*Lastest on Rationale of UMNO for attacking KK Mart* :
Currently the Chinese community is taking that this issue started when the KK Mart was going for listing on Bursa.
The Umno guns approach KK Mart request for 50% share for Bumiputra. Kk rejected the request n this escalate to the current issues of the Allah socks as planted by Turncoat Chinese Muslim
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Islam under attack from ‘turncoats’, Muslims told in FT sermon
riday, 08 Jan 2016 2:30 PM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 — Federal Territories (FT) Islamic authorities warned Muslims today that Islam was being maligned in the country, with its religious institutions allegedly targeted by traitorous Muslims.
Without naming the so-called “turncoats,” the sermon warned that if the situation continues unabated, a “cancer” will develop and invite divine wrath, with the community’s unity inevitably being broken.
“Even more saddening is when we discover that those who belittle are not the non-Muslims, but are actually those who profess to be Muslims, akin to turncoats or enemy collaborators.
“This is indeed shocking and is a great blow to all Muslims,” the FT Islamic Affairs Department (Jawi) said in its sermon today.
Jawi also claimed that Islam’s position as the religion of the federation is being disputed in public, and Allah’s rules questioned and toyed with by those with questionable religious knowledge.
Jawi then warned that this constant questioning will divide the Muslim community, which in the end will cause Muslims to be oppressed and their lives, properties and faith be put under threat.
Muslim unity is also the current theme of Umno’s courtship of rival PAS, amid claims that the community’s political power was under threat.
“This divide will cause Muslims to lose their greatness in the eyes of the enemies and will no longer strike fear in their hearts,” said Jawi.
It pointed to the strife in the Arab world, Africa and Asia where Muslims have been left weakened, due to internal bickering.
Last month, pro-moderation group G25 came under fire after it announced the establishment of a consultative committee to review unconstitutional state Shariah enactments and laws that violate personal privacy, such as khalwat laws, and to recommend their repeal or amendment.
The group, which comprises Malay senior retired civil servants, has since been criticised by conservative Malay-Muslim groups such as Perkasa and Isma as well as Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria, who accused G25 of having “very weak” religious knowledge.
Several groups have also called for the moderate Malay group to be banned by Putrajaya, claiming that the group is spreading “deviant teachings”.
The groups has since told Malay Mail Online that it is not aiming to “reform Islam”, but only to review Shariah legislation that is unconstitutional and which violates Islamic legal principles.
Ramasamy wants UMNO to quit unity gov’t following 3rd molotov cocktail attack at KK Mart Kuching
SHOULD UMNO still be part of the unity government of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim after having uncritically backed its youth wing head honcho Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh over the controversial socks’ incident?
UMNO has some senior leaders occupying cabinet posts in the government. Its president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is one of the two Deputy Prime Ministers. The portfolios of Education and Foreign Ministers are helmed by UMNO leaders.
In short, UMNO has been over-rewarded in the unity government considering that it has lesser MPs than DAP for instance (UMNO won 26 seats in the 15th General Election while DAP has 40 seats).
UMNO has a powerful stake in the government to ensure law and order. The party might not have the necessary Malay support but surely by blindly supporting the political antics of Akmal, Malay support might never come back. Essentially, UMNO has “shut the doors of the stable after the horses have bolted”.
Akmal’s incessant and reckless calls for nationwide boycott against KK Super Mart have undoubtedly raised the ethnic and religious temperature in the country.
The heightened tensions must have given rise to petrol bomb attacks against the KK Super Mart stores in Bidor (Perak), Kuantan (Pahang) and lately, Kuching (Sarawak). All these attacks took place within a spate of one week.
Big price to pay
Surely, UMNO leaders cannot dismiss the fact there is correlation between Akmal’s calls for boycott and the resulting tensions in the country.
It was expected that UMNO leaders would calm the situation in the larger interest of law and order but unfortunately, they endorsed the reckless position of Akmal.
It emboldened Akmal to say that he was prepared to lose his party post than give up the fight to maintain the sanctity of Islam.
UMNO’s support for Akmal gives rise to suspicions that there is more to the boycott than the unearthing of socks with Allah inscription.
There are rumours that the Akmal belligerent stand might have to do with the internal rift in UMNO. Akmal might be aligning with a particular faction in the party.
Some others are saying that the boycott might be related to the opposition to Anwar from forces outside the government.
This could be the reason why PAS refused to join in the boycott against the KK Super Mart. If at all any party that knows UMNO well, it is definitely PAS.
After the formation of the unity government with the support of UMNO, I remarked that the party and its tainted leaders could be the “albatross around the neck” of the government. In other words, UMNO is the political burden of the unity or Madani government.
I am more than convinced that the boycott phenomenon has rendered UMNO as the most unreliable partner of the unity government.
Anwar wants UMNO to prolong his stay as the PM but at what cost to the stability and well-being of the nation? Yet, his loyal lieutenants and sycophants want Anwar to go for the second term.
