Sultan Azlan Shah a great judicial figure and leader

The Sultan of Perak, Raja Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah, who passed away today at the age of 86, was a man of many talents.

In his younger days, he was a lawyer, judge and sportsman. He also served as a judge and lord president of the Federal Court.

The sultan was also sometime president of the Malaysian Hockey Federation and the Asian Hockey Federation. He also served as executive board member of the International Hockey Federation.

The reactions to his death spoke of the high regard and esteem he was held in.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak (right): My condolences over the passing of the 34th Sultan Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah.Al Fatihah. 

Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria: I represent the judiciary and staff in expressing our condolences to the Perak royal family following the death of Sultan Perak Sultan Azlan Muhibuddin Shah, who was the fifth Lord President from 1982 to 1984.
 
He has contributed immensely in the development of the country's laws and the judiciary. His sudden passing is a big loss felt especially by the judiciary and the country.

Johor Menteri Besar Khaled Nordin: My condolences following the passing of Sultan Azlan Muhibuddin Shah. Al-fatihah.

Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim: The Selangor government would like to extend its condolences following the passing of Sultan Azlan Muhibuddin Shah ibni Almarhum Yussuf Izzuddin Shah.

Umno Youth chief and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar: Got news over the passing of Sultan Azlan Shah. He is a philosopher king of our times. Al-fatihah.

PKR president and Kajang assemblyperson Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail: PKR would like to extend its condolences over the death of Sultan Azlan Muhibuddin Shah. May Allah bless his soul.

DAP parliamentary leader, Lim Kit Siang: My condolences to the Perak royal family and the people of Perak on the demise of Sultan Azlan Shah.

Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan: My condolences to the Perak royal family and its people following the death of Sultan Azlan Shah.

Malaysian Bar president, Christopher Leong: The Malaysian Bar is saddened by news of the passing away of Sultan Azlan Shah.
 
He was a great judicial figure and the annals of our judicial history will bear testimony to this. He was well respected not only in Malaysia but also in the Commonwealth.

His judgments were highly regarded and are quoted in courts till this day. The Malaysian Bar conveys its deepest condolences to Her Royal Highness Tuanku Bainun Mohd Ali and the royal family.

Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli: Al-Fatihah to the late Sultan of Perak, Tuanku Azlan Shah. He came four times to Malay College Kuala Kangsar during my time, and I met him face to face.

Former Chief Justice Zaki Azmi(right): We have lost a great leader, not only as a sultan but also as a retired head of the Malaysian judiciary, then known as the lord president.

His grounds of judgments laid down very important principles of law and are still being referred to.

He was also highly respected amongst legal luminaries internationally. Not forgetting he was the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at one time.

Lembah Pantai MP and PKR veep Nurul Izzah Anwar: May Allah shower his blessings to Sultan Azlan Shah, the Perak Sultan.
 
Bukit Katil MP and PKR Youth chief, Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin: PKR Youth expresses its condolences following the death of Sultan Perak Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah. Al-Fatihah.



Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/264130

'MACC men main suspects in Beng Hock's death'

The Court of Appeal was told today that Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers were the prime suspects in DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock's death and their evidence should therefore be treated with caution.

Counsel Gobind Singh, representing Teoh's family, contended that the evidence of independent witnesses during the inquest at the Shah Alam Coroner Court revealed the MACC officers were not telling the truth.

Gobind alleged that there were evidence that the officers had used force against Teoh before he was found dead on July 16, 2009.

He also submitted that the Coroner's Court should not use higher standard proof in reaching for an open verdict in Teoh's case.

"There were sufficient grounds for the Coroner to reach a verdict of death by homicide or person present at MACC office, where the decease was detained overnight," he said before a three-member panel Court of Appeal judges chaired by Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof.

Two other panel members were Mah Weng Kwai and Hamid Sultan Abu Backer.

Sultan Azlan Shah A Wise Ruler

IPOH: The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, 86, who passed away today, was known as a wise and intelligent figure, and the only ruler who had held the top post as Lord President in the country's judiciary.

Remembered as a stern and firm Lord President (1982-1984) before he became sultan, he was also known as a compassionate, concerned and forgiving ruler.

Sultan Azlan Shah who was born on April 19, 1928 in Kampung Manggis, Batu Gajah, Perak was also known as someone who placed importance on discipline, cleanliness and punctuality.

