Sunday, March 27, 2011

Do Our Leaders know the Law?

In Yesterday's Star, IGP Ismail Omar was asked why the trio were not arrested, replied "What offence (did they commit), you tell me?"

For goodness sake, they have confessed that they were responsible for the staging and screening of the sex video. What more do you want? What kind of IGP do we have? You want a layman to spell out the relevant law to you, kah?

Also on the same page, our famous sex actor CSL called on Anwar to prove that it was not him in the sex video. Another goon making a stupid demand. Anwar did not set up the whole thing and he has denied being the man in the video so why must he go through all the trouble to prove himself. I thought the onus is on the prosecutor to prove the accused has committed a crime and not the other way round? Oooops, sorry, CSL is not a lawyer.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Prophet Muhammad’s promise to Christians

By Dr. Muqtedar Khan

Muslims and Christians together constitute over fifty percent of the world and if they lived in peace, we will be half way to world peace. One small step that we can take towards fostering Muslim-Christian harmony is to tell and retell positive stories and abstain from mutual demonization.

In this article I propose to remind both Muslims and Christians about a promise that Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) made to Christians. The knowledge of this promise can have enormous impact on Muslim conduct towards Christians. Muslims generally respect the precedent of their Prophet and try to practice it in their lives.

In 628 AD, a delegation from St. Catherine’s Monastery came to Prophet Muhammed and requested his protection. He responded by granting them a charter of rights, which I reproduce below in its entirety. St. Catherine’s Monastery is located at the foot of Mt. Sinai and is the world’s oldest monastery. It possesses a huge collection of Christian manuscripts, second only to the Vatican, and is a world heritage site. It also boasts the oldest collection of Christian icons. It is a treasure house of Christian history that has remained safe for 1400 years under Muslim protection.

St. Catherine’s Monastery is located at the foot of Mt. Sinai and is the world’s oldest monastery

The Promise to St. Catherine:
"This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.

Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by God! I hold out against anything that displeases them.

No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims' houses.

Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God's covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.

No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.

No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world)."

The first and the final sentence of the charter are critical. They make the promise eternal and universal. Muhammed asserts that Muslims are with Christians near and far straight away rejecting any future attempts to limit the promise to St. Catherine alone. By ordering Muslims to obey it until the Day of Judgment the charter again undermines any future attempts to revoke the privileges. These rights are inalienable. Muhammed declared Christians, all of them, as his allies and he equated ill treatment of Christians with violating God’s covenant.

A remarkable aspect of the charter is that it imposes no conditions on Christians for enjoying its privileges. It is enough that they are Christians. They are not required to alter their beliefs, they do not have to make any payments and they do not have any obligations. This is a charter of rights without any duties!

The document is not a modern human rights treaty but even though it was penned in 628 A.D., it clearly protects the right to property, freedom of religion, freedom of work, and security of the person.

I know most readers, must be thinking so what? Well the answer is simple. Those who seek to foster discord among Muslims and Christians focus on issues that divide and emphasize areas of conflict. But when resources such as Muhammad’s promise to Christians are invoked and highlighted it builds bridges. It inspires Muslims to rise above communal intolerance and engenders good will in Christians who might be nursing fear of Islam or Muslims.

When I look at Islamic sources, I find in them unprecedented examples of religious tolerance and inclusiveness. They make me want to become a better person. I think the capacity to seek good and do good inheres in all of us. When we subdue this predisposition towards the good, we deny our fundamental humanity. In this holiday season, I hope all of us can find time to look for something positive and worthy of appreciation in the values, cultures and histories of other peoples.

-- Dr. Muqtedar Khan is Director of Islamic Studies at the University of Delaware and a fellow of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.

THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST ANWAR

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Prayer Rally in Kuching

prayer rally
  About 3000 Sarawkian Christians packed the Christian Accumenical Worship Centre in Kuching for a prayer rally on religious freedom. The Rally, the first of its kind was  organised by the Sarawak Ministers Fellowship (SMF), which is an alliance of Sarawak churches including the Kuching Ministers Fellowship, Miri Pastors Fellowship, Sibu Pastors Fellowship, Bintulu Pastors Fellowship and Gempuru Besai Raban Jaku Iban Malaysia. The rally was led by leaders of all the churches under the SMF umbrella and held in Bahasa Malaysia, English and Mandarin. Two-thirds of the leaders are Dayaks and there was a strong native presence in the crowd
The normally conservative Sarawak Christians expressed unhappiness over the government's handling of the Bible issue and decided that enough is enough. Their anger and frustration is reflected in their response that “The Christians of Sarawak are rising up for the first time to confront an issue which has deeply affected them. We have been very quiet all this while but enough is enough and we want to send this message to those in the corridors of power."
Let us not let our brothers and sisters in East Malaysia stand alone. Let us rise up and be united in our prayers for freedom to worship our God . We fear no man but our God.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to Sexland

We the rakyat had better get used to it. Our country is being run by nincompoops and sex crazy people. We have had people in parliament inferring the parliament roof leakage was similar to a woman's monthly period. We had one CM accused of rapiing an underaged girl, a minister suspected of raping his maid, a speaker and a top mca minister caught on video having a gala time. And to top it all, our top man is accused of having an affair with a "cannot be mentioned name", resulting in her murder. And we must not forget a particular CM  showing obscene signs with his hands during an election. What has got into these people?  And these people are so crazy over sex that their plot is always based on sex. And sex is again used in the latest episode to bring down Anwar. Come on lah, be more creative and imaginative. With such mentality, you will never find employment in any movieland. Firstly, Anwar is already in the midst of a sodomy trial and secondly he is of high profile and thus can be recognised easily. Under this circumstance, which normal & intelligent person would want to further expose himself. Probably Rahim Thamby Chik, Shazryl Eskay and Perkasa treasurer Shuib Lazim who had confessed that they are the ones behind the screening of the sex video, are not normal or intelligent. Moreover you have overkilled poor Anwar with sex, and no one is going to believe anymore new release.
BTW, the above three people are all umno people, a special branch was seen at the screening and no police raid was carried on the screening of the porno film.  Speaks volume of our justice system, isn't it?

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

BN-Malaysia will never be an Islamic State, So stop using this scare tactic.

Everytime there is an election, the component parties of BN will, without fail, raise the issue of the Islamic state and challenge DAP/PKR to make a stand. This time with the Sarawak Election at hand, the issue is again highlighted, and this time by Lee Seng Kok of the MCA. He had criticised DAP and PKR for sacrificing the rights of the non-Muslims by compromising with PAS on the Islamic state concept. BN must be really running out of ideas to play the same old record repeatedly. He and the BN may be ignorant of the facts, but the rakyat are not. Maybe he should read RPK's piece here, and realise that the concept of an Islamic state will never materialise as the DAP and PKR will never agree to it. And PAS alone does not have the number to change the constitution. So dont scare us with this bull about the Pakatan having reached an agreement with PAS about the implementation of the Islamic state concept.  As YB LGE said,  PAS President Hadi Awang was merely stating PAS stand on the issue, but it is not Pakatan's stand.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Why is the umno govt. so afraid of the Christians and their Bibles?

