Shiahs Want To Worship Allah

You can read the news report here. Just to clarify I am not a Shiah and neither do I subscribe to their ideology. But allowing freedom of faith is definitely Islamic.

Malaysia's Shiite Muslims seek to legally worship

By SEAN YOONG,Associated Press - Tuesday, December 28

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Shiite Muslims in Malaysia have made a rare public plea for authorities to let them legally worship amid fears of a clampdown on outlawed religious groups, a human rights official said Tuesday.

Malaysian religious officials allow only Sunni Islam to be openly practiced by Muslims, who make up nearly two-thirds of this Southeast Asian country's population. All other Islamic denominations including the Shiite are considered illegal.

Islamic authorities detained more than 200 Shiite Muslims at a prayer meeting in central Malaysia earlier this month in one of the largest recent mass arrests of its kind. Government-linked newspapers have since published articles warning people to avoid illegal sects.

About 30 Shiite community representatives handed a petition to Malaysia's government-backed Human Rights Commission this week seeking its help to curb any further crackdown, said Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah, a member of the rights watchdog.

"If religious freedom is granted to (other Malaysian) minorities such as Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and Sikhs, then why are we insulted, denigrated, slandered and now threatened simply for practicing the beliefs of our forefathers?" Shiite representative Kamil Zuhairi Abdul Aziz wrote in the petition, which was also posted on Internet forums.

The Shiites face a stiff challenge because authorities have repeatedly defended their policies against non-Sunni teachings as necessary to preserve public stability and the integrity of Islamic teachings. Nevertheless, some Malaysian Islamic scholars support the right of Shiites to practice their beliefs.

The Shiites arrested recently have been released, but officials have said they might eventually be charged in Shariah courts with the crime of following the teachings of a deviationist movement, which is punishable by two years in jail.

Muhammad Sha'ani said the rights commission is working to arrange meetings between the Shiite community and government and Islamic affairs authorities to achieve "some peaceful agreement and mutual understanding."

"We are looking for a conciliatory solution, since there's no point in being confrontational," Muhammad Sha'ani told the AP. He declined to confirm whether the commission formally supports the Shiites' petition but added that "everyone should have the freedom to practice their own faith and religion."

Muhammad Sha'ani estimated there might be tens of thousands of Shiites in Malaysia, a country of 28 million people. Some have told rights activists over the years they are forced to hide their beliefs to avoid trouble with authorities and are unable to have formal places of worship, Muhammad Sha'ani said.

Malaysia's government has consistently denied it practices religious discrimination, saying the country is a model of Islamic moderation. However, some Malaysians have complained about policies that make it legally impossible for Muslims to convert to other religions and problematic for non-Muslims to build new churches and temples.

Marco Polo Bridge, Gulf Of Tonkin, 9-11 & Penang Bridge

By Syed Akbar Ali

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Japan had begun to invade China in 1931 and controlled the northern parts of the country. They had set up the Manchukuo Government in Manchuria with Emperor Puyi as the puppet head. The Japanese wanted to expand their territory in China. On July 7^th 1937 the Japanese staged an incident at the now famous Marco Polo Bridge where a Japanese officer was reported missing. Using that as an excuse, tensions were escalated and Japanese troops declared all out war against the Chinese Nationalists.

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27 years after that in 1964 the American war machine wanted to test its latest weapons in actual warfare and make money for the American corporates and Wall Street. The identified victim was Vietnam. On August 4, 1964 the Americans staged the Gulf of Tonkin incident where they said one of their navy ships was attacked by the North Vietnamese. Historians now dispute that this attack really happened and say that no actual North Vietnamese Navy Torpedo Boats were involved.

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The outcome of the Gulf of Tonkin incident was the passage by the US Congress of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which granted President Lyndon B. Johnson the authority for deploying U.S. conventional forces and the commencement of open warfare against North Vietnam. This was the American version of the Marco Polo Bridge incident.

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Similarly on September 9^th 2001, the attack against the Twin Towers in New York gave the US the excuse to invade Iraq and Afghanistan. Nine years after the event, there is an increasingly loud voice in the US demanding a full accounting and proper investigation of the 9-11 attack. One such outfit is Archtitects and Engineers for 9-11 Truth which was set up in 2006 and is gaining momentum in its influence and calling for a reopening of investigations. Their website is here.