The sooner UMNO gets out of the government, the better it is for the country and the people. Once out, Akmal can make all the noise he wants. Nobody will care about the spent force. – April 2, 2024
Former DAP stalwart and Penang chief minister II Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is chairman of the Urimai (United Rights of Malaysian Party) Interim Council.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
King grants audience to KK Mart founder, does not want socks issue prolonged
His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, consented to grant an audience to KK Mart founder Datuk Seri Chai Kee Kan on Wednesday (April 3). His Majesty later issued a statement, saying that this is the last time he would have to stress on the socks issue involving the supermarket.
PETALING JAYA: His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, wants the controversial socks issue not to be prolonged.
His Majesty, who granted an audience to the founder and executive chairman of KK Supermart & Superstore Sdn Bhd, Datuk Seri Dr Chai Kee Kan, reiterated that no party should take advantage of this matter, including inciting others.
“I do not want this issue to be prolonged,” Sultan Ibrahim decreed to the Royal Press Office.
During the 15-minute audience at Istana Negara, Chai sought His Majesty’s forgiveness and apologised to the King over the sale of socks with the word “Allah” printed on them.
Chai also apologised to the Muslim community.
His Majesty also warned all parties, including KK Super Mart, to be more careful regarding products being sold, especially imported goods, to avoid the issue from recurring.
“All parties must be more responsible. This should not happen again. I hope this is the last time I have to stress on this,” His Majesty decreed.
The chain has been mired in controversy since March 13 after the controversial socks were discovered in the Bandar Sunway outlet.
Chai and his wife, Datin Seri Loh Siew Mui, have been charged with two counts of intentionally wounding the religious sensitivities of Muslims over the distribution and sale of the socks.
The couple had pleaded not guilty.
Anger towards KK Super Mart over the issue has led to three firebombing attempts on the convenience store’s outlets in Perak, Pahang and Sarawak.
Following the incident, the Prime Minister ordered the police not to compromise and for action to be taken against those who commit such acts.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also warned that racial and religious must not be used to disrupt order in the country.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain has vowed that stern action would be taken against those who vandalise KK Super Mart and that investigations were ongoing to identify the perpetrators, warning the public against taking matters into their own hands.
At least 133 people were killed and over 145 injured when as many as five gunmen, armed with automatic weapons, entered the Crocus City Hall and opened fire on concertgoers, who were there to see the popular Soviet-era rock band Picnic.
Hours after the attack, the Islamic State Khorasan Province, known as ISKP or ISIS-K, the Afghan affiliate of ISIS, claimed responsibility for the attack through the group’s Amaq news agency.
The New Arab looks into what ISIS-K are and why they are targeting Russia.
What is the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K)?
Khorasan is the historical name for the region between central and West Asia, including Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and parts of northeastern Iran.
ISIS-K emerged in eastern Afghanistan in 2015 during the Taliban insurgency against the US-led coalition and the emergence of ISIS in its “caliphate” form in Iraq and Syria.
The group formed from defectors of the Taliban, dissident Salafi-Jihadists suppressed during Taliban rule, and militants from Pakistan and Uzbekistan. It launched attacks not only on US forces and their allies in Afghanistan but also the Taliban and saw anyone who opposed its particular Salafi-jihadist worldview as a legitimate target.
This situation has persisted, with the Taliban—having taken control of Afghanistan after the US withdrawal in 2021—and ISIS-K remaining in conflict. But the Taliban has struggled to suppress the group, with Afghanistan becoming a safe haven for ISIS-K and its ideological reach and networks expanding.
This has coincided with a general uptick in ISIS activity around the world, most notably in Iraq and Syria.
Since its inception, ISIS-K has also launched several attacks outside Afghanistan, most recently the twin bombings in Kerman in Iran last January that killed just under 100 people.
Why is ISIS-K targeting Russia?
ISIS-K has opposed the Russian government for years but experts who follow the group’s activities say that it only began to re-focused its attentions on Russia since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“ISIS-K has been fixated on Russia for the past two years, frequently criticising Putin in its propaganda,” said Colin Clarke of the Soufan Center, a Washington-based research group.
Michael Kugelman of the Washington, DC-based Wilson Centre said ISIS-K “sees Russia as being complicit in activities that regularly oppress Muslims”.
More specifically, ISIS-K has used Putin’s brutal military intervention in Syria on behalf of the regime of Bashar al-Assad to justify its attacks on Russia. Though ISIS more often than not fought Syria’s moderate rebels rather than the Assad regime, ISIS-K has used Russia’s intervention in Syria as a recruitment tool.
Along with Russian intervention in Syria, the group also cites Russia’s destructive wars against Muslim-majority Chechnya as direct justifications for its hostility to Moscow.
Has ISIS-K attacked Russia before?
In 2022, as many as 10 people were killed when a suicide bomber targeted Russia’s embassy in Kabul, with ISIS-K claiming responsibility for the attack.
Earlier this month, Russia reported several incidents involving ISIS-K, with the FSB intelligence agency saying on 7 March it foiled an attack on a synagogue in Moscow.
The US said it had warned Russia of intelligence indicating an immediate threat posed by ISIS-K, with alleged plans for attacks on ‘large gatherings’ in Moscow. On Friday, a US official stated that Washington had intelligence confirming ISIS-K’s claim of responsibility for the Crocus City Hall attack.
What has Russia’s reaction been?