He was a child of Sultan Yussuf Izzuddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah (reigned 1948-1963) and his commoner wife, Toh Puan Dewangsa Khadijah Ahmad.

Sultan Azlan Shah had his early education at the Batu Gajah Government English School, now known as SMK Sultan Yussuf, and continued his secondary schooling at the prestigious Malay College Kuala Kangsar.

He then studied for his law degree at the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom and graduated in 1953, and was admitted to the English Bar by the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn on Nov 23, 1954.

Upon his return to then Malaya, Sultan Azlan Shah began his career in 1954 as Assistant State Secretary of Perak before joining the Malayan judicial and legal service one year later.

In 1956, he was appointed as first class magistrate and then served as Sessions Court president, federal counsel, deputy public prosecutor, state legal adviser of Pahang and later Johor, registrar of the High Court of Malaya and chief registrar of the Federal Court of Malaysia.

In 1965, he became the youngest High Court judge in the Commonwealth at the age of 37. In 1973, he was made a Federal Court judge and in 1979, was appointed as Chief Justice of Malaya.

He reached the pinnacle of his career in the judiciary when he was appointed as the youngest-ever Lord President of the Federal Court of Malaysia on Nov 12, 1982.

He resigned in 1984 after being in the judicial and legal service for 30 years when he was elevated to the Perak royal throne.

The then Raja Azlan Shah was installed as the Raja Muda (Crown Prince) of Perak on July 1, 1983 but within six months on Feb 3, 1984, he succeeded Sultan Idris Shah II following the latter's demise.

On April 26, 1989, Sultan Azlan Shah was installed as the ninth Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) of Malaysia. He served the full five-year term and returned as Sultan of Perak in 1994.

He was active in sports in his young days and competed in hockey, football, athletics and cricket, and was later involved in sports bodies. 

He was the chef de mission of the Malaysian contingent to the Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada in 1976.

The late Perak Sultan was particularly active in hockey where he was president of the Malaysian Hockey Federation until 2005, was once vice-president of the International Hockey Federation and president of the Asian Hockey Federation until his demise.

The Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament, named after him, is an annual hockey tournament held in Ipoh, the Perak capital city.

In the field of education, Sultan Azlan Shah had been the chancellor of Universiti Malaya (UM) since 1986, was pro-chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) from October 1971 until February 1984, and chairman of the Higher Education Advisory Council (November 1974-October 1976).

He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Literature by UM in 1979 and Honorary Doctorate in Law by USM in 1980.

Sultan Azlan Shah was also recognised by several foreign universities including University of Nottingham (Hon. Doctor of Law, 1986), Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok (Hon. Doctor of Law, 1990), Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (Hon. Fellow, 1991) and Royal College of Surgeons of England (Hon. Fellow, 1999).

He was the royal patron of several student, graduate, professional and charitable associations and clubs including the Malaysian Law Society in Great Britain and Eire, British Graduates Association, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia, WWF-Malaysia and Ipoh Royal Club.

Sultan Azlan Shah leaves his consort, Raja Permaisuri Perak Tuanku Bainun, and five children, the Regent of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, the late Raja Ashman Shah, Raja Azureen, Raja Eleena and Raja Yong Sofia.

- Bernama

Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak dies

Sultan of Perak, Raja Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah, passed away today at the age of 86.

In making the announcement, Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir said the ruler died at 1.30pm at the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur.

His remains will be taken to the palace in Kuala Kangsar tomorrow morning and buried at the royal mausoleum there after Asar (mid-afternoon) prayers.

Tomorrow will be a public holiday in Perak as the state will be in mourning.

No entertainment or celebrations will be allowed in the state for seven days until June 4.

The Malaysian flag will also fly at half mast until June 4, while the Perak flag will fly half mast for 100 days starting today.

"May Allah bless his soul," Zambry said.

A lawyer, judge and sportsman

Azlan Shah was sultan of Perak for 30 years and reigned as Yang di-Pertuan Agong from 1989 to 1994.

He is survived by his consort Tuanku Bainun Mohd Ali, two princes and two princesses. Another prince, Raja Ashman Shah died on March 30, 2012.

Before becoming the sultan of Perak, Raja Azlan, a lawyer, served as a judge and Lord President of the Federal Court.

