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No Atheists
In A Foxhole

Rudyard Kipling

" ā€œWhen you're left wounded on
Afganistan's plains and

the women come out to cut up what remains,
Just roll to your rifle

and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldierā€
General Douglas MacArthur

" ā€œWe are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.ā€

ā€œIt is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.ā€
ā€œOld soldiers never die; they just fade away.
ā€œThe soldier, above all other people, prays for peace,
for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.ā€
ā€œMay God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .ā€
ā€œThe object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.

ā€œNobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
ā€œIt is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.
Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."

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Lone wolves and enemies of the state By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Monday, May 20, 2024

Malaysiakini : Furthermore, the arrest of various individuals and the inspector-general of policeā€™s public comments suggest that this was not merely a lone wolf operation but a planned attack to acquire weapons for other unknown purposes.

The IGP then issued another clarification backing up the narrative of the home minister that this was a lone wolf operation.

This dissonance between the political apparatus and the state security apparatus further creates a chaotic atmosphere that religious extremists thrive on.

Power of one

The second issue is that lone wolf attacks are perhaps more devastating than planned coordinated attacks by known groups simply because the state security apparatus has no intelligence on them.

The post-9/11 security landscape has been defined by lone wolf terrorist attacks and in the Malaysian context, recent attempted terrorist attacks on the KK Mart stores are the definition of lone wolf attacks.

Keep in mind, the dead terrorist in this police station attack had no criminal record.

The connective tissue between his act was that he was allegedly radicalised by his father who was a known Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) member and who no doubt was on the list that Saifuddin thinks keeps the JI situation under control.

An important factor which we should consider when discussing this subject is the question of deradicalisation (I despise the term ā€œrehabilitationā€) that Saifuddin referred to when discussing JI.

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail

The home minister said: ā€œThe police approach is to continue interacting with them to ensure the rehabilitation process continues and not be a threat to the community.

ā€œAlhamdulillah, this JI (movement) is still under control and I believe the police have the experience to manage (a similar incident at the Ulu Tiram police station) based on the database and patterns of the incidents.ā€


READ MORE: KINIGUIDE | Ulu Tiram terror attack - Jemaah Islamiyah in Malaysia


You have to wonder how much interaction and rehabilitation went on between the state security apparatus and this family who were living in seclusion and carrying out activities in secret which resulted in the deaths of two state security personnel.

Keep in mind that Nasir Abbas, a former member of JI who now cooperates with the Indonesian authorities in its deradicalisation programmes, said of Riduan Isamuddin aka Encep Nurjaman aka Hambali as ā€œso eloquent and so clever. You couldnā€™t help but be left with a good impression of himā€.

Remember that Hambali was carrying out his activities of planning, recruiting and evangelising in a small village in Selangor.

JI member Hambali

How many other men that give a good impression operate under the radar of the state and carry out sub rosa activities or maybe even activities out in the open which conform to the narrative of the state but are methods of radicalisation that turn average citizens against the state?

Mind you the process of deradicalisation is an effective tool in the arsenal of the state but this has to be done in a manner which integrates radicalised families or individuals into mainstream society without compromising the security of the homeland.

The Indonesian experience, which is a combination of ruthless military and legal action with the softer approach of deradicalisation, seems to have worked.

In a 2023 interview with Alif Satria, a researcher at the department of politics and social change at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Indonesia, Al Jazeera reported that ā€œderadicalisation programmes led by the police in the early 2000s were also critical in ensuring that those arrested did not re-engage with hardline groups once they were releasedā€.

ā€œAs a result, Indonesia has managed to keep its recidivism rate at around 11 percent,ā€ Alif said.

Furtile ecosystem for lone wolves

The situation in Malaysia is different. Mainstream political rhetoric and policy are determined by race and religion, which more often than not share many similarities with the extreme ideas of these cells or individuals.

What we are dealing with is groups or individuals who think that the state is not going far enough when it comes to the theocratic state project.

We are dealing with groups or individuals who think that there should only be one R in the 3R (race, religion and royalty) which is what makes them so dangerous to the mainstream Malay political establishment.

But the problem is that because of the way politics is defined in this country, what we are left with is ample recruiting grounds in the forms of polarised universities, unchecked madrasahs and independent preachers who are coddled by the state and of course a political apparatus which radicalises mainstream politics with race and religion.

This is a fertile ecosystem for lone wolves to be nurtured. These religious extremists view Malaysian society as one big happy family, meaning that, unlike the mainstream political establishment, they view Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and Christians as equal on their hunting grounds.

These two slain police officers are proof of this.

Police officers Ahmad Azza Fahmi Azhar (left) and Muhamad Syafiq Ahmad Said who were killed in a attack on the Ulu Tiram police station on Friday

A certain section of the Malaysian polity is always demonised as enemies of Islam. What attacks like these demonstrate is that the enemy is within.