Russia has said its security forces have arrested 11 suspects connected with the attack, while they are hunting for the rest. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said in an address to the Russian people that Ukraine is involved in the attack.
Given Russia continues to wage war on Ukraine, Putin’s regime may want to exploit the attack to place responsibility for it on Kyiv, even if it acknowledges ISIS-K’s involvement.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said four of the attack suspects had been trying to reach Ukraine and had “contacts” in the country. This excessive focus on Ukraine could leave Russia susceptible to more attacks by ISIS-K, as it fails to address the reasons why the group is targeting it.
Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president who now is deputy head of the security council, said that if Kyiv’s involvement in the attack on the concert hall is proved, all those involved “must be tracked down and killed without mercy, including officials of the state that committed such outrage”.
More than 133 people have been killed and 145 injured in a terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall music venue in the city of Krasnogorsk in the Moscow Region as of press time on Saturday. This is the first large-scale terrorist attack targeting civilians within Russia since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and came within a week after Vladimir Putin won a reelection victory. Analysts said the terror attack will likely shock Russian people psychologically and put pressure on Kremlin to stablize the situation and calm the public.
Umno has never been as vulnerable over the last 70-over years as it is today. It had been the only dominant and domineering political party Malaysia had experienced. Its hold over Malaysia and its power to rule as it wished and pleased used to be absolute and unchallenged.
Fortunately for Malaysia, all that has clearly changed for now. Umno only has 37 MPs out of the total of 222 or 16.7% of the august legislative chamber.
Glaringly, Umno’s grip on power is slipping. And it is desperate to cling on to power and reclaim its former eminence and dominance, come what may. It is so desperate that it has lost its balance, its rationality and its sanity; it is pushing for an early election that is vehemently opposed by all thinking and well-meaning Malaysians because the risks involved during the monsoon period can be horrendous.
Umno has thrived in creating fear among the Malays and planting suspicion in their minds that their future and fortune will be taken away by the non-Malays, especially the Chinese, if they don’t rally behind Umno. Another weapon it has used very effectively is religion. It has been drumming into the Malays that the Christians are about to Christianise Malaysia.
Umno has very successfully destroyed our unity and harmony that was the hallmark of our nation during the time of our beloved Tunku Abdul Rahman – the halcyon days of tolerance and accommodation.
All that goodwill and peace that united us in the past was destroyed and replaced with hatred, suspicion, greed, intolerance and selfishness. Peaceful Malaysia was buried, and a disunited and fractured Malaysia has been created in its place.
Umno is now determined to capture its former glory by assuming that an early election will reverse its misfortune and restore power in the hands of Umno.
Support the struggle to build a Malaysia based on Justice, Freedom, Solidarity:
Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah AOTan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah AO
Dear Malaysia – Wednesday, 31 Aug 2022
This year, we mark our 65th National Day and 59th Malaysia Day. I would like to take this opportunity to continue the conversation we started last year by penning some thoughts on our beloved nation.
We live in a time of extreme uncertainty. Even as Malaysia and the world transition into the endemic phase, Covid-19 still poses a threat. Tensions between the United States and China have escalated, while the war in Ukraine has disrupted global supply chains.
Inflation is soaring and the widening income inequality is reversing decades of hard-earned progress.
Given these global headwinds, it is even more pertinent that we as Malaysians get our act together, fast, if we are to overcome these challenges
We have to take a hard look at where we are today, where we want to go and how we intend to get there.
Let me highlight some positive developments that have happened over the past 12 months.
For example, the historic memorandum of understanding (MoU) that was signed by the Prime Minister and the Pakatan Harapan opposition coalition is beginning to bear fruit in terms of reforming our political system.
The anti-party hopping law has been gazetted. A political financing bill will soon be tabled. Parliament is growing in independence as it plays its check-and-balance role.
But even more crucial is the out-of-the-box thinking that led to the MoU and introduced the concept of “compete and collaborate” into our political system. It provided a sense of stability that greatly helped the governance of the country. We need more such ideas in order to move forward.
The government did well to cushion the harshest impact of the rising cost of living for Malaysians, especially for those in the B40 category.
But it has come at a huge and, clearly, unsustainable cost: almost RM80bil in subsidies.
While these stop-gap measures have provided temporary aid, what we really need is a set of cohesive, coherent and coordinated long-term policies that can raise productivity levels and the rakyat’s income.
In the words of the late Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu, “There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they are falling in.”
However, like many of my fellow Malaysians, I worry that some in power appear to be more focused on politics, rather than policies.
We are all aware of the obstacles we face in trying to build a brighter, more progressive, more inclusive and more sustainable future for our country.
Let me share some of them. It is crucial that we acknowledge the pressing need to strengthen our national unity. Our diversity is a strength that enriches us as a nation, not something that divides us.
We must all do what we can to clean up the toxicity that influences our conversations on race, religion and culture.
And then, there is education. It is no secret that our education system needs a massive overhaul. Unless we urgently address this challenge, we will doom our children and our country to a future of poverty and misery.
In a globalised world, the competition our children face will come not just from the student at the next desk, but from far beyond our borders.
In this context, I am concerned to learn that the command of English among young Malaysians is on the decline.
