Farewell, 2014 ― Lim Sue Goan |
- Farewell, 2014 ― Lim Sue Goan
- Indian Ocean tsunami anniversary: Indonesia begins memorials
- Shadow of Ebola over Christmas in Liberia
- Topless protester grabs Baby Jesus after Pope’s Christmas message
- Sultan Yahya Petra bridge closed to users as water levels in Kelantan continue to rise
- Cabinet’s silence on bigotry is endorsement of bigotry ― Ravinder Singh
| Posted: 25 Dec 2014 05:06 PM PST
The year 2014 is full of painful memories. The mysterious disappearance of Malaysian Airlines MH370 flight and the crash of MH17 after being shot have resulted in 537 casualties. The pain of the victims' family members can never be forgotten and thus, the people voted Chinese character "航" (navigation) as the Chinese word of the year. However, the word alone is not enough to represent the grief, or generalise the storms we faced throughout the year, particularly the people's confusion and anxiety. The two aviation tragedies are supposed to inspire patriotism and love. They are chances to unite all Malaysians. However, view differences and contradictory ideas made the determination to ride out the storm together last only for a few days, before the country fell into chaos again. A country must keep progressing every year and targets should be hit to move forward amidst the intensified competitive environment under the trend of globalisation. However, we found that the country has made only little progress and many areas have even encountered regression. Politically, groups and individuals who are supposed to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of Christmas are now busy in supporting the moderation movement, showing that everyone is in anxiety, hoping to unite forces and prevent the country from falling into the abyss of extremism. The moderation movement should not be just a small movement involving only a small number of members of the society. However, it is worrisome as it could be distorted and evolve into another storm. The Kelantan State Assembly will convene a special meeting on December 29 to table two private member Bills that will allow the enforcement of the Syariah Criminal Code II that it approved in 1993, paving the way for the implementation of what is widely known as hudud law. The implementation of hudud law is expected to trigger controversy between secular country and Islamic state. It is a political issue, as well as a religious issue. It would tear the society and religion apart. Political haze continues to cover the society while racial clamouring continues. It can be expected that the political environment next year will worsen. Anti-liberalism would be the biggest crisis as a closed society will make some people see things in their own perspective, helping the growth of radical and extreme thinking. The Muslim community is also expected to be hit by terrorist organisation Islamic State (IS). The Prime Minister presented the White Paper in Parliament to call for anti-terrorism, but there are still many joining and funding the IS militants. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar has admitted that Malaysia has become a transit point for terrorist activities. If religious moderation, communication and tolerance are not promoted, we will embark on a road of no return. The economic outlook next year is not optimistic. The plummeted international crude oil price will reduce the government's oil revenue. Meanwhile, the plunged ringgit is also expected to lead to imported inflation, together with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) scheduled to be implemented in April next year and the unstable global economy, the year of 2015 would be a difficult year for the public. The international oil price has fallen to a new low but the retail prices of petrol and diesel fuel will fall only in January, while electricity tariff should be reviewed the fastest in June next year, causing the public not being able to immediately benefit from the falling oil prices. Although the government has exempted GST for necessities, fees for banking services and medical insurance are not exempted from the GST, inevitably causing the people panic. As for other areas, such as anti-corruption efforts, the country's ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) has slightly improved, from 53rd out of 177 countries last year to 50th out of 175 countries this year. However, international anti-corruption group Global Financial Integrity's (GFI) put Malaysia at the fifth place in illicit outflow, as the country lost over US$48.93 billion (RM170.7 billion) in 2012. It showed that corruption is very serious in the country, but the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) plans to amend the Malaysian Anti-corruption commission Act 2009 next year to include corporate liability provision, so that employers have to be responsible for corruption acts committed by their employees, showing that the commission has failed in identifying the source of the problem. National education is also retrograding. The world rankings of local universities are appalling. The performance of Mathematics and Science is going backwards. Other assessments reflecting freedom and openness also set record lows, including human rights and press freedom. In addition, many old problems have been repeated, including the Auditor-General's Report, Cameron Highlands' floods, and East Coast floods. No solution can be seen. Malaysians must usher in the brand new year with new thinking, or the road ahead will be thorny and the advanced country vision will distance farther and farther away from us. * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.  |
| Indian Ocean tsunami anniversary: Indonesia begins memorials Posted: 25 Dec 2014 05:06 PM PST
