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news without borders
Dialogues essential for better
inter-faith relations, says expert
by Tan Yi Liang
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: Dialogues between Muslims
and non-Muslims and among races are needed
for better relations, says International Institute of
Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS Malaysia) deputy
chief executive officer Osman Bakar.
“Muslims must strive to have more meaningful
dialogues with non-Muslims, and to promote better
inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations,” said Os-
man, who added that Islamic teachings on diversity
“need to be propagated”.
“How we deal with our diversity will be a major
determining factor in Malaysia’s future,” he said.
Osman, who presented a paper titled “Ethnic and
Religious Pluralism: An Islamic Perspective” at IAIS
yesterday, said such dialogues were necessary to
prevent disputes in the Malaysian context, such as
the disputes regarding matrimonial conversions to
Islam or the controversial “body-snatching” issues.
Osman also said pluralism was not only essential
for relations between Muslims and non-Muslims,
but also among the different schools of Islam.
“There is diversity and unity within Islam. When
State govt has given full cooperation
to TNB on CAR project, says MB
SHAH ALAM: The state government has extended
its full cooperation to Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB)
to complete its Central Area Reinforcement (CAR)
project via the state-suggested alternative route,
which is less populated, or the underground cable
method so that the people of Kampung Sungai Ter-
entang, Rawang, can continue dwelling on the land
marked for the CAR alignment.
Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said this
was following a appeals court decision yesterday allow-
ing resident of Kampung Sungai Terentang to set aside
the entry notice issued to TNB to enter the village.
Islam was at its best, there was creative interaction
among the different schools of thought,” he said,
adding that it was necessary to understand the
Islamic social mechanics put in place to encourage
ethnic and religious pluralism.
Osman said the Quran also allowed for a “healthy
competition” among religions.
“A civilisational reason in defence and promo-
tion of ethnic and religious pluralism is the divine
appointment of human beings to build a God-cen-
tred human civilisation. This civilisation-building
demands the division of the human family into
many ethnic and religious groups, cooperation
among human beings, and healthy competition
among them.”
“There is an important connection between a
society’s philosophy of pluralism and its well-being.
There are many examples in human history to show
the catastrophic effects of an ill-conceived response
to plurality on human life,” said Osman, adding that
an “enlightened” form of pluralism was needed to
counter such problems.
“The core social teaching of Islam is justice. An
enlightened pluralism is one that seeks to serve the
cause of justice in the human order,” said Osman.
The court declared the entry notice issued by TNB
on July 21, 2007 as null and void and has issued an
injunction preventing TNB from entering the area to
build power lines.
It was reported 98% of the project had been com-
pleted except for the 1km stretch which has been the
subject of dispute between the residents and TNB.
The RM400 million project, which began in July
2005, was supposed to have been completed in Aug
2007. Its final leg, at Kampung Sungai Terentang,
stalled when 20 of the 40 residents refuse to given up
the land they have been dwelling on for decades.
Cows were donation,
not bribe: Khalid
by Maria J. Dass
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
SHAH ALAM: Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid
Ibrahim said yesterday no state funds were used
to donate cows to Bandar Tun Razak to be sac-
rificed for Hari Raya Qurban and neither did he
instruct any state company to do so.
Responding to allegations against him by the
People’s Anti-Corruption Movement (Gerak), he said
the state exco had never given instructions for this,
and as chairman of state subsidiary Perbadanan
Kamajuan Negri Selangor (PKNS), he was not in-
volved in decisions on who to donate the cows to.
Earlier yesterday, Gerak chairman Mohd
Nazree Mohd Yunus lodged a report with the
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)
claiming that Abdul Khalid had used state funds to
sponsor 46 head of cattle to be slaughtered and
distributed in Bandar Tun Razak.
Abdul Khalid said that during his corporate
days, he had suggested that the companies he
helmed gave donations in the form of cows for
Hari Raya Qurban instead of donating money for
dinners and such. “At least, this was like a blessing
for the company,” he said.