Until the state realises this, there is no safety or security from lone wolves.

posted by Major D Swami (Retired) @ 8:53 AM   0 comments
The disgraced ex-PM and the 'duda' By Mariam Mokhtar
Sunday, May 19, 2024

Malaysiakini : Two men, and two lifestyles. The poor and the privileged.

Firstly, consider the speed at which justice was dispensed. With money, not only do you pay for the best legal counsel, you can also ā€œslow downā€ time.

On April 22, the duda (widower), started his month-long jail term. He admitted stealing 10 cans of sardines, four bottles of mouthwash, and two bottles of Nescafe from a convenience store in Parit Raja.

He had already been charged the previous week, at the Batu Pahat Magistrateā€™s Court, under Section 380 of the Penal Code.

Jamaluddinā€™s case was dealt with exceptional speed, within a week, from the time he committed the crime on April 18, to his arrest, sentencing, and incarceration. It was a job well done.

On the same day, April 22, around 250km away at PKRā€™s 25th-anniversary convention in Shah Alam, Anwar said that the Pardons Board would decide where Najib would spend his sentence.

We appear to flip-flop from the Pardons Board to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, to Anwar and ignore the final words of the nine judges who sentenced Najib.

Allegations of wrongdoing with 1MDB, which had its beginnings as the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA) had been swirling around since 2009.

For over a decade, Najibā€™s former cabinet buried their heads in the sand and denied that their boss had abused taxpayersā€™ funds. They gave the lies a legitimacy of sorts, with tales about an Arab prince.

Najib denied all charges against him. He thwarted many attempts to bring him to court. He tried his best to avoid the hearings by claiming ill health, but we persevered. After four years, the disgraced ex-PM was finally jailed.

Pure greed

Secondly, was the motivation for the crime.

The average cost of the items stolen by Jamaluddin was probably around RM250. He stole to feed his children, whereas Najib stole to maintain his wife and familyā€™s luxurious lifestyle.

It is highly probable that Najib also set aside some funds to help influence voters and more importantly, the Umno Baru divisional heads to secure a win in any election. After all, cash is king.

With the economic downturn, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, no one should be surprised if Jamaluddin had probably been made redundant.

Jamaluddin stole to survive. He needed to sustain his family. Without food, his family would starve.

However, Najibā€™s motivation was pure greed.

Thirdly, Jamaluddin appealed for a lighter sentence because he had children to support. The prosecution contended that an appropriate sentence be meted out to serve as a lesson to him. Also, the shop owner had sustained losses.

By all means, teach Jamaluddin a lesson, but when he is in jail, his children are either uncared for, have to be taken into welfare, or must be cared for by others. It increases the burden and worry on him and his children. Could he not be given a community sentence?

Although nine senior judges sentenced Najib, also to teach him a lesson and send the message that crime does not pay, it is incredulous that his friends in high places are eager to show him compassion by reducing his sentence.

Quick to forget

Malaysia is crippled by debt from decades of poor leadership, mishandling of the economy, and Najibā€™s theft. The world economic downturn and pandemic multiplied the rakyatā€™s suffering.

Malaysians mudah lupa (forget easily). How are we to learn from our mistakes, if we ignore the basic principles in life, and keep repeating our mistakes?

Why should Najib spend the rest of his sentence under house arrest? He would enjoy fine dining, wifi, the best entertainment, proper bathroom facilities with hot and cold running water, the company of friends and family, and luxuriate in air-conditioned comfort in his palatial mansion when he is not relaxing in his landscaped gardens and not a prison yard. This is no punishment.

If you recall, Najib lied, and his then-cabinet supported him and dismissed all the allegations of wrongdoing.

Clare Rewcastle-Brown

Clare Rewcastle-Brown helped expose 1MDB and evidence from the American Justice Department finally convinced the Malaysians in denial. They refused to believe that a man with Najibā€™s political pedigree could be a thief. They were wrong!

Rewcastle-Brown now faces separate charges in court. One wonders if the Madani administration has abandoned her in her hour of need. She helped bring them to power but is now hung out to dry. Shame on them.

Najib does not deserve an iota of sympathy, nor does he deserve house arrest.

He may have friends in high places and be related to the nobility, but they only attract our contempt by defending this common thief.

If only Anwar would realise that by standing firm, and not detracting from Najibā€™s original sentence, he may recover his somewhat tarnished reputation.

posted by Major D Swami (Retired) @ 3:55 PM   0 comments
Donā€™t trivialise Ulu Tiram terror attack By R Paneir Selvam

Malaysiakini : Moreover, it is imperative for our government to officially designate this incident solely as a terrorist attack, without any alternative labels.

