making a din. It was fabulous.

These days, we play "bunga api". Good enough. Still fabulous.

I usually visit Mak's (and then Kak Piah's, and much later, Bapak's) grave early Raya morning around 7. There'd be people but not too crowded. A little later and the cemetery would be brimming with visitors. And parking would be a nightmare.

This year, we decided to visit the graves a day before Raya. It seems sensible and practical,.

I thought, in all my wisdom, that we should have always done this.

So, at about 10 yesterday morning, we visited Mak, Bapak and Kak Piah. Our other sister, Kak Eda is buried in Subang Jaya.

We all feel the oldness of our lives. In Singapore, we've left with only one aunt and an "aunt-in-law" - Cik Ah and Cik Zai (Bapak's younger sister and sister-in-law).

Bapak's older sisters and younger brothers have all died.

Our older cousins have all passed on.

Mak is survived by her older sister, Wak Nah and youngest sister, Mak Busu.

Now, the kids have all grown up. How they have grown up.

The younger ones still remember Bapak. Soon, he'd be a fleeting memory. That comes with time.

Another Raya. Always another Raya. But never the same.

We miss you Bapak, Mak, Kak Piah and Kak Eda. Al Fatihah.

Anyway, here's wishing everyone a Selamat Hari Raya.

Have a blessed one.

Salam Aidilfitri!

Have a blessed Aidilfitri.

Safe journey and keep well!

JAIS Church "Raid" - No Answers To Questions Yet!

It's no trivial matter that JAIS - the Selangor Islamic Religious Department - gate-crashed a dinner at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) in Petaling Jaya on Aug 3- and alleging that not only were Muslims at the function, but that the church was converting Muslims.

JAIS has claimed that it did not raid the church, as widely reported but went there, and entered the premises within the ambit of the syariah law of the state.

Its director Marzuki Hussin had said the “check” to look for Muslims was conducted together with the police and that this was provided for under the Syariah Criminal Enactment (Selangor) 1995.

Predictably, the incident sparked outrage - largely from the Pakatan Rakyat leaders and supporters and the Christian community.

Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, of course, immediately apologized for such an unacceptable action by JAIS.

He ordered JAIS to submit a report. A preliminary, according to sources, has already been submitted to Khalid, who also issued a gag order to his executive councillors. Tsk tsk tsk.

Khalid had also met with the Sultan of Selangor on the matter.

Then he announced that a "majlis syura" - as advised by the Sultan - would be formed to deliberate on the matter. A boo-boo because the Sultan immediately issued a denial, saying that he had advised nothing of the sort.

A swift fix by the Selangor government. It's not a "majlis syura". So sorry about that. We don't want to confuse the people. Actually, it's a "hearing committee".

Clearly, this is a serious issue. It must be very difficult to resolve because straight answers have not been offered to simple questions.
Was it a raid? Or did JAIS conduct the inspection lawfully? Were the 12 Muslims at the event breaking fast in conjunction with what the church claimed to be a "unity dinner"/attending the dinner in conjunction with breaking fast or part of their proselytising ceremony?
Was the church converting "needy' Muslims?

Frankly, I find it odd that it is taking this long for the state government to wrap up investigations. I know JAIS had difficulty in interviewing the Muslims who were at the function they were all represented by their lawyers.

So, I've come to the conclusion that all's not well....

PAS MP Speaks Out ..

...against Fuziah's scare tactics about the Lynas Corporation rare earth plant.

Fuziah Salleh is of course the Kuantan MP who has been vocal against the construction of the plant, especially as it is located in Pahang.

The PAS MP is Dr Che Rosli Che Mat (Hulu Langat) who is an expert in nuclear science.
He has come out in defence of the Lynas Corp rare earth plant in Gebeng, Kuantan.

He said that Fuziah has been “frightening the public” by misleading and misinforming them about the plant.

Che Rosli has had enough and feels that he has to speak up and speak out.

"As the issue was brought up by the PKR, I've kept quiet and even been given a warning by the PAS information department not to comment.
"I've been silent so far, but this is unfair. They've been making comments in every issue of Harakah in a tone we are uncomfortable with."

Here's the Star report:

“She is frightening the public by saying that Lynas is a nuclear plant when its function is only to process natural materials like rare earth from Mount Weld in Western Australia, which has less radiation compared to an ore mine.

Che Rosli said as a PAS member, he felt embarassed by the stance taken by PKR's Fuziah.

“So, I've made the decision as a nuclear scientist to come forward to comment today,” he said in an interview over TV3 news here yesterday.

He said residents in Kuantan need not worry about the safety of the Lynas plant.

“The accusations made are unscientific and not at all academic.

“The people need not be worried. Once Lynas is built, they can go into the plant and see for themselves the safety measures put into place for both the workers and the public,” he said.

Fuziah had earlier spoken out against the project, citing health concerns and radiation fears from the rare earth plant.

Asyraf Haziq Bears No Ill Feeling Towards His Attackers

Asyraf Haziq, the 20 year-old Malaysian student who was attacked and then mugged by rioters in East London is determined to continue his studies there.

Asyraf who is recuperating after undergoing surgery to his jaw, told a Press conference that he still thinks Britain is great.

He said he bears no ill-feeling towards his attackers and in fact feels sorry for them, especially the kids among them.

Meanwhile, police have arrested a 20 year-old man over the attack.

The footage of Asyraf after the attack and being"helped" by a group of youths (who actually robbed him) is on Youtube.