“Similarly, I suggested that PKNS donate cows
to all mosques in Selangor.
“We had sufficient cattle for Selangor and
that is why when an associate company of PKNS
asked to donate more cows to
‘Lunar lions’ liven it up ...
‘Lions’ take to the streets of Kuala Lumpur in traditional lunar new year style, livening
up the morning in Jalan Pasar Baru and entertaining shoppers and hawkers. Dancers
from the Hong Mou Lion Dance Troupe also distributed ang pow to hawkers in the
area.
‘Probe case of man who died in police custody’
by Charles Ramendran
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PETALING JAYA: Opposition MPs and other po-
litical leaders gathered outside the Subang Jaya
district police headquarters yesterday calling for a
thorough probe into the death of a 22-year-old car
theft suspect in police custody on Tuesday.
About 100 people including the family mem-
bers of the dead man Kugan Ananthan, Kapar MP S.
Manikavasagam, Puchong MP Gobind Singh, Teluk
Intan MP. M. Manoharan, Keadilan’s Selangor Youth
leader Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainuddin, MIC Youth
Leader T. Mohan and Police Watch and Human
Rights committee head S. Jayathas arrived at the
headquarters at 3.30pm to lodge a report. The sup-
porters carried banners which bore the pictures of
Kugan’s body taken at Serdang Hospital.
The photos showed bruises, swells, cuts and
abrasions all over the body and froth oozing from
the mouth and nose.
“It is the most brutal and horrific case of police
brutality I have ever seen. It appears that not an
inch of his body had been spared. I urge the fed-
eral police to immediately probe the death of this
young man. His family is seeking justice and those
theSun | THURSDAY JANUARY 22 2009
the state I suggested they instead donate the cat-
tle to mosques in Cambodia or Bandar Tun Razak
as I am the MP for the area,” he said.
He said the cows were for the people and not
for political parties.
“I viewed this as a donation and not as a bribe,”
Abdul Khalid said.
“If a donation goes into the mentri besar’s,
prime minister’s or deputy prime minister’s
pockets or if the cattle never reached its destina-
tion, then it is worthwhile to pursue the matter,”
he said, adding that this was a stupid battle for
Gerak to pick.
“I did not ask the company to give the cows
and then tell them ‘if you don’t give we won’t give
you work (projects)’ or ‘I will strangle you’,” Abdul
Khalid said.
“If Gerak is worth its salt it should do a lot of
homework. If not, it will be seen to be used by
bodies for political reasons,” he said, adding that
if this was what they were picking on then one
could be referred to the Malaysian Anti Corruption
Council (MACC) giving free water, free shoes to
schoolchildren or giving a cigarette to a friend.
In a statement issued late yesterday evening,
Abdul Khalid clarified that the cows were donated
by six subsidiary and associate companies to PKNS
as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) drive, with-
out any intervention by state authori-
ties.
SHARIL AMIN/THESUN
responsible must face the law,” said lawyer N.
Surenthiran, who is representing Kugan’s family.
Three police reports were lodged by the
deceased’s family, Manikavasagam and Khairul
calling for the incident to be probed.
Manikavasagam said there are two witnesses
to the assault on Kugan who are willing to come
forward to reveal what they saw.
“It was the first time he had ever been de-
tained by police and he came out dead. We were
never told where he was being held. We looked
for him everywhere since his arrest on Jan 15 but
the police only informed us on Tuesday that he
had died,” said Kugan’s mother, N. Indra.
She said her son did not suffer from asthma
as claimed by police.
Selangor police chief DCP Datuk Khalid Abu
Bakar, when contacted, urged all parties not to
speculate on the death of the man and allow
police to probe the case.
He said Kugan was with another suspect when
he was arrested in Sg Chua, Kajang after a car
chase by a team of detectives.
He said police recovered 15 stolen cars, in-
cluding 13 from a godown in Puchong yesterday,
based on information gathered from Kugan.