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People can see that there are serious cover-ups over the 9-11 event. For example, in the Pentagon alone, there were over 700 CCTV cameras at various locations on the Pentagon building, the car park, at the security guard house, across the street in the gas stations and shops. All the CCTV footage from all these cameras have been seized by the FBI and classified secret (what a strange thing to do?) It took the families of the 9-11 victims five years in the Court to get just five minutes of those CCTV tapes released for public viewing. Isnt that strange? And that was in the United States.

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The Japanese did not need to fake the Marco Polo Bridge incident, the US did not need to fake the Gulf of Tonkin and neither did Dick Cheney need to fake the 9-11. They could have done what they did anyway – no one could have stopped them. They had niat jahat anyway. N’theles they faked these incidents for two main reasons : i. to confuse world opinion ii. to fan the flames amongst their own supporters.

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If President Johnson had declared in 1964 ‘I don’t care, I am going to bomb Vietnam anyway’ maybe even his most radical war monger supporters may have criticized him and withdrawn their support.

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Throughout history orang jahat with niat jahat have used this simple trick to fool their own supporters first. Pretending to suffer life threatening back aches (then making a miraculous recovery), pretending to have suffered arsenic poisoning (then making a miraculous recovery), pretending to be the target of assassination (then still being alive), pretending to be under threat (then making public appearances everyday and going overseas so often with no worries at all) are just smokescreens for the consumption of the more simple and naïve among the supporters. And it works. The supporters always get fooled first.

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What next? The Penang Bridge?

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RM265k Taxpayer's Funds For Demonstrations

By Syed Akbar Ali.

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That is what Apanama has put up on his Blog. You can read for yourself here. And it appears to be the Selangor State Government that is spending so much money on organising demonstrations and campaigns. What a riot? They organised the recent "Demonstrasi Membantah Air" or something, the one that began from the Masjid Negara and ended up handing over a memo to the iron gate of the Istana. RM265,000 to protest water issues?

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I say kawan, panggil lah Pemuda UMNO. The last time they hijacked a demo (at the Aussie High Comm organised by Bujai - I was there) it only cost the Pemuda nasi kandar for the 150 or so kids who came along - including overgrown kids like Parpukari.

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This is actually another case of 'Wag The Dog' going on in Selangor. Rumour has it that more of this type of 'diversions' are being planned by Liwat and cohorts in Selangor to cover their bungles, cover their behinds and maybe to cover their tracks too. Jeng jeng jeng. Stay tuned folks. Things are buzzing in the air.

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When they took over the State Gomen, the Pakatan Riot fumbled big time, very very big time by giving 20 cubic metres of free water to Selangor consumers. Unfortunately for them, Rozali Ismail (Syabas) is a lot more cleverer than a pail of water. OK the people no need to pay, but someone else has to pay Rozali Ismail for that 20 cubic meters of "free water". Takkan Rozali nak kasi free bro? So who pays for the free water? It was the Selangor State Gomen - using taxpayers funds. I think they are facing some cashflow constraints now.

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Instead of just letting the consumer pay for his water bill, Khalid Ibrahim told the consumer they need not pay. But the State had to pay. Now isnt that silly? You let your revenue stream run dry and at the same time you drain out your savings to pay for the consumer's water bill. Thats a double whammy folks - kena depan belakang. This is what Khalid Ibrahim learnt from his vast corporate experience ??

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Now you spend RM265,000 taxpayer's money to organise campaigns, demonstrations and yes street riots too, to protest water issues. Saya rasa bangkai gajah tu besar sangat bro. You cannot cover it up with daun keladi.

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Cars That Last 200,000 Miles (321,000 KM)

By Syed Akbar Ali

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Hi folks. Here is what we are missing:

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"Want a car that will last a long, long time? Buy a Porsche. According to Consumer Reports' (US) latest reliability survey, all cars and SUVs made by the Stuttgart, Germany-based automaker are rated average or better when it comes to longevity. One car in particular Porsche Boxster stands above the rest. It has the best predicted reliability of any vehicle tested by Consumer Reports this year. In fact, predicted reliability for 2011 models of the two-seat convertible is expected to be 85% better than average. That's why, along with the Lexus LX and the Toyota Tundra, it makes our list of vehicles you can trust well beyond the 150,000-mile mark"

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Here is a picture of the Porsche Boxster. Here is the most painful part for us, this Porsche Boxster 2011 model sells for USD 47,600 in the United States. That is RM147,560.