One of the victims of the attack at the Ulu Tiram police station

Doing so will instil a profound sense of assurance and guidance for the intelligence and security agencies in Malaysia, enabling them to effectively dismantle the resurging terrorist organisation known as the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).

Furthermore, on Friday, the police apprehended two individuals for trying to enter Istana Negara. They were caught with a machete in their vehicle.

The vehicle carrying a machete near Istana Negara

While the investigation is still ongoing, the police should thoroughly examine the situation from different perspectives, such as determining if these individuals are associated with the Ulu Tiram JI terrorist cell.

Ulu Tiram terrorist attack

Prior to the Ulu Tiram terrorist incident, we had one terrorist attack in Puchong, back in 2016. It was referred to as the Movida Bar attack and it involved religious extremist groups.

Following the incident, the police initiated a crackdown on supporters, sympathisers, and terrorists associated with known terror organisations in Malaysia.

Several individuals were successfully prosecuted in court as a result. However, in recent years, there has been a decrease in the visibility of investigations and prosecutions targeting individuals linked to terrorist groups and their activities.

Movida bar attack in 2016

This decline in visibility could potentially be a contributing factor to the resurgence of terrorist organisations like JI, as the erroneous beliefs deeply rooted within the members of these groups are reignited.

According to Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, the Ulu Tiram attack seems to have been perpetrated by a lone wolf.

However, it is plausible that this individual may have emerged from a sleeper cell, operating alongside other members who function independently.

Surprisingly, the police have not classified them as high-risk individuals in their investigative scope, which is quite perplexing considering their previous proactive approach in addressing similar issues.

While the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing in the UK and the 2013 Boston bombing in the US are often categorised as lone-wolf terrorist attacks, investigations into these incidents unveiled the presence of handlers who provided guidance until the final moments when the attacks were carried out, resulting in the tragic loss of innocent lives.

Hence, it is imperative for politicians to refrain from interfering in the work of professionals such as the police when it comes to addressing national security concerns.

It is crucial to grant the security forces complete autonomy and freedom to carry out investigations without any external influence.

This will enable the police to effectively conclude the investigation by uncovering the full network of a terrorist organisation such as JI and apprehending all terrorists, including the main operatives, who are active both within and beyond the nationā€™s borders.

Several categories

The prevailing pattern of terrorist attacks can be categorised into several aspects.

Firstly, there is a rise in lone wolf attacks, where individuals carry out acts of terrorism independently.

Secondly, these attacks often involve the use of non-conventional weapons, as exemplified by the Ulu Tiram terrorist attack where a machete was initially employed.

Thirdly, the perpetrators tend to be self-radicalised and self-financed.

Fourthly, these terrorists are often perceived as non-threatening until the actual attack occurs.

Lastly, the identities of their handlers are effectively concealed and cannot be traced.

Then, a question must be asked - why was that specific police station targeted and what motivated the terrorist to carry out an attack early in the morning?

Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain

One potential explanation, as highlighted by the Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain is that the terroristā€™s objective in targeting this station was to acquire the weapons stored there.

This scenario prompts serious inquiries into how the terrorist obtained knowledge regarding the presence of weapons in this particular police station, as well as who may have provided such information to him or his associates.

Furthermore, it is essential to consider whether the terrorist conducted a reconnaissance mission prior to the actual attack and whether any suspicious activities were captured by CCTV cameras within the police station before the incident occurred.

Terrorism is evolving

Terrorism is an ever-changing threat that poses a global security concern, requiring constant vigilance from all nations to ensure the safety of their citizens.

We cannot assume that our country is immune to terrorist attacks.

The United Kingdom learned this lesson the hard way when they experienced the devastating London bombing in 2007 due to a similar mindset among their politicians.

Unfortunately, I have observed a similar mindset among some of our own politicians when it comes to dealing with terrorist groups.

It is crucial for them to recognise that this is a matter of national security, and they have a responsibility to protect the peace and well-being of all Malaysians.


READ MORE: KINIGUIDE | Ulu Tiram terror attack - Jemaah Islamiyah in Malaysia


National security should always be a top priority, and no one should be exempt from the law. It is important to remember that a terrorist will always be a terrorist.

In my opinion, hardcore terrorists cannot be rehabilitated, and there is no guarantee that they will not return to their violent ways. They pose a constant danger to our society and nation.

And the Ulu Tiram terrorist attack demonstrates their willingness to carry out attacks in Malaysia, indicating that the threat is very real.

posted by Major D Swami (Retired) @ 2:10 PM   0 comments
Remembering May 13, 1969 By P Gunasegaram
Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Malaysiakini : I based the article on an earlier one I wrote 10 years before that, in 2009, the 40th anniversary, carrying the same title when I was managing editor at The Star. There is a reference to that article in this blog but the article has since been removed, together with my other articles, for reasons best known to the newspaper.