Obviously, Bahasa Malaysia is our national language and we should know it, but we are a trading nation and English is the language of trade and commerce. A lack of fluency in English may well pose a major hurdle in our efforts to build a prosperous Malaysia.
In fact, the more languages we are fluent in, the more opportunities we can explore in this globalised world.
The perception is that corruption has now become endemic in this country. I do not need to go into specific details. You are all aware of the issues and the scandals. Unless we seriously root out corruption, we are in trouble.
Like how cancer attacks a body from within, corruption is a disease that can destroy a country and a society from the inside out.
Allowing corruption to go unchecked is like injecting poison into a body. Corruption is a two-way street involving a giver and a taker.
Battling it will require not only strong laws implemented without fear or favour, but also a change in mindset and culture among all of us. How exactly do we achieve this?
The recent decisions by the courts on corruption cases have sparked hope. The judiciary’s upholding of its institutional integrity is a huge step forward in this war against corruption.
Let us bear in mind that even as we address these political and socio-economic issues, we do so at a time when climate change threatens the very survival of humanity.
Implementing the sustainable development agenda is no longer an option, but an urgent imperative.
The path has already been charted for us. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, adopted by the United Nations in 2015, lay out a holistic and comprehensive roadmap.
But realising the 17 SDGs is not the role of governments alone.
It requires the commitment of every element of society – the private sector, academia, civil society and every single one of us.
As a third-generation Malaysian of Chinese heritage who was raised in Pusing, Perak, and an entrepreneur who owes a great debt of gratitude to my country for the opportunities it has given me, I would like to share some thoughts on building a more progressive, inclusive and sustainable future for all under the Malaysian sun.
We wake up today marking our 64th National Day and, soon, will mark our 58th Malaysia Day on Sept 16.
Notice that I said “mark” and not “celebrate.” The reason is obvious: more than 15,000 Malaysian lives lost to Covid-19; more than 1.6 million of our Malaysian family infected; millions more reeling from the impact to their livelihoods; a rising number of Malaysians taking their own lives due largely to factors associated with the pandemic; schools closed; and lockdowns, masks and physical distancing.
And to add to our troubles, a political crisis that has witnessed Malaysia having three prime ministers in three years.
I do not need to dwell on the details. We are all only too aware of the grim reality.
Malaysia is at a tipping point, which some may even liken to what happened on May 13, 1969. However, while May 13 posed a threat to the very existence of what was a much younger Malaysia, the crisis sparked by the pandemic is of a very different nature.
The only similarity, in my view, is that once again it is up to us to decide on how we overcome the challenge – an opportunity to take a hard look at where we are today as a nation, where we want to go, and how we get there. In short, we need to have a national conversation within our Malaysian family based on civility and mutual respect.
My fellow Malaysians
Let’s begin with a discussion on how we can eradicate the virus of racism in our society. Let us acknowledge that Malaysia’s rich diversity of races, ethnicities, cultures, religions and even cuisines is a strength for us to leverage, not a barrier that divides us. Let us break down these walls between us.
In this respect, the one silver lining that gives me hope amidst these dark days is witnessing how Malaysians are rising above race and religious lines to help not just their neighbours but even total strangers in their time of need.
That this outreach is driven largely by civil society groups comprising young people of all races indicates to me that perhaps the current generation is moving beyond the “us-versus-them” mentality that has dominated much of our lives over the past four decades or so.
Let us also use this opportunity to discuss the reforms we need to put in place to build the Malaysia that each and everyone of us wants. The post-May 13 blueprint may have served its purpose back then, although my personal opinion is that while the policies were drawn up with good intentions, the implementation went somewhat off-track soon after.
But that was a different time. We cannot overcome the challenges of the Digital Age using analogue mind-sets. We now have an opportunity to thoroughly re-examine the various factors that define our daily lives.
Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah AO
They include, for instance, the economy: How do we promote an economy based on innovation, digital tools, competition and meritocracy, one where “know-how” matters more than “know who”?
Then there is education. It is obvious that our current education system is failing our children. We need to urgently re-examine how we teach, what we teach and even where we teach. In a globalised world, our children face competition not just from the student at the next desk, but from those far beyond our borders. If we do not prepare them correctly, we doom them and our country to a bleak and poverty-ridden future.
Let’s move on next to governance. Restoring the integrity of our institutions is of fundamental importance. I do not want to sound like an old uncle always talking about how much better it was in the old days. But the fact remains that there was a time when Malaysia was held in high esteem internationally for a judiciary noted for its independence and integrity, the efficiency of our civil service, the provision of public healthcare and a Parliament that sought to play its role as a check and balance on the Executive.
And then there is the issue of corruption. Need I say more? Unless we seriously root out corruption, we are in trouble. I am not naive enough to believe that we can eradicate corruption completely. No country has done so. But we must, at the very least, reduce it from a cancer in society to just a sore thumb.
Corruption, of course, is a two-way street involving a giver and a taker. Battling it will require not only strong laws implemented without fear or favour, but also a change in mind-set and culture among all of us. How exactly do we achieve this?
The recent accord reached between our Prime Minister and leaders of the Pakatan Harapan opposition on these issues, if followed through, offers hope that we may once again restore pride in our institutions and progress as a nation.