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Both the US and Germany (where the Porsche is made) suffer higher wage costs, higher land costs, higher material costs and yet the imported Porsche Boxster sells for RM147,560 in the US. Even some pickup trucks cost the same here in Malaysia. In Malaysia a medium range Honda or Ford may cost as much or even more than that.

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The next car that is rated to run without problems for 200,000 miles or more is the Toyota Yaris. Here is a picture :

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Toyota Yaris. Segment: Compact Car. Reliability Rating: Excellent. Predicted reliability for new models expected to be 65% above average. MSRP : US$12,855

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The MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) for the Toyota Yaris in the USA is US$12,855 or RM39,850. That is Kancil price folks. In the United States the Toyota Yaris that can go 200,000 miles without hassle is selling for the Kancil or Kelisa price.

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Do you know what this means? It means we are already a high income economy. Lets call the Americans and tell them that we are paying the highest car prices in the world (enough to buy a Yaris or a Porsche Boxster in the US) but we are getting Kancils and Kelisas for the amount of money we are paying. Kita juga jadi miskin. Hooray.

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The next car is the Honda CR-V. Segment: Small SUV. Reliability Rating: Excellent. Predicted reliability for new models expected to be 64% above average. MSRP: $21,695 or RM67,254.00.

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Can you imagine that? In the most advanced negara maju in the world the USA, a Honda CRV 2011 model sells for RM67,254. That is the price of a Waja here. I know Waja got airbags maa. Honda CRV also got airbags, got camera, got radar, got auto-park, got anti aircraft missile, got James Bond machine gun, maybe got cappucino machine also. All for RM67,000+.

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And here is the Toyota FJ Cruiser. Fuiyyo! I have not even seen this car in Malaysia before. It is also rated as top reliable for 200,000 miles. Here is some info : Segment: Midsize SUV. Reliability Rating: Excellent. Predicted reliability for new models expected to be 50% above average. MSRP: $24,180 or RM74,958. Here is the picture:

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I say friends, at RM74,000 even the poor people in Malaysia can buy this car. But in Malaysia, poor people who can afford RM74,000 can get a Waja. Waja got airbags maa. OK here is a car for very rich people : Lexus LX. Segment: Luxury SUV. Reliability Rating: Excellent. Predicted reliability for new models expected to be 61% above average. MSRP: $77,755 or RM241,040.

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What?? So cheap ah? In Malaysia for RM241,000 you can only get a low end Mercedes. You cannot even buy a new BMW 3 series for RM240,000 in Malaysia. But in the USA, you can buy a Lexus super luxury SUV for only RM241,040. So tell me friends, which one is the high income economy ? Malaysia or the USA?

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OK now back to the poor people. Here is the Ford Flex (Ecoboost). Segment: Large SUV

Reliability Rating: Excellent. Predicted reliability for new models expected to be 60% above average. MSRP: $28,850 or RM89,435. That is cheaper than a Perdana. Look at the car.

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Here is my suggestion. If Proton wants to make and sell cars fine. But they must be priced acording to the real market. The real market is the world market. If you can sell the Waja for RM40,000 ok. Saya setuju. Then sell the Gen2 for RM30,000. The Kelisa can then sell for RM25,000. If the price of the Protons and Kancils can reflect their real market value (vis a vis the car prices in the real world like the cars I have quoted above) then so be it.

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And let us import cars freely from anywhere in the world - without 350% excise duties (obviously to protect Proton and Perodua and Naza), without APs and other such useless hindrances. We are destroying our own capacity by maintaining high barriers to import cheap cars. 25 years is enough of protectionm for a car industry that is not going anywhere.

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Malaysians paying the most expensive prices in the world for cars is going to become an election issue. Suka tak suka, you better believe it. Nak menang ke tak nak menang pilihanraya? I want to buy a Porsche Boxster for RM147,000. Dont you, wahai hardworking Malaysian?