On December 26, 2004 a 9.3-magnitude earthquake off Indonesia's western coast sparked a series of towering waves that wrought destruction across countries as far apart as Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Somalia. Among the victims were thousands of foreign holidaymakers enjoying Christmas on the region's sun-kissed beaches, striking tragedy into homes around the world. Muslim clerics, tsunami survivors and rescue workers led around 7,000 mourners gathered at Banda Aceh's black-domed Baiturrahman Grand Mosque for memorial prayers late yesterday. Malaysian cleric Syeikh Ismail Kassim said he and several hundred compatriots attended to show support for Aceh. "We hope Aceh people will not waver as a result of the calamity that has befallen them," he told AFP. Aceh governor Zaini Abdullah thanked Indonesians and the international community in his address at the mosque, one of the few buildings which withstood the wrath of the massive earthquake and ensuing waves which left 170,000 people in the country dead or missing. "The tsunami had caused deep sorrow to Aceh residents from having lost their loved ones," he said. "Sympathy from Indonesians and the international community has helped (Aceh) to recover," he added. He also called on residents not to "dwell in our grief, so that we could rise from adversity and achieve a better Aceh". Kamaruddin, a fisherman who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said he attended the prayers to remember his wife and three children who died in the tsunami. "I hope there will be no more disasters in Aceh," the 50-year-old said. In Meulaboh, a fishing town considered to be the ground zero of the tsunami—where 35 metre-high waves flattened almost everything—Indonesian flags were flown at half-mast as small groups of residents held night prayers at mosques. The main memorials were planned for today morning, starting in Aceh which was hit first by the waves, then moving to Thailand where candlelit ceremonies are expected in the resort hubs of Phuket and Khao Lak. There will also be events in Sri Lanka, including at the site where a train carrying 1,500 people was washed away, as well as in several European capitals to remember foreign nationals who perished. 'Like being in a washing machine' Many of the tsunami's victims died in dark, churning waters laden with uprooted trees, boats, cars and eviscerated beach bungalows, as the waves surged miles inland and then retreated, sucking many more into the sea. Thailand saw 5,395 people killed by the disaster—half of them foreign holidaymakers. British survivor Andy Chaggar was in a bungalow on Thailand's Khao Lak when the tsunami waves struck, taking his girlfriend's life and sweeping him inland. "I came to in the water... there was glass, metal, there were pieces of wood, bricks, it was like being in a washing machine full of nails," he told AFP yesterday, on the same beach where he lost his girlfriend. As the scale of the tragedy emerged, disaster-stricken nations struggled to mobilise a relief effort, leaving bloated bodies to pile up under the tropical sun or in makeshift morgues. The world poured money and expertise into the relief and reconstruction, with more than US$13.5 billion (RM47.1 billion) collected in the months after the disaster. Almost US$7 billion in aid went into rebuilding more than 140,000 houses across Aceh, thousands of kilometres of roads, and new schools and hospitals. The vast majority of Indonesia's 170,000 victims perished in the province, among them tens of thousands of children. But the disaster also ended a decades-long separatist conflict, with a peace deal between rebels and Jakarta struck less than a year later. It also prompted the establishment of a pan-ocean tsunami warning system, made up of sea gauges and buoys, while individual countries have invested heavily in disaster preparedness. But experts have cautioned against the perils of "disaster amnesia" creeping into communities vulnerable to natural disasters. — AFP |
| Shadow of Ebola over Christmas in Liberia Posted: 25 Dec 2014 05:00 PM PST
"This is the worst Christmas we have ever seen," said Isaac G. Chea, a trader. "Because of the Ebola crisis... people don't want to come in the market, there where people gather; touching each other" for fear of contracting the disease. Monrovia residents cannot remember a more morose Christmas period since the west African country's back-to-back civil wars, which claimed some 250,000 lives between 1989 and 2003. The Ebola crisis, which has seen more than 3,000 Liberians lose their lives, prompted President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to cancel a traditional event in which she invites children to her office to give them Christmas presents. Some youths and children could be seen engaging in another Christmas tradition — putting on disguises and dancing in the streets to raise pocket money to buy presents with — but the usual verve was lacking. More prominent were anti-Ebola teams plying the streets of the capital and suburbs urging people to be particularly vigilant against the disease during the holidays. Samuel Streete, an engineer, told AFP: "I told my family, I told my kids that they are not going out. No celebration, we will stay home and watch movies all day because of Ebola." Angie Gardea, a cosmetician, said business had fallen off. "Customers are not really pouring in like before, so today I could not buy my children Christmas clothes." Nor has Sunny Fassiah, 53, bought any Christmas presents this year. "You celebrate only when you are healthy," he said. "Ebola is still here, we have to keep the biggest portion of the money for preventive measures and preventive medicine." Posters aimed at raising awareness about preventing the spread of Ebola were far more prominent than Christmas decorations in the capital of the impoverished nation. The death toll in Liberia stands at 3,384, with 7,862 cases, according to the latest World Health Organisation figures, making it the country with the most fatalities in the current outbreak, followed by Sierra Leone and Guinea. The killer disease in the year-old outbreak has claimed 7,588 lives overall so far, almost all in the three contiguous countries. In a small sign that Liberia is at last turning the corner, it was finally able on Saturday to hold Senate elections that had been postponed twice because of the epidemic. But Streete, the engineer, said that even if containment efforts seemed to be bearing fruit, Liberians should not "be wild, going around and celebrating like our tradition; no! Things have to be different for this Christmas. That's the main thing." — AFP |