Both articles advocated putting the incident behind us and moving on in the true spirit of multi-racialism in the country.

But after 15 years, I have changed my mind about forgetting the past with increasing accounts not being true to the events. It is important to remember the roots of the incident before we can put it behind us and find appropriate solutions going forward. Thatā€™s part of closure.

Conflicting accounts

The official line is that it was a spontaneous outpouring of emotion by the Malay community in response to grave provocation by opposition parties who had made much progress in the 1969 election.

Others say it was a carefully orchestrated plot by the ruling Alliance, dominated by Umno and supported by MCA and MIC, to stay in power with the ostensible aim of stability for the country. Somewhere in between lies the truth.

There was a victory demonstration by the opposition on May 12, 1969, for which, uncharacteristically, police permission was given. Some accounts say that Tunku Abdul Rahman, the then-prime minister who stepped down in 1970 after the May 13 riots, did not know about the permission given.

Subsequently, Umno wanted to hold its victory parade and plans were made for a big one at the then Selangor chief minister Harun Idrisā€™ residence, in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur on May 13. There are conflicting accounts after this.

Some maintained that rumours of killings and other news resulted in the crowd gathered at Harunā€™s house going out of control. Others talk of a controlled event to express outrage which went out of control. Others speak of a conspiracy.

Tunku Abdul Rahman

Malaysiakini ran an excellent series of articles in 2019 which it republished on its site yesterday titled ā€œMay 13, never again: The 1969 riots that changed Malaysiaā€.

In addition to this, I would recommend reading this note from Malaysiakini titled ā€œMay 13: Why Malaysiakini revisited an old, but persistent, woundā€ which explains why it wrote the series, giving useful references at the end.

Those interested in understanding May 13 should read these accounts of the riots which make fascinating, insightful, frank, but disturbing reading. They are honest accounts of what happened, many of them from eyewitnesses.

Setbacks

Following the polls on May 10, 1969, in Peninsular Malaysia, indications were that the ruling Alliance made up of Umno, MCA, and MIC were on the brink of losing their two-thirds majority in Parliament for the first time ever.

In the peninsula, at the close of voting on May 10, they had won 66 out of 114 seats, or 59 percent, far short of the 67 percent required for a two-thirds majority.

Not only that. They lost Kelantan again to PAS and Penang for the first time since independence to the brand new Gerakan which had made major inroads. The state assembly in Selangor was tied at 14-14, while in Perak, no single party or coalition had a majority. In Kedah and Terengganu too, there were setbacks.

That was an unprecedented setback for the Alliance, the predecessor to todayā€™s BN, and a very unexpected surge in opposition strength which caught both sides of the divide in total surprise.

The Sabah and Sarawak elections were subsequently held in June and July 1969. Even with that, it was a little short of a two-thirds majority after the polls, winning two-thirds only with a pledge by Sarawakā€™s SUPP to join it, as pointed out in this letter to the editor titled ā€œAlliance didn't lose two-thirds in 1969ā€.

In 1970, Abdul Razak Hussein became the second prime minister. He brought in one Dr Mahathir Mohamad, a strong critic of Tunku, back into Umno. Mahathir, who lost in 1969, won a parliamentary seat in the 1974 election and became education minister, till now the fastest rise ever in Umno.

Abdul Razak Hussein

Razak forced a coalition of all parties (the DAP under Lim Kit Siang refused to join) for the 1974 election in August which he won with a resounding majority - 135 seats out of 154, an incredible 88 percent of seats. Less than one and a half years later, in January 1976, Razak died of leukaemia in the UK.

Hussein Onn took over as prime minister, selecting Mahathir as his deputy. Mahathir moved from party outcast to deputy prime minister in just seven years since being expelled from Umno. In 1981, at Husseinā€™s retirement, Mahathir became prime minister, the first non-lawyer to assume the position.

The ruling party held the reins quite firmly until 2008, nearly four decades after May 13, 1969, when Selangor fell to the opposition for the first time along with other states Penang, Kelantan, Kedah, and Perak.

Then came May 2018, just one year short of a half-century from May 13, 1969. BN lost to Pakatan Harapan - a historic defeat for the ruling party.

It has been a rather interesting story but there still needs to be an unvarnished story about May 13, 1969, itself and why it happened. That will help heal the injury caused to the psyche of the nation so as to move forward with purpose and confidence.

It requires honesty, gumption, and brave new writers, as well as a new maturity not yet here to put the historical record right. We canā€™t depend on a government, where Umno Baru calls many shots, to do right by all Malaysians, especially on May 13 - it has to be an effort independent of the government.

posted by Major D Swami (Retired) @ 1:40 PM   0 comments
A Tribute to Sarawakā€™s 20th Senate President Datuk Mutang Tagal from Ba Kelalan - Special report by James Ritchie
Sunday, May 12, 2024


Part 1: From Miracle to a Tragic lossā€‹.
 