In 2009, the late sultan (right)played a key role in the Perak constitutional crisis when he declined then menteri besar Nizar Jamaluddin's request to dissolve the state assembly, following defections.

Instead, he directed Nizar to resign as Nizar had lost confidence of the House.

BN, with support from three defected Pakatan Rakyat assemblypersons, formed a new government thereby toppling the elected Pakatan government.

The matter was later taken to court with a five-member bench at the Federal Court declaring in 2010 that BN's Zambry was the rightful menteri besar.

The court found that the Perak Constitution gives absolute discretionary powers to the sultan to withhold consent to dissolve the state assembly.

Raja Azlan also made significant contributions to the sport of hockey, and was president of the Asian Hockey Federation and executive board member of the International Hockey Federation.

The Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament is hosted annually in the Perak capital of Ipoh.


Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/264115

Kochadaiiyaan - Regal, classy, stylish and more

REVIEW 

Rajinikanth is not just an actor, he is a brand name. Everything about The Superstar is magnum opus and each of his moves is a trend setter. 

After nearly four painful years of anticipation, Rajinikanth is back to the silver screen. And here's the most celebrated actor of the country throwing open the gates to the globally budding trend in movie making, in India.

'Kochadaiiyaan' has been in the making, and in headlines every other day, for the past couple of years, for the path breaking technology of motion capture photo realistic film brought home by the Superstar's own daughter, Soundarya Rajinikanth Ashwin, who debuts as director with this legendary flick. 

KS Ravikumar's intelligently crafted story backed by AR Rahman's music starring Deepika Padukone, Nasser, Aadhi, Jackie Shroff, Rukmmini and Shobhana with the Superstar himself, in an all new concept - 'Kochadaiiyaan' is the best of Superstar's portrayal and upcoming technology.

To say that Kochadaiiyaan is the father and Rana the son is as easy as it may seem, but to define the inspiring men that they are and to unfold the multilayered story is a big task at hand. 

The story revolves around two kingdoms - Kalingapuri and Kottaipattinam. Rana is declared the commando of Kalingapuri and there begins to unfold his mission. 

On his most ambitious venture, he takes his army to attack Kottaipattinam but ends up becoming the hero there. In short, the story of how and why he is the hero of Kottaipattinam is all that 'Kochadaiiyaan' about.

The speciality of the film lies in the visual treat that it makes for. All the roles that Rajinikanth is cast in, is unique and distinct from one another, and is a special experience for audience who worship him. 

The first glimpse of motion capture photo realism comes in the form of Aadhi who plays Veera Mahendra. But though this first look takes a little while to recognise and register as a familiar actor, the ones that follow can be easily placed. 

Aadhi plays a friend hurt by cheat later, Deepika the loving and lovely girl, confident of her stance, Nasser plays a villain you could bring yourself to hate first hand, and Shobhana plays the doting wife; Rajinikanth is in the role of a father and that of a son, while with the responsibility of safe guarding the kingdom. 

Not only have each one of the characters been chosen with care, but it has been duly ensured that their role is portrayed with importance and also that each one of them plays their respective roles with convincing finesse.

Revolving around the fictitious old times of the South Indian sub continent, every bit of the movie is regal. The most important aspect of such a period-set film is its art direction and the perfection with which it is captured.

For a technically unique and rich movie as this, it takes sheer expertise to translate the story into visual, yet virtual, reality. Rajiv Menon stands out again in his best for capturing the criticalities of the story. Another pillar to the project is Anthony's editing.

In a movie like this, the key talent which hogs the limelight is that which builds the backbone of any movie - direction.

If successfully launching oneself as a debutante in the competitive industry was a hurdle, directing Rajinikanth in her debut is a great deal of jittery responsibility. First of all, thanks to Soundarya for bringing the new concept to Indian cinema and congratulations to her to have delivered it with elegance.

Fed up, families demand Hishammuddin step down over MH370 military blunder

The families of flight MH370 passengers and crew have derided Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein’s weak defence of military inaction during the early hours of the plane's disappearance, and in a show of anger some have even demanded that he step down as the acting Transport Minister.

Hishammuddin told the Australian Broadcasting Corp in an interview aired on Monday that the Malaysian military had been told to keep an eye on the plane but allowed it to disappear off their radar after considering it to be non-hostile.

His statements have drawn much flak from the families of those on board the ill-fated jetliner, who said he has only fuelled more questions instead of providing answers to the incident.