My fellow Malaysians
We began our journey in 1957 with hopes and aspirations. We suffered the tragedy of May 13 even before Malaysia had reached its teens. The nation matured in its adulthood in the years that followed. The country is now past its middle age – a time when hard-earned experience and wisdom can be our guide.
I believe that all of us as individuals must have a higher purpose in life. For me, that higher purpose is a commitment to nation-building and to giving back to society.
An optimist by nature, I have a deep faith this higher purpose is also shared by all of you and that together, we can overcome the challenges we face and build a Malaysia that our children can be proud of.
In this effort, we should all be guided by our Rukun Negara, which represents the soul of our nation.
As it says on our national motto: Bersekutu Bertambah Mutu. Loosely translated as “Unity is Strength.”
What is the Unification Church and could it be linked to former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s assassination?
A bride poses for a photo before a giant image of the late founder of Unification Church Sun Myung Moon and his wife Hak Ja Han before a mass wedding ceremony in Gapyeong on September 7, 2017. Photo: AFP
The curtains have come down on former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after the sobering end of his funeral. But the cloud of suspicion surrounding his assassination still looms large in the minds of many around the world. Sentiments of shock continue to be expressed at the fact that Japan’s worst political assassination since World War II is related to a cult.
On July 8, Abe was fatally shot while addressing a crowd at a campaign stop in Nara by a 41-year-old man identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, who confessed to the police that he “did not resent Abe’s political beliefs,” but that his resentment toward the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, known as the Unification Church, a religious movement founded in South Korea, turned into a desire to kill the former national leader.
Yamagami believed Abe had promoted a religious group to which his mother made a “huge donation,” Kyodo news agency has said, citing investigative sources. His mother subsequently went bankrupt.
The police investigation into the assassination prompted the head of the Japanese branch of the Unification Church to confirm on July 11 that Yamagami’s mother is a member.
Looking back on the history of the Unification Church, people have seen the specter of an extremist religious group looming over the political arena of Japan, South Korea, and even the US.
In the mid-1960s, Abe’s maternal grandfather and former Japanese Prime Minister, Nobusuke Kishi, would never have imagined that his association with Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church, would sow the seed that eventually led to the death of his grandson.
Expansion of a cult
Moon founded the Unification Church in South Korea in 1954. Within a year, about 30 church centers had sprung up. Moon began organizing the Unification Church on a large scale in the US in the early 1970s. He also sent his church emissaries to Japan in the early days when the Unification Church developed fast. He settled in the US in 1972.
One of the activities that the Unification Church likes to practice is Tetsuya Yamagami. Moon claimed that he can complete the unfulfilled task of Jesus: To restore humankind to a state of perfection by producing sinless children, and by blessing couples who would produce them. According to media reports, thousands of couples often attended such mass weddings. But those couples would only meet each other weeks prior and they went into marriage based on Moon’s arrangement. Many had to remain separated for several years doing church work.
Thousands of couples attend a mass wedding held by the Unification Church on August 27, 2018 in Gapyeong, South Korea. Photo: VCG
At the same time, Moon was particularly interested in politics. Church leaders plotted a strategy to defend former US President Richard M. Nixon for his role in the Watergate crisis and held rallies in support of him. In the late 1970s, Moon was embroiled in many scandals and was under investigation by US federal authorities mainly over allegations that he has ties to South Korean intelligence and was involved in bribing members of Congress to support President Park Chung-hee, according to a New York Times report.
Moon liked to court world leaders and politicians to advance the Unification Church and sometimes he behaved quite oddly.
Moon, who spoke fluent Japanese, launched an anti-communist group in Japan in the late 1960s, the International Federation for Victory Over Communism, and built relations with Japanese politicians, according to the church’s publications, Reuters reported.
Nobusuke Kishi, Abe’s maternal grandfather and a former prime minister, was an honorary executive chair at a group banquet hosted by Moon, the International Federation for Victory Over Communism said on its website.
In 2004, Moon had himself crowned “humanity’s savior” in front of members of Congress at a Capitol Hill luncheon, read the New York Times report.
Prominent people including the US president were paid to appear at Moon-linked conferences. “The first President George Bush did so after he left office. Others, like former President Gerald R. Ford, Bill Cosby, Mikhail S. Gorbachev, and Jack Kemp, attended banquets and gatherings, sometimes saying later that they had not known of a connection between Moon and the organizations that invited them,” said the New York Times report.
The Unification Church has a long history of courting Republican officials as part of a propaganda campaign, according to media outlet The Independent. In September 2021, former US President Donald Trump appeared in a virtual address linked to the Unification Church. He praised the founders of the Unification Church. Abe also participated in the same event.
The Financial Times reported that for decades, close ties between the Unification Church in Japan and prominent figures in the governing Liberal Democratic Party have been an open secret in Japanese politics.
“The Unification Church has a strong capacity for brainwashing with propaganda and external expansion. Through the establishment of personal worship and an emphasis on donations for purposes of enrichment, meddling in private property distribution and marriage autonomy of the congregation, the group has garnered a loyal following,” an Beijing-based expert on Japan studies surname Zhou told the Global Times.