My first encounter with Datuk Mutang Tagal and his family go back to 1985 when Sarawakā€™s first correspondent of the New Straits Times. Forty years ago I was invited from attend a gathering of ā€œLun Bawangā€ or ā€œMurutā€ natives celebrating a series of Christian Miracles at Buduk Nur at the foot of Gunung Murud --Sarawakā€™s 7,953 ft highest mountain complex.

It was at Ba Kelalan that I met the prominent family of Pastor Mutang Tagal and two sons Dr Judson Tagal and younger sibling Mutang, a 29-year-old University of Malay-trained lawyer. It was here that Pastor Mutang built up his fortunes of growing the famous ā€œPadi Adanā€ better known as Bario Rice. Pak Tagal also bred the Sabah species of ā€œponiesā€ and had a stable of horses. Together with Ba Kelalanā€™s community of about 1,500 villagers and Tagalā€™s two sons, they also developed the surrounding hills and built a tourist resort.

They built a mini hydro-electric dam which provided power to nine ā€œKampungsā€ the enclave. It was through Pastor Tagal that the community enjoyed that facilities, amenities and a Borneo Evangelical Mission or Sidang Injil Borneoā€ which had served the community since the 2nd world war. My journey to Ba Kelalan entailed flying by Boeing from Kuching to Miri for a night-stop before connecting by MAS Twin Otter to Lawasā€™s Budur Nur airstrip.

After a week of investigations, I wrote (New Straits Times (December 2, 1985) my story. ā€œI saw a video-tape recording of one of the miraclesā€¦women dressed in white skirts and yellow blouses looking up to the sky. ā€œThen as they clapped their hands a small ball a light appeared in the skyā€¦songs of praise and clapping seemed to bring the ball of fire closer and slightly larger. ā€œAs it zig-zagged in the sky the villagers of the Sidang Injil Borneo (Borneo Evangelical Mission) continued singingā€¦it appeared to be keeping in rhythm to the choir.ā€

The reports of ā€œdancing lightsā€ were first reported in April 1985 and at the soccer pitch of the Ba Belan valley watered by quaint streams and brooks and bamboo groves from which they community built their habitat! It was at Ba Kelalan that I met the prophetic pastor Agung Bangau who motivated the villagers to build South East Asiaā€™s highest church called ā€œGedung Hallelujahā€ on the saddle of Mount Kinabalu.

From Gedung Hallelujah, we hiked for four hours to get to the peak to witness the first 6 a.m. sunrise on a misty day. Grand-mothers as old as 80 and children below the age of six from the cluster of Ba Kelalanā€™s 10 villages--Buduk Nur, Long Langai, Long Lemutut, Long Ritan, Long Rusu, Pa Tawing, Buduk Bui, Buduk Aru and Long Rangatā€”have joined in the pilgrimage since. In my first interview with Agung, he spoke of his journey with an angel who brought him to place he called ā€œheavenā€.

As skeptical as I was, I continued to interview many of the villagers and they told me the same story of miracles of a burning bush and how rice had been turned to flour. It was at in this valley interspersed with bamboo groves, that I met an evangelical Indonesian pastor ā€œPenditaā€ Yohanis Sakai from neighboring Krayan who introduced me to his church. Nearly 40 years later I continue to be an avid follower of Pak Yohanis who had started his Bible College called ā€œYayasan Pintuā€---or gateway to heaven, at the City of Samarinda, the capital of East Kalimantan (KALTIM).

He convinced me that the miracles were real and challenged me to follow in his footsteps, bravely venturing into ā€œuncharteredā€ spiritual waters in Kalimantan. On my first night at Ba Kelalan, I had the first encounter with an ā€œunholy spiritā€ but after Pak Yohanis laid hands on me, I was healed and apparently born-again. Later, Pastor Mutang who is related to Yohanis and the late Agung grew Indonesian apples at his farm and built a ā€œhome-stayā€ motel for about 120 visitors and tourists.

It was at apple lodge that I cultivated a close relationship with Pastor Tagal, now 91, wife Yamu and Tagal clan now spread out in Kuala Lumpur and abroad. Tagalā€™s first tragedy was he lost his oldest son Dr Judson in a tragic helicopter crash which took the lives of six civil servants and a businessman. Sadly, Datuk Mutangā€™s demise occurred in July 2004--20 years after tragic killing of his Judson.