I would like to address the following to the umno government and the Perak Mufti, especially.
It boggles the mind how you, as a govt. body, can be scared of a bunch of Christians who has never known to be aggressive or take to the streets to protest. We only ask for what is constitutionally guaranteed.
You have denied us to build our places of worship. So we have to use shop lots. I visited a church once in Bentong, and this church occupied the top floor of a shop lot that sells coffins to the Buddhists.
You disallow us not to build churches with  spires or crosses and even Buddhist statues that dwarves other muslim structures.
You allowed 2 muslim jounalists to come into our church, took the holy sacrament and then spit it out. What punishment have you metted out to them?
You disallow us the use of the word "Allah" and you even allowed your people to take to the streets to protest. I didn't see any water canon or tear gas being used.
Your action or rather inaction encouraged others to take bolder steps, resulting in the torching and burning of several churches.
You allowed one court to uphold the church's right to use "Allah" and allowed another court to appeal.
As if these are not enough to satiate your appetite to belittle we Christians, you now take it upon your selves to desecrate our Holy Bibles and putting serial numbers on them as if they are prisoners.
Why are you so afraid of us? who only makes up less than 10% of the population of 27 million.
And what have we done? Have we taken to the streets? No, as our way is a better way for our Lord has said "Vengence is mine". 
The Perak mufti has said that he is afraid of the consequence if the Bibles are released. What consequence is he talking about? The only consequence I can think of now is the release of your followers and extremists onto the street to create havoc. So what are the police and the riot squad for? What are the water canons and tear gas for? Dont even dream of using them on the Christians as we will never fall for the trap. Oh I get it, they are used on the Opposition only. You want to get us Christians? Come to our homes and churches and you will find us on our knees, praying and maybe pleading for mercies on those that have desecrated His Holy Name, His Holy Place of worship and His Holy Book.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

NO! NO! NO! to Nuclear Plant in our Country!!!

Has anyone ever realised that the Tsunami and nuclear fallout in Japan are messages from God telling sinful man that we have done enough damage to his beautiful planet and its payback time? While nations around the world, from Australia to the USA, have prompted their governments to review the use of nuclear energy, our stupid BN govenment is adamant to go ahead with it. It is amazing that our DPM and Peter Chin cannot fathom the fact that Japan who is technologically advanced and rigorous in its safety procedures, is saddled with a nuclear disaster on their hands. And what is our technology as compared to Japan's?

We are already well-known as a country with a first class infrastucture, but a third class (thats putting it mildly) maintenance structure. We have got a collapse stadium, leaking parliament, subs that cannot dive, and the most recent Malacca monorial that has stopped operation. We just dont have the expertise to deal with any nuclear fall-out. Please dont talk about foreign expertise as they are just here for the money. Maybe the following photos will put some sense into the DPM and Peter Chin.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Stand Up for Jesus, Ye soldeirs of the Cross

Why are the muslim, specifically the umno muslims, so scared of the Christians? They don't allow the Christians to use certain Malay words, they don't allow the Christians to sing Christian hymns and to remove signs of the cross whenever special umno leaders visit their place of worship, and the umno government either refuses permission for the bulding of churches or restrict the numbers. How come they dont have the same fear for the Buddhists and the Hindus? At times I wonder whether it is to our credit that they show so much fear for our Christian faith. And this is probably due to the their leaders having read too much of the power and miracles performed by our Lord Jesus Christ. Hence the fear. But is their faith in their religion so weak that they have to impose laws to protect their followers, the umno muslim specifically? The faithful and rightious muslims have come out to condemn the protectionist attitude of the umno government, and felt insulted with the govt's policy, but their number is not big enough to make an impact.
The latest confiscation 0f 30,000 BM bibles is another example of fear. Maybe not fear, but arrogance and kiasu attitude of the umno government. But enough is enough!. The 10%  Christian population of the country must now stand up and be counted.
Article 11 provides for every person to have “the right to profess and practice his religion”, and that every religious group has the right (a) to manage its own religious affairs, (b) to establish and maintain institutions for religious or charitable purposes, and (c) to acquire and own property and hold and administer it in accordance with the law. So what is happening?

Thomas Lee in his Article in Malaysia Chronicles sugggested 4 ways by which we Christians can answer this Clarion call. I quote from his article below.
First of all, as Christians, we believe in the power of divine intervention, so we must unite in unceasing prayer before the throne of grace to seek God’s help. A nationwide non-stop prayer vigil should be organised by the various churches to pray for the nation and its leaders. Individual Christians on their own should also set aside a day each week to fast and pray.