They also said the statements by Hishammuddin, who is also Defence Minister, smacked of incompetence and that more honest people should be allowed to lead the investigation into the aircraft’s disappearance, instead of covering up the military’s and the government’s flaws.

Indian national Pralhad Shirsath whose wife was a passenger on the plane, questioned how the plane was allowed to pass through Malaysian airspace without any action taken, when the military knew that M370 was missing or in trouble.

He said the minister’s statement only showed that it was part of “a plan” to make the plane disappear with some purpose.

Ryan Giggs, from pin-up to old master

LONDON, May 19 — Ryan Giggs, who announced the end of his playing career today, will be remembered as an all-time British great and one of Manchester United’s finest ever players.

He made a record 963 appearances for United and the 34 trophies he won at Old Trafford, including 13 Premier League titles, four FA Cups, and two Champions Leagues, made him English football’s most decorated player.

From floppy-haired teenage pin-up to greying elder statesman, his 23-year playing career neatly coincided with the most successful period in United’s history and made him a household name around the world.

“I have cried twice in my life watching a football player,” admitted former Juventus great Alessandro Del Piero.

“The first one was Maradona, and the second was Ryan Giggs.”

Born Ryan Joseph Wilson in Cardiff on November 29, 1973, the young Giggs spent his early years in Wales before relocating to Salford, Greater Manchester at the age of six due to his father’s rugby league career.

Dr Mahathir adds CIA to list of suspects

DAY 72 
 
Latest developments:

• Ex-M'sian PM Mahathir adds CIA to his suspect list
• Families say MAS pulled the lifeline 
• Australia's first book on MH370 says it was shot down into South China Sea
• China to send pandas to Malaysia this week
• Movie on MH370 being sold in Cannes 

To recap, the search for MH370 has entered a hiatus as investigators are pressed to relook at the satellite data which points to its final resting place in the Indian Ocean before diving deeper and wider for an even more expensive search operation.
 
Meanwhile, the rumours and theories capture the media's imagination about what actually happened as no debris, no proof found after over 10 weeks of searching.
 
Follow us as we bring the latest updates and coverage for the search of Flight MH370:
 
Dr Mahathir adds CIA to his suspect list

6pm:  Casting doubt that MH370 landed in the sea, Malaysia's ex-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad today adds US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a possible suspect. 

He writes that with the help of Boeing technology, US or "certain parties" could have hijacked the plane via remote control.

Citing a 2006 article on flightglobal.com by John Croft, Mahathir (right) notes that CIA could activate an "uninterruptable" autopilot if terrorists attempted to take a Boeing plane by force.

"It is a waste of time and money to look for debris or oil slick or to listen for "pings" from the black box. This is most likely not an ordinary crash after fuel was exhausted. The plane is somewhere, maybe without MAS markings.

"Someone is hiding something. It is not fair that MAS and Malaysia should take the blame."

He then alleges that the media "will not print anything that involves Boeing or CIA."

Najib sends a chilling message to MIC

PETALING JAYA: The ouster of former Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Said, orchestrated by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, has sent a message to Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders that the ruling coalition’s top man means business.

With the move earlier this week, Najib has also dispelled the notion that he was weak in Umno, the backbone of the ruling government, and that “war lords” had taken control of the largest political party in the country.

Earlier this week, the political fraternity was shaken after the prime minister asked for the resignation of Ahmad Said as menteri besar, in a state where the Barisan Nasional had a razor-thin majority.

He knew that the move would cause some ripples, as the crossover of just one state assemblyman in the state which had 32 seats, could tilt the pendulum in the state towards the opposition.

And that nearly happened. BN has 17 state seats while Pakatan Rakyat, mainly PAS, held 15 seats.
On the onset, Ahmad Said and two other state assemblymen sent letters stating that they had quit Umno and had become independent assemblymen.

PAS was jubiliant as the move would result in the Islamist-based party ruling the state.

But this was not to be. Najib summoned the remaining 14 state assemblymen to Putrajaya sending a message to Ahmad Said that he was boss.

With the political wheeling and dealing that ensued, all three renegades, including Ahmad Said, the next day announced that they were back in Umno, putting a damper on PAS’ initial hurrah.