On the other hand, Zhou pointed out that, through generous political cash and mutual exploitation, the Unification Church has gradually gained a strong foothold in East Asia and the world.
Along with the expansion of the Unification Church was the growth of Moon’s business empire. He was involved in many industries in South Korea and also had various commercial interests in Japan. Right-wing nationalist donors in Japan were said to be an important financial source. In the US, he had business interests in a range of fields including jewelry and construction, and bought properties including the New Yorker Hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
“In addition to spreading extremist ideas, the Unification Church also has a strong sense of modern business management, operating the religious group as a company, investing and expanding extensively in industry, finance, culture, education, media, and other industries, providing the basis for a ‘virtuous’ cycle of development for the expansion of its extremist ideology and political infiltration,” Zhou said.
The church has about 600,000 members in Japan, out of 10 million globally, Reuters reported.
Thousands of couples attend a mass wedding held by the Unification Church on August 27, 2018 in Gapyeong, South Korea. Photo: VCG
Conservative tone
During the Cold War, the Unification Church movement was criticized by the mainstream media for its anti-Communist activism.
In 2010, Moon bought the US-based media publication the Washington Times into the New World Communications, an international media conglomerate similar to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, which owns Fox News. The conglomerate was directly affiliated with Moon’s Unification Church, the US News reported.
The newspaper often plays up claims that the Chinese mainland will “invade” the island of Taiwan, for example, citing US officials who accuse the Chinese military of posing an “acute threat” to the island
The New York Times reported that Moon acknowledged that in the two decades since the founding of The Washington Times in 1982, he pumped in more than $1 billion in subsidies to keep it going.
In 2002, during the 20th anniversary party for the Washington Times, Moon said, “The Washington Times will become the instrument in spreading the truth about God to the world,” the Washington Post reported in 2009.
Unification is a political concept, and the Unification Church, which uses this concept as its name, has always been a heretical religious organization with distinct political positions and intentions, Zhou noted.
Unification Church followers hold a memorial service mourning the death of their leader Sun Myung Moon in the church’s Seoul headquarters on September 3, 2012.? Photo: AFP
Alarm bells
The cultist elements behind the Abe assassination have set off alarms in China, which has maintained a zero-tolerance attitude toward cults through various efforts.
The Unification Church has been classified as a cult since the 1990s in China. In May 1997, the Ministry of Public Security listed the Unification church as a cultic organization, according to chinafxj.com, a website promoting China’s anti-cult policies under the State Council.
The chinafxj.com website states that the Unification Church has been infiltrating China since as early as the country’s Reform and Opening-up in 1978 in the name of investment, sponsorship, and tourism, in a bid to take root in China and expand its influence.
In recent years, the cult’s infiltration efforts have become more active in China. Its affiliated organization “International Education Foundation,” for instance, carried out penetration activities in some cities in the name of cultural exchange and educational cooperation. The church also set up branches secretly in Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shenyang, Xi’an, and other major cities to carry out illegal missionary activities. Sunmoon University also tried to absorb Chinese believers via cooperation with China’s universities, said the website.
Currently in China, the Unification Church is among the list of 18 defined cultist organizations masquerading as Christian churches, according to chinafxj.com.
The cults share similar traits and modes of operation, such as deifying leaders or founders, promoting inhumane, antisocial, and immoral theories, and inciting the public to confront the larger society, Yan Kejia, director of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Religious Studies, told the Global Times. “The cults could easily confuse the public by taking advantage of religious beliefs and feudal superstition.”
China has been cracking down on cults, especially since the late 1990s, Yan noted. “The efforts have been greatly beneficial. The campaigns against cults are widely understood and supported by the public and have brought a breath of fresh air to the society.”
“The Abe incident proved that governments should pay great attention to issues surrounding cultic activities. It also reminds China that the work to fight cults should be consistently enhanced,” he said.
In this file photo taken on April 21, 2015 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe waves as he headed for Indonesia at the Tokyo International Airport. Photo:AFP
Malaysian pride: Tan, who is from Muar, was appointed to the most senior technology position at Nasa recently. – nasa.gov
NASA Engineer Florence Tan presented a Maniac Lecture entitled, “From Malaysia to Mars.” Florence talked about her journey from Malaysia to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, where she has been working on planetary mass spectrometers, which is characterized by challenges, frustration, excitement, and rewards.
Only with the application of inclusiveness will retain our best workforce.
EVERY time we read about Malaysians making a mark globally in their respective fields, pride and joy course through our veins knowing these people have elevated our country’s standing.
Recently, that proverbial uplifting news featured six young Malaysians acquiring seats in the prestigious Harvard University for the class of 2026.
The students received offers of admission amidst stiff competition from a global applicant pool of 61,220 students, it was reported.
Last week, another piece of good news surfaced. A Malaysian from Muar, Johor, Florence Tan, was appointed Deputy Chief Technologist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) – the most senior technology position.
She had left Malaysia at 18 to study in the United States, and then started to work with Nasa, beginning as an intern at one of its research centres.
When I read those two stories, I couldn’t help pondering if the six Harvard students would return to Malaysia someday, perhaps after gaining experience in the US and other countries.
