No Water & Electricity for Orang Asli Church

A group of orang asli Christians on Thursday (15/5/2008) demanded the local authorities restore water and electricity so they can use their church which was wrongfully torn down, their lawyer said.

Local authorities in eastern Pahang state tore down the church used by the Orang Asli in 2003 but the federal government in the mainly Muslim nation stepped in and gave them RM35,000 as compensation to rebuild their house of worship.

But the local government has refused to connect utilities to the building, preventing the community from using it for more than a year.

The Orang Asli have now taken the matter to the Temerloh High Court, their lawyer Annou Xavier told AFP.

"These are very simple people and many of them are illiterate," Xavier told AFP.

"All they are asking for is that water and electricity be provided so that they can worship in their building and use it as a community hall," he said.

"The neighbouring areas, just metres away and all Orang Asli homes, have all got water and electricity so what is the problem? Is it just because it's a place of worship?"

However, Pahang state legal adviser Kamal Azirah told the court the government opposed their appeal to review the decision not to connect utilities as it had been filed after the 40-day period allowed for by law.

Judge Abdul Halim Aman said he would rule on whether the review could proceed on July 9.

"The effect of today's hearing is that the utilities will remain disconnected from the Orang Asli church until the hearing proper and that will take months," Xavier said.

Many indigenous peoples, who live in the interior of mainland Malaysia and in the jungles of Borneo island, are Christians who were converted by foreign missionaries in the early 20th century.

The court case comes as minority religious groups in Muslim-majority Malaysia fear their rights are being undermined, even though the country is traditionally seen as moderate.

In recent months, there have been controversies over the construction of the world's tallest Taoist Goddess of the Sea statue on Borneo island and the destruction of Hindu temples by local authorities.

Floating Bodies in Sungai Kuala Selangor

This email was sent by a friend of one of the two whose bodies were found floating in Sungai Kuala Selangor, victims of senseless robbery crime.

Dear Friends,

I am writing this with a very heavy heart, with tears in my eyes and great unease in my entire being.

You all will have by now read about the two Chinese male bodies that were recovered from the Kuala Selangor river. One of them was that of the man reported missing on the 28th, monday by his pregnant wife. It is the other man that i want to share my story with you all.

He was my friend Alan Kuek, towering man, kind and gentle, ready for a good time, eating, drinking, dancing and of course his favourite game of squash at Lakeview club. He was the father to two handsome, smart boys and a pretty young daughter whom he fathered 7 years ago. He was not only a good father , he was a loving husband. He went missing at 1.20am Friday the 25th. He was last seen by his two friends who were having a drink with him, when they all left RP, Hyatt Saujana at around 1am Friday morning. One of his friends received a missed call from him at 1.18am when she was already at home, but thought nothing of it.

The next morning , I was informed by our group of friends that his wife called them as he did not go home! My friends went with his wife Christine to make a police report and got the expected response of taking the whole matter lightly. (Husband not missing for 24 hrs yet, might be going away from family for a reason, ....)

Christine with help managed to checked her husband bank account at MayBank and discovered that there were 5 separate withdrawals at branches in Kota Damansara and Sg Buloh since 7am
on that very day.

My companion Francis who is also a close friend of Alan besides working as partners in several projects went with Christine around 430pm again to inform police of this information. Still no action on police part.

We were all very hopeful, that the criminals is keeping Alan hostage as they want to withdraw more money the next day. Sure enough, there were 2 withdrawals totalling 1400.00 ringgit at 710am on Saturday the 26th from a branch in Sg Buloh.

Image captured on CCTV at the ATM was that of a dark skin man with helmet and black jacket. No further withdrawal was made as there was only 200ringgit left in the account. Now the police are finally taking it seriously and we waited for calls demanding ransom and hope for police can
rescue Alan.

Saturday turned into sunday, then monday,.....until the shocking news on national TV7 that the second victim's wife is pleading for his safe return, we only knew that there was a similar second case.

My heart sank almost completely for Alan survival! I was hoping against all odds for a miracle that Alan will return safely to his waiting family. My hope for Alan life was shattered on 3rd May

Saturday when we were informed that Christine and the second victim's wife had gone to identify the two floating Chinese bodies.