Dear Datuk Seri G. Palanivel,

Lately, there is a sudden rise in racist remarks and racial tension in our country. Starting with the “Allah” fiasco,we have seen plenty other incidents further escalating the tension among the various communities.

If we trace them back to their roots, it is clear they are all part of some religious and ethnic-based fanatic parties' propaganda.

There is one big question still lingering here. As the president of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) which claims to represent a significant portion of Indians in Malaysia, what have you done thus far to really address this issue?

As we mark the dark day of May 13 riots 45 years ago, it is time something serious is done to curb these racial remarks and make those responsible for them pay.

Take into consideration the recent public remark by a bigot Muslim convert lecturer of one of the public universities. Belittling the contributions of the non-Malays to this country is in my opinion, stooping super low.

This particular person’s statements seem seditious, considering he has undermined the non-Malays at every turn, just to prove a futile point. Well, this is not the only weed in the society. 

Threatening that there are over five million foreigners to instantly take over the non-Malays' place in this country should they “abandon the ship”, he seemingly has forgotten that these instant "replacement citizens" are not going to give in all their might to protect their beloved country in case of an ordeal.

However, what is even saddening about such incidents happening in a supposedly harmonious society is that no leader is willing to question such remarks.

Najib admits to missteps in search for MH370

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has admitted to missteps in the search for MH370, and urged other countries to learn from the incident.

He said the mistakes were made despite Malaysia doing its best in “near impossible circumstances” to pull together a multinational search effort that has since involved 26 countries.

“But we didn't get everything right. In the first few days after the plane disappeared, we were so focused on trying to find the aircraft that we did not prioritise our communications.

“Also, it took air traffic controllers four hours to launch the search-and-rescue operation,” Najib wrote in an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal last night.

While pointing out that the search effort got started faster than the six hours it took in the Air France Flight 447 crash in 2009, he said the delays would be investigated.

Najib urged the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which has been meeting since Monday on ways to implement global aircraft tracking, to press forward with the agenda.

‘Did MH370 end its flight in Indian Ocean?

PETALING JAYA: Did Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 really ended its journey at the Indian Ocean, asked former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

In a blog post today, Mahathir also questioned if a plane that size could just plunge into the deep ocean without breaking into pieces.

“Can a plane that heavy; made of glass, aluminium, titanium and composites, plunge into the sea and not break up? Even if the sea was calm, the plane must break up.

“But the suggestion is that the whole plane sank intact into the sea! Is this possible? But to date, nothing has been found to indicate the breakup of the plane,” he said.

On March 8, flight MH370 which was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing lost all communications with air traffic control and went missing.

It was later found that the plane had made westward turn towards the Andaman Seas, before ending its journey in the southern Indian Ocean.

A multinational search and rescue operation is still ongoing to locate the missing plane and the 239 passengers on board the flight.

On the same issue, Mahathir also launched a scathing attack against aircraft maker, Boeing for the disappearance of flight MH370.

He also lashed out at Boeing for keeping mum on the jetliner’s disappearance, saying the plane maker should be held liable for the plane’s communication breakdown.

“The position of all commercial planes are constantly monitored. They even appear on the screen of our phones but MH370 disappeared from the screen.

“How did it happen? What equipments do passenger aircraft carry so that their position can be chartered and broadcast? If a plane disappears wouldn’t someone notice? Yet the plane vanished and no one seems to know.

“But Boeing is deathly quiet! No explanation at all as to how the communication system and monitoring of position can fail in its aircraft,” he said.

Mahathir added that Boeing have a lot to answer on the plane disappearance and on how the flight communications system could be easily compromised.

“Until the plane is found and the causes on how its communications system broke down is determined, one must conclude that Boeing planes are dangerous to fly in,” he said.


Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/05/09/did-mh370-end-its-flight-in-indian-ocean/

In open letter, MH370 passenger’s husband asks Malaysia for transparency, apology

Putrajaya must be transparent about the circumstances that led to flight MH70 vanishing two months ago, and should apologise for shortcomings in the search for the missing plane, the husband of one of the passengers wrote in an open letter to the prime minister.

K. S. Narendran, whose wife Chandrika Sharma was on the Malaysia Airlines plane with 238 other people, said the families have lost their loved ones but Malaysia had lost its credibility in the search for the Boeing 777-200ER.

"Perhaps the most serious casualty second only to the loss of the plane is the severely impaired credibility of your Government and the airline's handling of the crisis.