And what can Tan really do in Malaysia, even if she chose to return home? After all, we can’t cater to her expertise, experience and skill in Your chance to fly Singapore Airlines to London for free with this new card from Maybank
But more and more, when we read of these high achievers, the media is compelled to refer to them as “Malaysia-born,” which is a euphemism for Malaysians who have emigrated overseas and are not nationals of our country any longer.
At least we’re sure that two legendary Malaysians of global repute, Hollywood actress Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh and shoe designer Datuk Jimmy Choo are hanging on to their Malaysian passports.
Unfortunately, Malaysia is one of the countries most affected by brain drain, as it faces a major problem in not only being incapable of delivering the required talent, but also in failing to retain the current local talent or attracting foreign ones, as a report in cs.stanford.edu put it.
The World Bank defines brain drain as the migration of talent across borders, which has an impact on Malaysia’s aspiration to become a high-income nation.
“Human capital is the bedrock of the high-income economy. Sustained and skill-intensive growth will require talent going forward.
“For Malaysia to be successful in its journey to high income, it will need to develop, attract, and retain talent. Brain drain does not appear to square with this objective: Malaysia needs talent, but talent seems to be leaving.
“Brain drain is a subject of intense debate and controversy, but surprisingly few studies have characterised the phenomenon in the Malaysian context – be it in terms of magnitude, impact, or policy response.
“What complicates matters further are the statistical discrepancies that limit the quality, availability, timeliness, and comparability of international migration data,” wrote its senior economic advisor Philip Schellekens.
He quoted the World Bank’s Malaysia Economic Monitor saying that the Malaysian diaspora – the group of skilled and unskilled Malaysia-born women, men and children living overseas – is estimated conservatively at one million worldwide as of 2010.
“A third among these represent brain drain – those with tertiary education among the diasporas. This is not to suggest that others are not ‘brainy’, but educational attainment is the only available proxy that is consistently available across recipient countries.
“To put the numbers in perspective, two factors are important: the size of the skills base and the profile of immigration.
“Because of the narrow skills base, brain drain is intense in Malaysia and is further aggravated by positive selection effects, as the best and brightest leave first.
“Further, brain drain is not alleviated by compensating inflows, since migration into Malaysia is mainly low-skilled with some 60% with primary education or less and the number of high-skilled expats has fallen by a quarter since 2004.”
As of 2019, there are 952,261 Malaysians or Singaporeans of partial or full Malaysian origin residing in Singapore. And including the permanent population in the country, about 350,000 Malaysians cross the Johor-Singapore Causeway daily to commute to work or school.
Australia is another popular choice for Malaysians, with 177,460 people living there in 2020, according to a report, while the 2016 census from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals that 138,364 Malaysians became permanent residents or citizens.
There’s nothing wrong with us continuing to look for low-skilled labour for our oil palm estates, restaurants and homes – many West Asian countries are in the same predicament. However, Malaysia needs to embrace the global mobility of talent, too.
For a start, we must admit that the biggest criteria are the differences in earnings, career prospects, opportunities, professional exposure and quality of life.
The elephant in the room for many Malaysians is the discontent with our country’s affirmative policies, particularly among the non-bumiputras who see their chances of climbing up the ladder hampered by their ethnic origin.
The painful truth is, many talented non-bumiputras, especially the Chinese, make up the bulk of the diaspora.
In all fairness, the government, via Talent Corporation Malaysia, has developed many initiatives to encourage Malaysians to return, but a better carrot needs to be dangled.
Singapore, one of the best-run countries, has the same problem as it faces a challenge to retain quality citizens because the country’s brain drain rate is higher than the global average with six in 10 Singa-poreans willing to leave the country in pursuit of a better job, according to a Randstad Workmonitor research report.
The study revealed that the brain drain rate in the Lion City is higher than the global average of 50%. It’s also higher than Hong Kong’s 56%, but slightly lower than Malaysia’s 66%.
It said 68% of Singaporean workers, aged between 18 and 34 years old, are willing to pack up and leave their country.
In many ways, ethnic Chinese, like their forefathers, are a migratory race, regardless of their nationalities, with many selecting Canada and Australia as their choices during the last 20 years, according to statista.com
In 2013, the United States and Canada became the countries with the highest immigration rate of millionaires from China, according to Hurun Research Institute.
China is reportedly one of the world’s largest emigration countries as well as the country with the biggest outflow of high net worth individuals between 2003 and 2013. Likewise for many Hong Kongers and Taiwanese.
Our politicians love to use the term “world class” when they talk about Malaysia, but we need to really walk the talk or else it remains hollow and unconvincing. If we’re indeed top of the heap, we should be getting top notch workers queueing up to work here.
Wong Chun Wai began his career as a journalist in Penang, and has served The Star for over 35 years in various capacities and roles. He is now group editorial and corporate affairs adviser to the group, after having served as group managing director/chief executive officer.On The Beat made its debut on Feb 23 1997 and Chun Wai has penned the column weekly without a break, except for the occasional press holiday when the paper was not published. In May 2011, a compilation of selected articles of On The Beat was published as a book and launched in conjunction with his 50th birthday. Chun Wai also comments on current issues in The Star.
