Day: September 19, 2016

Ex-journalist arrested, accused of insulting Islam

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Source: FMT News

Sidek Kamiso was arrested at 4.30am at his house after accusations that he had insulted Islam following the death of PAS stalwart Haron Din. Image taken from FMT News.

Sidek Kamiso was arrested at 4.30am at his house after accusations that he had insulted Islam following the death of PAS stalwart Haron Din. Image taken from FMT News.9

PETALING JAYA: Former journalist Sidek Kamiso has been confirmed to be one of the three arrested by police following accusations of insulting Islam after the death of PAS spiritual leader Haron Din.

Sidek’s lawyer, Siti Kassim, told FMT that police had brought Sidek to Johor Bahru to make a remand request, but also said that she did not know why her client had been arrested and remanded.

“Sidek was brought to Johor Bahru. We have a lawyer in Johor, Roger Chan, who will represent Sidek because I cannot be there,” Siti told FMT.

Siti said police arrested Sidek at 4.30am at his house in Petaling Jaya, and that she did not know which station he was taken to.

“We don’t know where he was taken to. He called his wife later at 10am, saying that he was in Semarak. The number he used to call his family members was from Bukit Aman,” Siti said.

“We don’t know why he was arrested, besides information from police press conferences saying that he had insulted Islam. We’ll identify what Act he’s being arrested under.” Read more →

What system of governance: Theocracy, democracy or secular? — Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos

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Source: The Malay Mail Online

BY JAHABERDEEN MOHAMED YUNOOS

An opinion piece - file pic

An opinion piece – file pic

SEPT 19 — To me, and I repeat, to me, it is not about being obsessed with the label of “secular” or “Islamic” country though I do not have serious problems with people using the term. I try to understand what they are actually saying as the substance is more important than the label.

My position is clear: I do not support oppressive regimes or ideas whether they are labelled “secular” or “Islamic”. To be clear, I do not support a “secular system” that is anti religion as that is oppressive of a person’s faith. Likewise I do not support an “Islamic system” that takes away the professed Muslim’s inherent right to serve Allah as he understands it from the Quran as that is equally oppressive of faith.

In any case, I believe the practice of one’s faith or religion should not be allowed to affect national security, general public order, peace and harmony in the country or deny the basic fundamental rights and liberties of other citizens guaranteed under our Federal Constitution.

A theocratic state is often understood to be a political State which is founded on a particular religion. A theocracy may be defined as a form of government which defers not to civil development of law, but to an interpretation of the ‘will of a God’ as set out in religious scripture and authorities.  Read more →

Malaysia trains sights on pressing issues at UN General Assembly

Raevathi Supramaniam

Source: The Malay Mail Online

The United Nations in NY City - Pic courtesy of Justine Chew

The United Nations in NY City – Pic courtesy of Justine Chew

Malaysia is set to voice out its views on and offer possible solutions to a number of pressing issues plaguing the world as the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly (Unga) convenes at the UN headquarters in New York.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is leading the Malaysian delegation, will also get the chance to highlight Kuala Lumpur’s contributions towards addressing issues such as the refugee crisis and securing global peace.

“It’s worth noting that Malaysia is a (non-permanent) member of the United Nations Security Council and, as such, has been able to convey our views on matters affecting the international community,” he told Malaysian media covering his participation at Unga here yesterday.

Today, Ahmad Zahid, who is also home minister, will participate in the High-Level Meeting to address large movements of refugees and migrants at the General Assembly.

On the refugee crisis stemming from conflicts including in places like Syria, he said Malaysia remained committed to fulfilling its pledge to receive 3,000 Syrian migrants over a three-year period as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak at last year’s Unga.

This, he said, was despite Malaysia not being a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Ahmad Zahid said that at tomorrow’s meeting, he would like to highlight efforts being done by Kuala Lumpur to address issues like those concerning the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) card holders. Read more →

The burkini ban and human rights — Syahredzan Johan

Raevathi Supramaniam

Source: The Star Online

BY SYAHREDZAN JOHAN

YOU may have read news about the “burkini ban” controversy in some French towns.

The “burkini” is a type of swimwear that covers the whole body of the wearer, except for the hands and feet. It was designed for the Muslim female who wants to wear something light that can be used for swimming, yet at the same time is in accordance with the traditional Islamic concept of modesty.

The controversy began when the town of Cannes prohibited the use of the burkini. The reasons given were that the clothing has a possible link to “Islamic extremism”. Other towns in France followed suit and imposed a similar ban.

This resulted in fines issued against many women for wearing the burkini.

The accusation was that they did not wear “an outfit respecting good morals and secularism”, the bedrock of the French republic. Meanwhile, the mayor of the town of Nice claimed that the wearing of the burkini to be an “unacceptable provocative act”.

Politicians followed suit, joining the chorus of irrationality against the wearing of the swimwear. There were also reports of women being forced to take off the burkini in public with the ban extended to other types of “modest attire”. Read more →