Part 2: Ba Kelalan: Gateway to North Kalimantan

A ramble into the heart of the Central Highlands straddling the Sarawak-Kalimantan border has never failed to excite the imagination of the avid traveller. With many six foot tall ā€œhighlandersā€ towering over the natives from other tribes on lower lands, I made my first foray into the highlands more than 30 years ago. Armed with these stories of giants who etched their images on massive rocks and boulders, I decided to investigate the origins of their tales as I roamed the hinterland.

I had heard about the Seluyah giants who were as tall 11 to 13 feet and seen etched images of these human beings on massive rocksā€”centuries-old Megaliths, Monoliths, Menhirs and Dolmen the giants had erected in Bario. As the Kelabits and their Lun Dayeh ā€œcousinsā€ shared the same culture, they have formed an association of ā€œHighlandersā€ called FORMADAT to protect their ancestral land.

To further explore North Kalimantan, I sought the assistance of local cultural experts from Long Bawanā€”the administrative centre of ā€œKabupatenā€, a regency within the Kerayan district. My adventure commenced after a 1,000km journey by Boeing from Kuching to Miri then by Twin Otter to Limbang-Lawas and Ba Kelalan. After a night at the ā€œApple Lodgeā€, its owner and former pastor, Tagal Paren sent me off early the next morning.

Alpius drove us by a four-wheel-drive vehicle through the 15km stretch where we entered foreign territory. In the old days, the road was a timber track until it was upgraded in 2002 and tar-sealed 10 years later. But alas, over the years the timber trucks continued to plough through creating a muddy track. Today the stretch resembled a minefield with its many pot-holes which became ā€œcratersā€ especially during the ā€œLandasā€ monsoon between October and February.

Our Toyota Hilux continued to rumble through the broken road to Long Bawanā€”the capital of the Kerayan districtā€”and we passed through the Malaysian and Indonesian Immigration and army checkpoints; we had to ā€œsurrenderā€ our identity cards to the Tentera Nasional Indonesia (TNI) as the border still was not an official CIQ (Customs, Immigration and Quarantine) border crossing.

Since time immemorial, the Ba Kelalan-Long Bawan stretch had been used by the Lun Dayeh of Indonesia for trade; it was especially essential for the Indonesians because the Kerayan district (also spelt Krayan) was cut off from the rest of Indonesian Borneo. It was part of East Kalimantan until president Jokowi decided to form a fifth province-KALIMANTAN UTARA (KALTARA) for better administration. Tagal Paren in his mid-80s said:

ā€œFor centuries, the people of Kerayan would travel on foot to Ba Kelalan to tradeā€”a journey of at least a day. We felt sorry for them because they are our cousins and are cut off from the rest of Indonesia (it still takes two weeks to walk from Long Bawan to the nearest town off the coast, Malinau) until they built their first built their airstrip about 15 years ago.ā€

A member of the Borneo Evangelical Mission (BEM), he is the father of two famous politiciansā€”former Member of Parliament for Lawas, Mutang Tagal and the late Dr Judson Sakai Tagal who was killed in a helicopter crash at the nearby 7,950ft Gunung Murudā€”Sarawakā€™s highest mountainā€”in 2004.

One of my Lun Dayeh associates, a businesswoman Sinang Meru, who was one of the pioneers in the construction of the small Long Bawan airport, recalled that in the old days she had to walk with at least 10 kilos of rice to exchange it for essentials in Ba Kelalan. Sinang, 47, who still shuttles between Sabah and Long Bawan at least twice a month, recounted:

ā€œIn the early 1980s it took me two weeks to walk from Long Bawan to Lawas. I remember that when I was about 10, my uncle had to carry me on his shoulders as we crossed a deep and fast running stream. ā€œNow the road to Ba Kelalan is much improved but there is much to be done because the main connection to Sarawak is not tar-sealed and during the rainy season, the 25km Ba Kelalan-Long Bawan stretch can sometimes take as long as five hours,ā€ she lamented.

Despite the upgrading of the Long Bawan airstrip built by American missionaries, there are only a few weekly flights provided one or two airlines and chartered air services which charge exorbitant rates. The other alternative is to fly by the American Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) which charges 50 percent of its rate for missionaries.

Sinang whose family were originally from Long Adang, a Kelabit village in Limbang, Sarawak, is also a rice dealer offering competitive prices for Kerayanā€™s famous aromatic ā€œPade Adanā€ (Adan rice) to customers as far as Jakarta! Lun Dayeh of Kerayan are the biggest rice growers in the central highlands. Several years ago the Kelabits were the greatest rice growers who cultivated the famous Bario rice which has found its way to Peninsular Malaysia.

Now growing Bario rice has become a pastime as the educated younger population have left the village for employment. The dilemma became acute when it was difficult to employ Indonesian workers because of strict immigration laws and low wages. As such ā€œPade Adanā€ is re-packed and sold as Bario rice.