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We have worked hard all our lives. We pay taxes, we pay salaries to our workers, we pay bills, we pay high prices for many things. I think all of us Malaysians have deserved it to be able to enjoy the pleasure of driving good quality cars - from anywhere in the world, at thesame market price as the Americans, Europeans or anyone else. In fact we should be cheaper than the Americans.

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Believe you me. This is going to become a serious election issue.

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The Exam Sham?

By Syed Akbar Ali

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Well its that time of the year again:

• Best PMR results in four years
• 30,863 out of 439,456 candidates scored straight As (7% got 8As)
• fewer candidates this year (442,721 in 2009) more students scored straight As
• 5,825 rural students scoring straight As
• six subjects shown significant increase Bahasa Malaysia, English, Arabic, Mathematics, Science and Living Skills (agriculture).

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Maybe with more “hardwork”, we will achieve 100,000 students getting straight As in a few years. Then we can really get into the Guinness Book of World Records. Somehow I really don’t believe these figures are reflecting the true situation. I don’t think we are being fair to our children’s future, their parents and to our country.

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Firstly, can we please have the details for the exam scores? Is it a State secret? Is it an OSA or an ISA offence if the actual exam scores are made public? How many marks are needed to score a pass in the PMR for say ‘Bahasa Malaysia? What about English? What is the passing mark for Matematik? Is it a state secret? ISA? OSA? Why is it a State secret?

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And what are the minimum marks required to get an ‘A’ for all the eight subjects in the PMR? Untuk mendapat ‘A’ dalam Matematik, apakah markah minima yang perlu dicapai? Is there any type of discrimination at all in marking the exam papers? Can we have some simple honest answers?

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Folks just 10 years ago, it was the 20^th century. This is the 21^st century and its 2010 already. We are 10 years away from 2020. Our grandkids may see the 22^nd century – its not too far away. So can the Government please divulge full information about how these exam papers are graded? Bukan saja saya kurang yakin, but I think we are just fooling ourselves and damaging our childrens chances at a better future by not being forthright about how the exams are graded, the exam results and our entire education system.

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I have my doubts about the grading system not just for the PMR but for the SPM too. My wife and I work with socially challenged children in the care of some childrens’ shelters. We coached a child who was seriously deficient in school work, as most of these kids are. Straight ‘0’ scores or less than 10 marks in school exams were common. But come the PMR and our child passed all her eight subjects. We were happy but I must confess a little unexpectedly.

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The fact is our university graduates are becoming increasingly unemployable. If the Government and the GLCs do not give them a job, it will be difficult for them to find work elsewhere. And few of them can start businesses on their own (other than jual burger). Here is another true story – a graduate trainee was told to copy a ‘Price Tag’ and make twelve copies of it. It had to be written by hand. There was a small typo in the original tag, which had been scratched out and written over. The brilliant university grad produced twelve new tags, complete with the typo intact and rewritten over – twelve times !

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I think kita mabuk syok sendiri saja dapat. 8A, 21A, 75A tapi anak-anak kita masih tak boleh buat kerja yang simple, tak faham apa pun pasal hal dunia dan akan terus bergantung kepada Kerajaan untuk sara hidup.

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And what about other countries? Can we get some comparisons? The Singaporeans are cleverer than us (sorry but its true). In their ‘O’ Levels how many kids get straight As for all subjects – as a percentage of total students taking the ‘O’ Levels. 1000? 2,000? 10,000? How do we compare? If 40,000 or 50,000 of our kids can get straight As for all subjects because our kids are smarter, bagus lah. Very good. But how come our kids cannot even do simple jobs or even get proper jobs? And as a nation, Vietnam will soon be passing us in economic growth and development. Indonesia is getting organized too. Maybe with their 8As and 21As, our kids will one day look for jobs at jobstreetdotcomdotindon ?

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Jangan main-main atau permainkan masa depan generasi muda kita. We cannot lull the people with false hopes, false achievements, 30,000 straight As and so on when we know our young kids are way below par in the competitive sweepstakes. We have to benchmark our young kids with the best in the world. We cannot just adopt the jaguh kampong approach just to make people ‘feel good’ about the 30,000 straight As. We want to be a negara maju in just 10 years. We must start benchmarking ourselves with the negara maju starting from yesterday.