Religious destination in Venkannaguda, IndiaThe Statue of Equality, also referred to as the Ramanuja statue, is a statue of the 11th-century vaishnavaite Ramanuja, located on the premises of the Chinna Jeeyar Trust at Muchintal, Hyderabad. It is the second tallest sitting statue in the world. Wikipedia
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Compiled by JUNAID IBRAHIM, JAROD LIM and R. ARAVINTHAN` `
INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi is under fire after claims emerged that the 10-billion-rupee (RM556mil) Ramanujacharya statue officially unveiled recently was built by a China-based company, Malaysia Nanban reported.` `
The 66m-tall Statue of Equality in Hyderabad, Telangana, was built to commemorate the 11th century Indian saint and is expected to become a tourist and pilgrimage destination.` `
Opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi claimed that the statue was not built locally and berated Modi in a Twitter post with a swipe at the New India often touted by the PM, writing “New India is China Dependent”.` `
The “aimpon” or “panchaloha” statue made of five metals – gold, silver, copper, brass and zinc – is said to be one of the tallest in the world.` `
It is located in a 14ha compound which features a temple, meditation hall and a smaller gold statue.` `
> The Taiping Gurukulam Sevai Maiyam received some much-needed help to continue serving underprivileged children of Indian descent, Makkal Osai reported.` `
Recently, the Sri Navaneetha Krishna Temple, which houses the residential school and children’s home in Kampung Boyan, received a donation of RM21,001 from elected representatives.` `
Datuk Dr Jegathisan, who runs the Gurukulam, said the funds will go towards additional classes and tuition for the Children.`
`The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
Govt urged to take firm steps after Malaysia ranks 62 out of 100 in corruption perceptions index
2021 Corruptions Perceptions Index – Explore the…
“We urge the government to monitor the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Plan and empower the chief secretary to the government to be responsible for its implementation.” – Dr Muhammad Mohan
Malaysia fails in graft index
For the second consecutive year, Malaysia has dropped in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2021. The country ranked 62 out of 180 countries. ` `
Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) president Dr Muhammad Mohan said the country fell five places from last year, and dropped three points from 51 points in 2020 to 48 points in 2021. ` `
“Our scores dropped a further three points. It is a worrying trend that we are seeing with our ranking also falling to 62,” he said during a press conference held on Zoom to announce the index yesterday. ` `
Muhammad noted that Malaysia has been seeing a downward trend for the past two years since the change of governments in 2020 and 2021. ` `
In 2020, Malaysia was ranked 57 out of 180 countries, scoring 51 out of 100 points. ` `
The index uses a scale of 0 to 100 points, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. ` `
This year, Denmark, Finland and New Zealand are top in the index with 88 points each, with Singapore being the only Asian country in the Top 10, placing fifth with a score of 85 points. ` `
Venezuela (14), Syria (13), Somalia (13) and South Sudan (11) are at the bottom of the index. ` `
Among the Asean countries, Singapore is first, followed by Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. ` `
Muhammad pointed out that Malaysia has deteriorated as institutional reforms have stalled due to the lack of political will to table the Political Financing Bill; the watering down of the proposed Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) Bill; and the lack of progress on reforms to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). ` `
Muhammad added that several other factors include the appointment of politicians without experience to head government-linked companies (GLCs); the limited progress or public update on high profile cases such as the Wang Kelian, Sabah Water and the Littoral Combat Ship cases; the lack of progress on the amendments to the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010; the continued adverse findings and governance failures observed in the Auditor-General’s annual report; and the slow progress of the various initiatives under the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP). ` `
Muhammad said TI-M has recommended that the government narrow the scope of the Official Secrets Act, and share information transparently including the uploading of data on all public contracts while providing regular updates on the status of high profile cases.
` ` “We also urge the government to monitor the implementation of the NACP and empower the chief secretary to the government to be responsible for the successful implementation and achievement of the NACP. ` `
“The government must also adopt the International Standards on Integrity Pact in Government Procurement for transparency and good governance as well as improve the independence of the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC),” he said. ` `
He also urged for the government to address other issues, among them, to reform MACC to make it truly independent by having the body report to the Parliament; to amend the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010; to rectify the Election Offences Act 1954 to include sanctions against corruption; to include misconduct in public office as a provision in the MACC Act to hold public officials accountable for their decisions; and to enact an Asset Declaration Law to compel all politicians and high ranking public officials to declare their assets and make it accessible to the public.
Protesters wearing masks of South Korean President Park Geun Hye (right) and her confidante Choi Soon Sil posing for a performance during a rally denouncing a scandal over President Park’s aide in Seoul on Oct 27, 2016.PHOTO: AFP
Ms Choi, 60, is daughter of the late Choi Tae Min, a shadowy religious figure who married six times, had multiple pseudonyms and set up a cult-like group known as the Church of Eternal Life.
Mr Choi befriended a traumatised Ms Park after the 1974 and 1979 assassinations of her mother and father, who he said had appeared in his dreams asking for his help.
Mr Choi became a key mentor for the young Ms Park, a role that angered a number of key aides to her father, the country’s then military ruler Park Chung Hee