"The skimpy Preliminary Report released to the public this week, supposedly based on your guidelines does little to enhance your government's commitment to transparency, and therefore only adds fuel to doubts, suspicion and speculations," he wrote in an email to Datuk Seri Najib Razak dated May 4, 2014.

Narendran, an Indian citizen, also asked Najib to act like a statesman in the hunt for the plane, which has yet to be found after going missing on March 8, 2014, while en route to Beijing.

"I have heard you speak thrice now, the first time on 15th March when you referred among other things to the MH370's 'turn back' as 'deliberate action' by someone on the plane, then on 24th March when you delivered an unpalatable, cryptic message that MH 370 had ended in the Indian ocean, and a third time a little over a week ago – you in conversation with Richard Quest wherein you spoke of mistakes made.

'She dedicated and sacrificed life to Karpal'

Being the loyal and devoted wife, she stood in his shadows all these years without public recognition and appreciation.
 
But last night's memorial for the late Karpal Singh at the Han Chiang College Hall, Penang, saw tribute paid to his widow, Gurmit Kaur, who sat amid the 1,000 odd crowd at the event.
 
"This woman dedicated and sacrificed her whole life to Karpal for years in silence, standing steadfastly behind her husband as he went about his work, contributing to the nation," said her second son, Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo.
 
"This woman is my mother, let's give her a big round of applause, it is not easy, not easy at all to do what she had done," he added, as the crowd clapped loudly in her honour.
 
Gobind said he was only 14 when Karpal got arrested under the draconian Internal Security Act, and he remembered the sufferings the family had to endure when he was detained at the Kamunting detention centre, in Perak.
 
His little brother, Mankarpal, was a mere babe at the time and Gurmit carried him in her arms as the family tried to find out where Karpal was held early on, in which lock-up in the city.

Dr M: Party reps should not sit in hudud committee

Dr Mahathir Mohamad wants the national technical committee on the implementation of hudud to consist of independent religious scholars rather than representatives from Umno and PAS.

The ex-premier said this is to avoid a prejudicial view towards the committee and to ensure that the implementation of hudud does not benefit a certain party.

"The main thing is to have proper religious persons who are not involved in politics who will study this matter and give a fatwa (opinion). But not those who are obviously making use of hudud to win votes," he added.

On Friday, it was reported that Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Jamil Khir Baharom and Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah met over the formation of the technical committee.

Mahathir admitted that there is a lot of controversy in the implementation of hudud, as people do not know about its interpretation or how it should be applied.

"I hope the controversy will help people understand what hudud is all about and how it is applied in a multiracial and multi-religious society," he said.

On whether MCA's opposition towards hudud will break-up BN, Mahathir does not think it would affect the ruling coalition.

"Umno believes hudud as one that is found in the Quran and hadith. But when it is used by a political party (PAS) they are bound to interpret it in a bias manner...," he said.

Mahathir was talking to reporters after observing the Syariah Court proceedings against scholar Kassim Ahmad who is faced with three charges of not respecting the sanctity of Islam.

He was there with his daughter Marina.

Meanwhile, Mahathir also said that Islam is a merciful religion and this should be taken into consideration in all circumstances.

This was seen as defending Kassim since the former premier had previously expressed regret over the charge brought against the 81-year-old scholar.

"The use of religion for political purposes is something to be regretted. Religion should be used for the administering of religious laws on Muslims but when religion is used for winning votes, that is regrettable," Mahathir said.



Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/261970

Kandungan hudud di Brunei

Hukum Hudud telahpun dilaksanakan di Brunei. Berikut adalah kandungan hudud yang dijalankan di Brunei pada ketika ini. Sila rujuk Perintah Kanun Hukuman Jenayah Syariah 2013.

LELAKI BERLAGAK MENYERUPAI PEREMPUAN ATAU SEBALIKNYA 198

(1) mana-mana lelaki yang memakai pakaian perempuan dan berlagak menyerupai perempuan atau mana-mana perempuan yg memakai pakaian lelaki dan berlagak menyerupai lelaki di mana-mana tempat awam tanpa alasan yang munasabah adalah melakukan suatu kesalahan dan hendaklah jika sabit kesalahan dikenakan suatu denda tidak melebihi $1000, dihukum penjara selama suatu tempoh tidak melebihi 3bulan atau kedua-duanya sekali.