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Do the Negara maju produce 30,000 kids getting straight As? Here are Singapore's 'O' Level resutls (Jan 2010):

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O level results out: top student from CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls' School

11 Jan 2010

The GCE 'O' level results are out, and this year's top student is Lai Kai Rou from CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls' School, with 10 A1s. And the school had more reason to cheer. Of the 44 students in Singapore that scored 9 A1s, about one third or 13 students, were from the school.

Crescent Girls' School also produced a bumper crop, with 8 students scoring 9 A1s. Overall, some 37,400 students sat for the 'O' level examinations last year and about 81 percent scored 5 or more O level passes. This is similar to last year's 80.8 percent.

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So in Singapore only one student got 10As in the 'O' Levels results announced in January 2010. 44 other students got 9As in their 'O' Levels.

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(Folks I have deleted the reference from the New Daily Star - which is a Bangladeshi newspaper, and not a UK paper. Silap saya. But even in Bangladesh only TWO students achieved all As in the 'O' Level exams)

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In Malaysia we have hundreds of students if not thousands of students who get all As. Jadi siapa tipu siapa?

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What can I say : their students are not as smart as our kids.

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Bus Crash - Weak Reaction

By Syed Akbar Ali

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The Ministry of Tourism will investigate the bus company's licenses and permits? Whatever for? Since when is the Ministry of Tourism an expert on road crashes, the engineering behind buses (a double decker one too) or an expert on winding curves? If the bus company did not have a 'permit' or a proper tour bus permit, then should the Ministry of Tourism be held for negligence?

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The Minister of Transport (who to his great credit did visit the site of the bus crash) said the MIROS (Malaysian Institute of Road Safety) would investigate the crash. Government bureaucracy is kicking in. MIROS will try to reconstruct the bus crash to determine its causes.

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May I make a suggestion : it was a double decker bus. So please check the 'centre of gravity' of double decker buses going around that bend in the road and compare it with that for regular single decker buses. Please do not ban double decker buses but perhaps lower speed limits are required for double decker buses, especially going downhill on mountain roads.

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Before this, after each bush crash, there would be a hue and cry. There will be noise for about a week. Permits will be suspended, bus drivers will be tested for drugs, pil kuda and pil gajah. Then the excitement will die down. Till the next bus crash. The Star says the last bus crash was on December 17th in Penampang, Sabah where four prisons officers were killed. On October 19th, seven people were killed in a bus crash at Genting Sempah. On October 10th, 13 people were killed when a bus crashed on the N-S Hiway near the NS-Melaka border. The frequency is increasing.

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This time the reaction is even less. I think it is because almost all the victims were Thai tourists. 24 of the 27 dead were Thais. So no MP or ADUN kicked up any fuss. This news is not going to last more than a day in the newspapers either.

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Powder Keg In Iran

By Syed Akbar Ali

You can click on this : Iran Petrol Prices Quadruple for the full story

• TEHRAN: Iranian petrol prices surged four-fold on Sunday as the government started scrapping subsidies ... overhaul of the economy
• Iranian parliament criticised the plan as inflationary at a time when the economy was reeling under sanctions and high unemployment.
• Police and security forces were deployed to prevent any violence
• petrol prices soaring to 4,000 rials (40 US cents) from 1,000 rials per litre for the 60 litres they receive as a monthly quota . . . now have to pay 7,000 rials per litre for any extra petrol they require.
• Diesel prices jumped to 1,500 rials from 160 rials
• average price of household electricity was now 450 rials per kilowatt an hour, water 250 rials per cubic metre and cooking gas 700 rials per cubic metre.
• “The expenses (for households) will depend on consumption. The lesser the consumption, the lesser the cost will be,”
• subsidies on these products cost state coffers about 100 billion dollars a year.
• A 2007 attempt by government to ration petrol had triggered riots in Tehran
• Iranian analyst said the government intended to drain liquidity out of the system by implementing the plan. "Ahmadinejad had to think of a way to collect the floating liquidity in people’s hands. So by implementing these gradual subsidy cuts, prices will be freed and liquidity would be cut to some degree,” he said on condition of anonymity.
• the government has begun to pay part of the expected savings from subsidy removals in the form of direct aid to the people. According to official figures, some 60.5 million Iranians have already started to receive 810,000 rials (74 dollars) paid into bank accounts every two months. This represents 2.5 billion dollars a month in the state budget. -- AFP