Alan body was beyond recognition, clad only in his> underwear hands and feet tied. Christine can

identified the underwear as Alan's. There was nothing we his friends and families can do now, only to wait for final confirmation via DNA test and a postmorterm to reveal time and cause of death.

These 'animal' criminals had coldheartedly robbed us of two very capable and productive Malaysian men, two loving husband, two caring and tender fathers and two generous , warm and sincere friends!

Both of them lived in Subang Jaya, a middle urban area, where such violent, random crimes do not happen until now! Where is the security that is due and expected from our government?

Where, when and how can one be safe in Malaysia now? It is just so utterly shocking and unbeliveable that such crimes can happen in our neighbourhood!

Only we can take care of our security, be triple alert whereever and whenever we are , as long as
they are strangers do not stop, open your car doors, house doors or follow them even when they are hurt. It sounds cold and uncaring but this is for our own survival.

Live your Life as usual, be happy, be caring but be extra careful and alert of your surrounding every minute.

God bless and protect all of us.

Love always.

KARPAL SINGH & ROYAL PREROGATIVES

Karpal Singh’s controversy over the prerogatives of Sultans and Rajas is reminiscent of Lee Kuan Yew challenging Ketuanan Melayu and advising Malay leaders not to give fish but to teach them to fish.

What Karpal has done could be interpreted as advice to the constitutional Royalties on the right approach in a country of diverse races and religions. However what has escalating into are accusations that Karpal is questioning royal prerogatives.

No non-Malays had admonished Lee Kuan Yew then, but now we have DAP’s central exectutive member and Selangor Speaker Teng Chang Khim saying that what Karpal has done is politically unwise. However in the same breath, he said Karpal may be right in law.

In any issue, there are political, legal, economic and social aspect of it. If it is look at purely on its political repercussion, then one must as well keep one’s month shut, otherwise the law of the jungle would prevail.

Teng’s boss Lim Kit Siang is fond of saying “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” On Teng’s part, it is apparent that now that Teng is tasting power, he is seeing things in different perspective (such as songkok is alright, don’t bring up politically sensitive issues, etc). From his behaviour, it is not difficult to guess why MCA and MIC behaving the way they did in BN.

Silver Linings Among the Dark May 13 Cloud

It is interesting to read Datuk Kamaruddin Mohd’s commentary in the New Straits Times (11/5/2008) on the May 13 riots (www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/Columns/2236838/Article/index_html.)

It was one of the silver linings among the May13 dark cloud that highlighted the positive sides of the incident.

What Datuk Kamaruddin said was true and at the same what Eric Griffith-Jones said was also true.

It could be because of the expose that “the Malay Regiment rather lost its head” that forced the authorities to be fair.

But one nagging doubt is that why mobilized the Malay Regiment when it was a Malay-Chinese riot where public and world perception and opinions were of significance. If the Malay Regiment had done such good deeds as claimed by the writer, then why it had to be replaced by the Sarawak Rangers? History will tell.

Talking of “silver linings” even the Japanese atrocity during World War 2 was committed during the early part of the occupation. When resistance was muted the Japanese was as benevolent as any occupying force could be to win hearts and minds. People like Loh Boon Siew benefited during the occupation and immediately after the war, shot to Japan to import the 50cc motorbike. The rest is history.

Fiddling While Rome Is Burning

Isn't this photo reminiscent of "Nero fiddling while Rome is burning"?

Malaysia is rotting and wasting to the core and yet these two gentlemen could afford such smiles.

I am sure there are many things need rectifications and fixing. Therefore please be more serious and get cracking before the roofs fall again.

This is a shop selling all the "idolised" Islamic items, the stuff that Muslim religious enforcement officers armed with a police warrant seized from the Moral Uplifting Society in Johor Bahru recently.

Instead of seizing just one item from the Moral Uplifting Society, they would need more than a lorry to carry away all that are in this shop.

If they do it, they are also "nipping the bud" of such a problem if they are really that pious and serious.