(2) mana-mana lelaki yang memakai pakaian perempuan dan berlagak menyerupai perempuan atau mana-mana perempuan yang memakai pakaian lelaki dan berlagak menyerupai lelaki di mana-mana tempat awam untuk tujuan yangg tidak bermoral adalah melakukan suatu kesalahan dan hendaklah jika sabit kesalahan dikenakan suatu denda tidak melebihi $4,000, dihukum penjara selama tempoh tidak melebihi satu tahun atau kedua-duanya sekali.

TIDAK MEMBAYAR ZAKAT ATAU FITRAH 236

(1) mana-mana orang Islam yang telah ditaksirkan dengan sah sebagai wajib untuk membayar zakat atau fitrah di bawah Akta Majlis Ugama Islam dan Mahkamah-Mahkamah Kadi (Penggal 77) dan gagal untuk memperolehi secara rayuan atau selainnya, pembatalan atau pengubahsuaian bagi penaksiran demikian, dengan sengaja gagal untuk membayar zakat atau fitrah tersebut adalah melakukan suatu kesalahan dan hendaklah jika sabit kesalahan dikenakan suatu denda tidak melebihi $8,000, dihukum penjara selama suatu tempoh tidak melebihi dua tahun atau keduanya sekali.

AirAsia disappointed at Immigration laying blame

AirAsia says it is disappointed at the Immigration Department’s attempt to lay blame on the low-cost carrier for the congestion at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) yesterday.

In a statement today, AirAsia chief executive officer Aireen Omar (left) said the Immigration Department was already informed of the required services at the LCCT.

"We are disappointed with the remarks from the Immigration Department which attributed the fault to AirAsia.

"The announcement of AirAsia’s operations to move to KLIA2 was made on April 15, 2014 after discussions and mutual agreement with Malaysia Airports Berhad.

"We have kept the Immigration Department well informed on the adequate facilities needed to facilitate our guests," she said.

Aireen was responding to Immigration Department director-general Aloyah Mamat who blamed AirAsia for refusing to move earlier to KL International Airport 2 (KLIA2) which led to the clog-up at the LCCT.

"A large portion of Immigration Department personnel have been deployed to KLIA2 and only a few international counters and four auto-gates for Malaysians are open at the LCCT," Aloyah had toldMalaysiakini.

Aireen said AirAsia accounts for at least 90 percent of traffic at LCCT and will still be operating at LCCT until May 8 before moving to KLIA2 on May 9.

"There will still be a steady flow of guests travelling through the LCCT till then and adequate immigration counters should continue to be open to cater to the high traffic volume here," she said.

Addressing the congestion yesterday which saw guests missing their flights, Aireen said AirAsia has assisted them to change flights.

"We were made aware of the situation at the immigration counters yesterday and we feel for our guests who were affected by it.

"Some of them missed their flights due to the long queues and we have assisted them by waiving their flight change fee," she said.



Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/261871

Immigration: LCCT clog-up AirAsia's fault

The bad congestion at the immigration gates involving about 1,000 passengers at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang yesterday was airline AirAsia's fault, the Immigration Department said.

Its director-general Aloyah Mamat said this occurred because AirAsia refused to move to the new terminal, the KLIA2, on May 2, like the other airlines, and intends to stay at LCCT until May 9.

As such, Aloyah (left) said, AirAsia passengers still travelling through the LCCT have to contend with fewer immigration counters because of staff shortage.

"A large portion of Immigration Department personnel have been deployed to KLIA2 and only a few international counters and four auto-gates for Malaysians are open at the LCCT.

"The Immigration Department cannot deploy many personnel at LCCT as all airlines, but AirAsia, have moved to KLIA2.

"AirAsia's refusal to move to KLIA2 (on May 2) is cause for the congestion," she said in a text message to Malaysiakini.

'Several meetings held with AirAsia'

Aloyah added that several meetings were held with AirAsia to persuade it to move to the new budget carrier terminal on May 2, but it still refused.

However, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) senior general manager (operations) Azmi Murad toldBernama that all 17 immigration counters and auto-gates at LCCT were open.

Azmi said the congestion could be due to the peak period at LCCT, between 3pm and 5pm, when many international flights arrive.

Checks by Bernama late last night showed that all was in order at LCCT.