| Topless protester grabs Baby Jesus after Pope’s Christmas message Posted: 25 Dec 2014 04:53 PM PST
A Vatican police officer wearing a black cape was quick to arrest the blonde activist and wrest the figurine away from her. The words "God Is Woman" were daubed in large letters on her chest. Although the incident occurred well after Pope Francis delivered his Christmas message from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica, thousands of pilgrims were still in the famous square. Femen has staged similar stunts at the Vatican, such as a protest last month over an imminent visit by the pope to the European Parliament. The three Femen members were wearing only leather mini-skirts and flower garlands in their hair, and one had the slogan "Pope is not a politician" emblazoned across her chest. On November 24, the day before the pope's visit, a topless Femen activist mounted the altar of the Strasbourg cathedral. The movement that began in Ukraine to protest the former pro-Kremlin regime also opposes the Catholic Church's positions against abortion and gay marriage. Their activists often stage protests in places of worship. — AFP |
| Sultan Yahya Petra bridge closed to users as water levels in Kelantan continue to rise Posted: 25 Dec 2014 04:48 PM PST
Kota Baharu district police chief, ACP Rohaimi Md Isa, when contacted, said the bridge was closed to all traffic as the situation was dangerous to road users. Several areas around Kota Baharu have been inundated by flood waters since last night with the worst hit areas being Gua Musang and Kuala Krai in Ulu Kelantan. Flood waters from these areas are now flowing towards Kota Baharu district in the northern part of Kelantan. ― Bernama |
| Cabinet’s silence on bigotry is endorsement of bigotry ― Ravinder Singh Posted: 25 Dec 2014 04:44 PM PST
Similarly with the Prime Minister's call on Malaysians "to come together in the spirit of harmony, acceptance and respect in celebrating Christmas". Liow is reported to have said that "Malaysia can continue to develop and progress only when we learn to trust and respect each other and live together in peace and harmony". This is an insult to Malaysians, for Malaysians had long ago accepted the various cultures and religious beliefs found in this land had been living in peace and harmony. It is not as if this is something new that they have to learn. What is new is the extremist, Talibanist ideology that is being forcefully brought to bear upon people who have been living in peace and harmony for ages, with the objective of destroying the goodwill, peace and harmony between the races and religions in the name of defending Islam. This is totally contrary to what the Prophet had taught, which means the bigots, who claim to be defending Islam, don't even have respect for the Prophet. So who has to learn what in 2014 or 2015? Isn't it a joke and an insult to ask the huge majority of Malaysians of various races, cultures and religions who had been living in peace and harmony with each other all these past decades to "learn to trust and respect each other and live together in peace and harmony"? The few vociferous racist bigots are like big school bullies. So what do you do ― advice the rest of the students to keep away from them, or take the bullies by the horns and throw them to the ground so that bullying stops? When the few school bullies are not reigned in, they create more bullies resulting in even the teachers fearing them. Finally the bullies take control of the schools and teachers dare not take any action for fear of retaliation by the bullies. This has happened in real life, in Malaysia. This is the scenario that the nation is facing with the bigots given freedom to continue their Talibanist activities in the name of freedom of expression while the government advises the rest of the people to "learn to trust and respect each other and live together in peace and harmony". Could Liow, Tan Sri Joseph Kurup and Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan who have made public statements on this pressing issue please tell us how many times have they raised this issue in the Cabinet meetings. If they have, what is the Cabinet decision? "Sulit", is it? So long as the Cabinet as a whole, through the voice of the Prime Minister, does not condemn the extremist ideology being preached by the few bigots, and order that action be taken to stop the "bullying", the bullying is going to go on because the bullies interpret that "silence is consent". So the Cabinet's silence tantamounts to government's endorsement of bigotry. For what reason, only the Cabinet would know. Why is the Cabinet abdicating its duty of ensuring that extremism is not allowed to raise its ugly head to destroy "the peace and harmony that have been achieved since the country's independence", in the words of the PM? The Penal Code very clearly limits freedom of expression. It does not extend to making racist statements and carrying out actions that are "likely to cause disharmony, disunity or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will" or "likely to prejudice maintenance of harmony or unity". No right-thinking person will dispute that this restriction of expression is not an infringement of the democratic right of freedom of expression. Only those with evil intent will claim that these Penal Code provisions infringe their democratic right of expression. Racist bigotry and extremism are not going to stop until and unless the Cabinet takes a strong stand to put them down. Why is the Cabinet not doing it? * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online. |
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