Another oil producing nation Indonesia has also removed fuel subsidies (almost completely I think). The Indonesians said they discovered that the poor do not own huge cars or MPVs hence removing fuel subsidies did not affect the poor directly as much. Well there is some truth to this. But always prices will rise to "equalise" the effects of the subsidy cuts. The poor will feel the effect of price inflation. At the end of the day, a new balance settles in. Just who gains most or loses most depends on other factors.

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I think Ahmedinajad is doing the same. By removing subsidies, only the rich, those who use more fuel need pay more. The poor who dont use as much fuel anyway will not see any huge dent in their pockets. So the theory goes. But they will still suffer higher prices. In Iran diesel has gone up almost 10 times from 160 riyals to 1500 riyals per litre. Isnt that crazy?

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Why were the subsidies needed in the first place? Because the general populace did not have the capacity to pay market prices for essentials. Meaning the general populace did not have the earning capacity, the high income capacity, did not have the skill levels, employment opportunities, competitive ability to make a living at market prices in a subsidy free economy. That is why the subsidies were put there in the first place. This applies for Malaysia too ok.

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Roughly speaking, in Iran we can even measure (to an extent) in dollars and cents the inefficiency of their general populace. The fuel subsidies cost the Iranian Government USD100.0 billion (this sum seems huge, their GDP is around USD820.0 billion) That was also the level of inefficiency or below par capacity of the Iranian populace. (I am sure there are or were other subsides too). If you add up all the subsidies, then you will know in dollars what is the "below par" competitive ability of the populace. This is a rough measure.

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Now here comes the catch - and whether the Iranian people will riot or not. Once you remove the subsidies (eg for fuel) it does not make the general population suddenly at par as a competitive people.

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The fuel subsidies in Iran were cut on Sunday Dec 19th 2010. This does not mean that on Monday, the general populace in Iran are going to become suddenly competitive, that their income will go up instantly and they can afford to pay the higher gas prices. Nope. They are going to suffer - for some time.

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And yes prices of all goods and services will go up. By the way in Malaysia the price of condensed milk is going up by 30 sen per large can, on January 1st. It will affect teh tarik prices.

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In Indonesia, after the fuel prices went up, it triggered inflation but it did not trigger an immediate increase in wages either. Eventually wages will follow suit (cos the salesman will not want to drive the extra kilometre to see a new customer if his salary or expense account does not increase to match the higher petrol prices, so his remuneration will have to go up eventually).

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However those people who cannot increase their productivity as much - the unskilled workers, the manual workers, the drudge workers (people who do repetitive boring work) may not see a consonant increase in their wages. They may fall through the cracks and hit the poverty levels again.

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Even oil rich Iran cannot go on subsidising things forever. Removing subsidies is a good thing to do, but it must be driven by higher incomes and productivity growth in the economy where people can compete at market prices. I dont think this is the case in Iran.

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They have been spending huge amounts of money to buy or make weapons. Their nuclear program (and protecting it from attack) surely costs a huge amount. They also suffer corruption and leakages in their system. In other words when the Government spends money with no immediate spin offs in the economy or which does not raise the productivity and comeptitiveness of the people, then the Government will find that it has no money to keep subsidising things forever.

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In Malaysia the Government wastes too much money which does not generate spin offs in the economy or increase the competitiveness of the people. That is why the people need subsidies. Without higher productivity the Government will at some point run out of money. Then drastic actions will be needed - like what is happening in Iran now.

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So who will riot in the streets first? The people who cannot compete at market prices will be the first one to hit the streets. The solution is to make people more competitive.

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Arresting Shiahs, Ashura And Yom Kippur

By Syed Akbar Ali

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I really cannot understand how so late in the modern age (this is the 21st century) we still have laws that arrest people for their religious beliefs? I am talking about the 200 Shiahs who were arrested on Thursday night in Batu Caves. Did the Prophet arrest anyone for his or her religious beliefs?