A website was set up to help him.

A message on the "Let's Do Something Nice For Asyraf Haziq" site said just less than £4,000 had been donated by Wednesday night.

Read more HERE.

Never Seen London Like This...

Zaharah Othman wrote in her Facebook status today:

"Never in 31 years here have we seen anything like this in London. We hear sirens, apparently on police and army on the way to the nearby town of Ealing. Its getting too close for comfort."

Indeed, if you read about what's going on, you cannot imagine that something like THIS is taking place in London.

Here's an excerpt from a news report:

"The riots started over the weekend in London's Tottenham area. The riots originally started as a protest against the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan by armed police.

Monday's violence started in Hackney after a man was stopped and searched by police but nothing was found.

Groups of people began attacking the police in Hackney at about 16:20 BST, throwing rocks and a bin at officers.

Police cars were smashed by youths armed with wooden poles and metal bars. Looters also smashed their way into shops before being dispersed by police.

Nine police forces from other parts of the country have assisted in providing support to the capital city, as well as the City of London Police and British Transport Police.

However, eyewitnesses have reported that as trouble spread across the city, there were often few police officers around when violence flared."

(Photo is of a woman jumping for her life from a building. source: Daily Mirror)

Stop The Lies - stopthelies.my

I read everything and anything...including THIS BLOG

..and you can't always be reading about the US debt crisis, or the state of Europe's economy...so sometimes a little gossipy stuff is okay....

Never Before: S&P Downgrades US Credit Rating

Standard & Poors announced yesterday night that it has downgraded the U.S. credit rating for the first time, dealing a symbolic blow to the world’s economic superpower in what was a sharply worded critique of the American political system.

Lowering the nation’s rating to one notch below AAA, the credit rating company said “political brinkmanship” in the debate over the debt had made the U.S. government’s ability to manage its finances “less stable, less effective and less predictable.” It said the bipartisan agreement reached this week to find at least $2.1 trillion in budget savings “fell short” of what was necessary to tame the nation’s debt over time and predicted that leaders would not be likely to achieve more savings in the future.

“It’s always possible the rating will come back, but we don’t think it’s coming back anytime soon,” said David Beers, head of S&P’s government debt rating unit. -Washington Post.

Read more HERE

MB Khalid Issues Gag Order On JAIS Church Raid

Well, well, well....

You don't want your exco members to speak to the media, huh!

JAIS Raid on Church: Evidence of Proselytizing

"There is evidence of proselytizing of Muslims by non-Muslims" : Selangor state Muslim Affairs, Malay Customs, Infrastructure and Public Amenities Committee chairman Dr Hasan Mohamed Ali.

Hasan said this when explaining why JAIS (Selangor Islamic Religious Department) carried out Wednesday night"s raid on Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC).

Read the NST report HERE.

I'd like to know what the evidence is? This is a serious allegation because we all know that it is unlawful for non-Muslims to try and convert Muslims.

Meanwhile, DAP's Lim Kit Siang has accused Hasan of "breaking ranks" with the Selangor government on this, given that Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim had expressed regret over the incident.

"What is a matter of concern and must be viewed seriously is the public defence of the JAIS action by the state executive councillor Hassan Ali issued shortly after Khalid's statement expressing regret for the raid and asking JAIS to submit a full report on the incident – as it is an act of breaking ranks in the Selangor state government," he said Lim in a statement.

Berita Harian (today's, page 10) spoke to a single mother who has been actively participating in the church activities after going through serious financial trouble.
The woman, a Muslim, said the church offered financial assistance on condition that she joined all its activities.
She is now financially okay.

"In all honesty, the church had been a great help to me and my three children. To date, I have received RM20,000 from the church", she was quoted to say.

The single mother also said that there are about 100 Muslim single mothers in a similar situation.

My earlier posting:

JAIS Raids Unity Dinner At Church

In the first place, there is no law - Syariah or secular -forbidding Muslims from attending events, including dinners, in churches.

So why did JAIS -- Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor -- unleash its officers (accompanied by the police) to this gracious event?

Did JAIS go too far when its officers interrupted this event (a muhibbah dinner) at the Damansara Utama Methodist centre?

Big mistake...

Somalia Famine

In Somalia, 3.7 million people are in crisis, according to the United Nations.

Out of a population of 7.5 million, 3.2 million need immediate, lifesaving assistance.

Somalia, which has virtually no functioning government, is suffering its worst drought in 60 years.

The UN has declared three new regions in Somalia famine zones yesterday, expanding the area where the highest rates of malnutrition and mortality are taking place, including the refugee camps in the capital of Mogadishu.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said that famine is likely to spread across all regions of Somalia’s south in the next four to six weeks and may persist until December.

International humanitarian response to Somalia's plight has been inadequate, the UN said.

JAIS Raids Unity Dinner At Church

In the first place, there is no law - Syariah or secular -forbidding Muslims from attending events, including dinners, in churches.

So why did JAIS -- Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor -- unleash its officers (accompanied by the police) to this gracious event?

Did JAIS go too far when its officers interrupted this event (a muhibbah dinner) at the Damansara Utama Methodist centre?

Big mistake...

(From Rocky's Bru latest posting)

Who Is This Beer-Guzzling Opposition MP?

This particular one who's now in trouble with his bosses. He is most likely to be dropped as candidate in the next general election.

Can you guess who he is?

Salam Ramadhan!

Have a blessed Ramadhan.

Another year, another Ramadhan.

How swiftly time flies.

Peace.