Part 3 : Ba Kelalan--A Ghost town in a Christian Belt

In the old days the border village of Ba Kelalan with its friendly people, temperate climate and green valleys was touted as the ā€œShari laā€ of Sarawak. But in recent times it has been reduced to a ā€œghost townā€ because of circumstances that led to the authorities abandoning this small Lun Bawang community 3,000. Buduk Nur village elder retired pastor Tagal Paran, 86, remembers well the days when Ba Kelalan was a hub of tourism for the ā€œBorn-againā€ Christians from the Borneo Evangelical Church (BEM) in this remote region.

A former President of the BEM, Tagal said: ā€œBa Kelalan was a great tourist attraction because of our friendly Christian folk. ā€œIn the late 1980s we built a Church at a saddle at the 7,950ft Gunung Murud and we attracted thousands who made a pilgrimage to the village to attend the annual revival service in the mountain church,ā€ he said.

Over the last 25 years Christians as well as nature lovers would make the annual trek up South East Asiaā€™s highest church (7,000ft) to worship or enjoy the unique montane flora and rock formation. ā€œEach July the pilgrims which included elderly folk would trek close to nine hours to the church at Camp Halleluyah and an additional four hours to get to the peak. .ā€

But over the last few years we have built a road half way up the mountain and now it takes less than four hours to get to the Church,ā€ he said. Times were so good that Tagal started an apple farm and tried to breed horses in the early1990sā€”he also established a motel-type ā€œhomestayā€ which could accommodate about 40 people. Looking back at the good old days, Tagal said:

ā€œEven the Governor of Sarawak Tun Mhamed Salahuddin visited us to sample the apples at my farm. ā€œLater we diversified and took visitors on treks through the jungle, bird-watching and basically eco-tours. I even offered my horses for rides in the countryside.ā€ Business was thriving as the Lun Dayeh neighbours from across the border in Indonesian Kerayan bought their provisions from Buduk Nur.

Five years ago the government provided micro hydro dams to all the cluster of 11 villages in Ba Kelalan so that they could enjoy unending supply of electricity. It was a glorious time because the assemblyman for Ba Kelalan was Dr Judson Sakai Tagal, Tagalā€™s eldest son who had great plans for his village. However, Judson was tragically killed in a helicopter crash in 2004 while scouring the area for a location where the government could built a large hydro dam to serve the region.

Following the incident, Ba Kelalanā€™s fortunes began to wane; more timber trucks began to use the old 160km Lawas-Ba Kelalan ploughing up its surface it on a daily basis. Five years ago the army upgraded a 60km stretch from Long Sukang to Buduk Nur, but within two years it too began to disintegrate. ā€œIā€™m not sure what happened but they could have used inferior material to construct the road.

Only a section of the road from Lawas to Ba Kelalan is tar-sealed and so itā€™s a long and bumpy ride to the village,ā€ he lamented. Today, what should be a 90-minute drive from the Lawas coast to the Kelalan valley, is a dusty four- hour roller coaster drive during the dry season or slippery and dangerous ride when it rains. . Ironically, the 29km-long ā€œHighwayā€ connecting Sarawak to Indonesia has been closed.

ā€œA year ago the Indonesian stretch was a mud-field until President Jokowi pumped in millions of dollars to build a ā€œhighwayā€ from Long Api to Long Bawan said Lun Bawang business woman Sinang Meru. Several years ago Indonesian community from Kerayan were given permission drive to Lawas to buy essentials instead of stopping over at Buduk Nur. Tagal lamented:

ā€œSo we became a ghost town and the business community suffered to the extent that the village co-operative had to be closed down.ā€ However, recently there was a glimmer of hope as the government has stated building an CIQ-customs, immigration and quarantine complex not far from Ba Kelalan. ā€œWe were told that the CIQ will be opened soon and when that happens it appears that our fortunes will change,ā€ said Tagal who has started a sheep farm and hopes to buy a few more horses.

ā€œIf all goes well then, I might even re-establish my apple farm and buy a stallion for my mare. Three of my horses were killed when they were hit by careless road users,ā€ he complained. During a recent visit to Ba Kelalan, the authorities agreed to limit travel into Sarawak to by-pass Ba Kelalan until the CIQ is completed. On another issue, Tagal said that the proposed road between Ba Kelalan and Bario is almost complete but has been work has apparently been suspended.

He said: ā€œI was told that the highland road is just several kilometres from Bario but the contractor laid off his workers because he was not fully paid. ā€œIf the road to Bario was completed the people from both regions would have better business opportunities. It will make it possible to travel by land from Miri to the highlands without having to pass through Brunei.ā€ In fact the 60km Bario-Ba Kelalan highland road will be the inaugural ā€œPan Borneoā€ highway because Malaysians would be able to drive from Kuching to Miri and then all the way to Sabah. Tagal added:

ā€œWe are going through exciting times and I hope that I will be able to use the highland road to Bario to meet my long-lost friends and church members. They too will happy because the Kelabits and Lun Bawang are related. Former Minister of works Baru Bian who is from Ba Kelalan, hoped it would be matter of time before the missing link is connected. Indeed, if Baru who has returned to the GPS-fold recently can achieve this, we can make the Borneo highlands great again.