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"A GROUP of 200 Shi’ite followers have been arrested by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais), reported Utusan Malaysia. . The arrests were made during a raid at the fourth floor of a shophouse in Taman Sri Gombak, Batu Caves in Selangor on Thursday."

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First of all isnt anyone else going to speak up for these Shiah people who were arrested in Batu Caves? What happened to the civil society folks? The progressives, the reformers and so on? Why are you all so quiet? Not glamorous enough ah? Or maybe its because these folks are mostly "damned foreigners" again? What about Suaram and also Suhakam?

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(I am glad that Dr Asri Zainal Abidin, the former Mufti of Perlis has made a strong statement against the arrest of the 200 Shiahs. A portion of his statement can be read in the comments below. )

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Arresting the Shiahs (or any other person of a different religious belief) is particularly perplexing for me. If they are deviant and should be arrested, then why do we allow the Iranian Embassy to function here? Shiah Islam (by our measure) is the official religion of Iran. Do we still invite the Iranians for the Tilawah Al Quran in Malaysia? If they are deviant, why do we still do that?

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It was Dr Jamal Al Badawi, a well known religious scholar from Canada, who once asked, we (meaning the Sunnis) eat the same halal food as the Shiahs, it is permissible to marry each other, when they meet both Sunni and Shiah say 'Assalamu Alaikum' (which means 'peace be upon you'), Sunnis and Shiahs pray together in the same mosque, Sunnis and Shiahs perform the hajj to Mecca together yet we say the other is deviant. Iran is also a member of the OIC, like Malaysia. But in Malaysia we arrest Shiahs. What happened to the 'Assalamu Alaikum' (peace be upon you)?

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I know a few things about the Shiahs. As usual I dont agree with their beliefs either (neither do I believe in Jeebus). But that does not mean that I want them locked up or discriminated against. Its their belief.

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If the Shiahs really said that people of other faiths should be killed (this is the allegation against them) then they must be charged under the Sedition Act for inciting religious hatred and charged accordingly - not by the religious guys. And please show proper evidence.

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I believe the Shiahs were gathered in Batu Caves on Thursday to celebrate the Shiahs Day of Atonement on the 10th of Muharram or the 10th day of the Islamic New Year. This is also called Ashura (ashura means 10 in Arabic). This is a Day of Atonement for the Shiahs where they lament the death of Imam Hussein the grandson of the Prophet. They 'atone' the death of Imam Hussein by crying, wailing, putting up passion plays and whipping themselves with chains. They regret that they were not there to help save Imam Hussein when he was killed over 1,400 years ago. Its a sort of 'Never Again' vow the Shiahs proclaim once a year on this Day of Ashura.

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Here is a very recent You Tube video of some Shiahs in some God forsaken country flagellating themselves with whips and knives in remorse on the 10th of Muharram 2009. It is a tad disturbing. What bothers me is the very young kids who get involved in this type of activity. Another generation of young fruitcakes are being raised up.

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Chapter 15 in my third book 'Things In Common' (pg. 149) is titled The Ashura Rituals. These Ashura rituals, flagellating oneself with whips and chains, wailing for Imam Hussein etc are not found in the Quran. These are all extra Quranic ideas - meaning they are not found in the Quran.

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By a huge, fantastic, almost unimaginable coincidence a similar belief is stated in the Bible. The Jewish people got the ball rolling on this one by calling it the Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement is the most solemn of the Jewish holidays. It falls on the 10th day (ashura) of the Jewish new year in the month of Tishri. The Jews say Tishri is the seventh month of their ecclesiastical calendar - I dont know what that means - but Tishri is also the 1st month of their 'civil year'.

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Anyway here is Leviticus 23:27 from the Bible :

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“However on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh.

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So the 10th day of the new year is a day of atonement and you should 'afflict yourselves'. This is what the Shiahs are doing on the 10th of Ashura. If someone says that the Shiahs have stolen this idea of afflicting themselves on the 10th day of their new year from the Bible, how do you reply them?

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Some Christians also practise similar rites of afflicting themselves. Here are some pictures of the San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites in the Phillipines on Good Friday:

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Apa beza sangat ? What is so different between these folks?