Secondly, the Christians must be united in their stand to defend their human and constitutional rights, to curb and prevent any breach or dilution of such fundamental rights. They should give steadfast and strong support to the CFM and church leaders in their negotiation with the authorities on the matter. At the same time, the CFM and its leadership should be resolute and unwavering in their stand, without fear or favour. Those who are afraid and not willing to risk the prospect of being detained for standing up should step down from the leadership positions.

Thirdly, the churches should start holding talks and forums to inform and educate their members on the issues affecting them. Pastors should preach and teach on biblical subjects such as Christian responsibility in society. For too long, Christians, including the pastors and church leaders, have been basking in their comfort zone within the four walls of their churches, with nary a concern about their rights being eroded or tramped on. The time has come for Christians to emerge from their spiritual slumber to play a more vocal and visible role as loyal citizens of the nation. They should mobilise themselves to campaign and vote for those who are righteous, just, honest, fair, humble, competent, and incorruptible to serve as their representatives in Parliament and the various state assemblies.

Finally, Christians who are qualified and willing to serve the nation in the socio-political arena should offer themselves as candidates for election to Parliament and the various state assemblies. We need Joseph who became the prime minister of Egypt and saved the country from famine and economic disaster, Moses who fought for the liberation of those oppressed slaves of Egypt, Daniel who stood firm for his faith in the face of religious persecution, David who served as king and unified the nation, Nehemiah who served as a high government official and used his position to help rebuilt Jerusalem, John the Baptist who was beheaded for exposing and condemning the immorality of Herod, and the apostle Paul who exercised his citizenship rights to stand up for his faith. Of course, the prime example is the Lord Jesus who challenged and spoke out against the hypocritical Jewish religious leaders and the oppressive Roman political authorities, and was crucified.

The clarion call to the Christians in Malaysia today is to join with all other Malaysians of like vision and mission to participate in an active national service to bring about the transformation of the nation to a new and better Malaysia.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

PAS responsible for voters running away to BN

Pakatan, through its partner, PAS,  lost again, this time in the Merlimau & Kerdau by-election. The loss is however expected, as Merlimau and Kerdau are BN's stronghold. What is not expected is that the loss is accompanied by a bigger majority for the BN. These are the fourth and fifth straight by-election losses suffered by the Pakatan coalition with increased majoirty. But what is most frustrating was the things that PAS and DAP did to give the extra votes to the BN. thereby increasing its majority. Haven't they learnt from the 2008 tsunami whereby the Indians were angered and subsequently gave Pakatan the necessary Indian votes? In the currect situation, why must PAS come out to push the gambling issue just before the by-election? Then why must Anthony Loke of DAP rebuke PAS for its action? Then we have Karpal Singh of DAP and Mustafa Ali of PAS making statements in support of their different stand. How can they ever think of Putrajaya when they can't even stay united over small matters, or at least hold back and discuss such matters in private? The increase in the BN majority showed that the squabbling among the Pakatan coalition is driving voters away, and it is a signal for its leaders to ring the alarm bell.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Another Pakatan Conflict made Public to Benefit umnos.

The road to Putrajaya for Pakatan seems to be getting further and further away. The coalition partners seem to be at loggerheads each time a controversial issue surfaces. This time its about Kelantan putting a  ban on lottery tickets. When PAS does something, its going to lose Chinese votes. When DAP does something, its going to cost the coalition the Malay votes and when PKR says something, its the Indians that are not going to be happy. Sheeeeessssh!!! why can't you blood party members stop making public statements and discuss this privately. You dont even know whether its a new ruling of the state government or an oversealous enforcement of the local council.  So why beat the gun and go public? The umnos are meanwhile laughing all the way to the toilets to rid themselves of their diarrhoea.
Anyway, why is PAS so stupid as to make such a move just before 2 by-elections? Then why must DAP go public demanding an explanation. Dont you think its better to go public with " well, afterall gambling is not good, but we will get an explanation from PAS." You people are still feeding on milk and not matured enough do the correct methods of wheeling and dealing to get into the good books of your supporters. All you are interested is to score points for yourself and not for a united Pakatan.