Captions 1.Prophetic pastor Agung Bangau 2. Sarawak sightingsā€”a display of lights in the sky 3. Making of a classic movie 4. Tribune report-a Ghost Town called Ba Kelalan 5.JR and his twin brother 6. Old bamboo bridge across gthe Kelalan Tributary 7. Aerial view of Buduk Nurā€™s soccer pitch where the congregation prayed 8. The 7,953 ft Summit of Gunung Murud 9. Pastor Tagal Paran-father who had he tragic loss of two sons

posted by Major D Swami (Retired) @ 5:44 PM   0 comments
KKB polls ā€“ Anwar can claim bragging rights By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy

Malaysiakini : His ā€œdonā€™t spook the Malaysā€ mantra will now become the foundational first principle of the Madani regime.

The PAS-led Perikatan Nasional did itself no favours in this by-election but the reality is they have nothing really to lose.

They understand they are already making inroads, and what they have to contend with is how to counter the governmentā€™s role in solidifying votes through entitlement programmes through the civil service and the state security apparatus.

Perikatan Nasional supporters

Indeed, following the prime ministerā€™s agenda of increasing the wages of civil servants, even the DAP-led Penang is getting in on the act.

And besides, with Anwar always attempting to curry favour with those in places like Terengganu, they understand the base will take the help but will not abandon the cause. It also points to how Anwar and his enablers view the Malaysian experience.

While in Terengganu, Anwar said, ā€œDonā€™t tell me (that) with the wealth of all the agencies, the ministry is unable to rescue more than 1,000 families from hardcore poverty?ā€

Well yes, the government could do a lot for the people, but because all policy is predicated on race and religion, people depending on their race and religion are left to fend for themselves. And the irony is that even ā€œketuanan-ismā€ cannot save you from the vagaries of life.

But Anwar cannot be blamed for playing the race card because even in this by-election, DAP played the race card.

The DAP candidate said, ā€œI feel nervous because today we will decide the future development of SJKC Khing Mingā€, which is exactly the kind of thing the MCA said back in the day.

Kuala Kubu Baharu assemblyperson-elect Pang Sock Tao who is from DAP

And let us not forget that the Indian estate issue was settled or at least a promise made, so this callback to BN-style politics is complete.

Vindication of govt actions

PKR information chief Fahmi Fadzil should be in a celebratory mood.

This by-election, if it turned out differently, could have been a wake-up call, for how he and his cohorts at PKR are handling issues from the way the press is being constrained to how Umnoā€™s incitement led to businesses being subject to attempted terrorist attacks.

Now folks like Fahmi understand that it really doesnā€™t matter if they weaponise government agencies or attempt to shoot the messenger when it comes to unpopular news about the Madani regime - all this will be supported by the vast majority of non-Malays.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the win demonstrated the ā€clear acceptance and understanding of the governmentā€™s focus to ensure the welfare of the security forcesā€.

So, folks, you can kiss something like the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) goodbye because nobody in the state security apparatus wants something like that.

And hey, the minister is right because if people really cared about independent oversight of our state security apparatus, they would vote for people who want the same thing or hold the party they vote for accountable.

Home Minister and PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail

Saifuddin also said PNā€™s campaign was all about the three Rs which is most probably right but what he misses or more like really does not care about, is that this federal government has been platforming the three Rs since it came into power.

Just look at how this government handled issues like KK Mart, Hamas, and of course, the alleged casino reporting for Forest City.

What the DAP brings to any kind of coalition is the majority backing of a voting demographic and, hence, they can claim to be the ā€œvoiceā€ of the community on secular and egalitarian issues.

However, what this by-election win shows Anwar, and this is mainly with the non-Malay vote, is that DAP does not need to be a secular and egalitarian guardrail for his regime.

More importantly what this by-election demonstrates is that even though he has pushed the religious boundaries for a supposedly moderate Islamic regime, the base which supports the DAP will fall into line because they view the alternative as worse.

If ordinary people stand their ground, the religious fascist gig is up.

It is not about concentrating on the economy. It is about acknowledging that the efforts to reinvigorate the economy are being deliberately hampered using religion and race and this will ultimately lead to an economic downturn.

If this was to be a bellwether on how non-Muslims feel about the Madani regime, the answer should be pretty clear.

posted by Major D Swami (Retired) @ 5:02 PM   0 comments
The millstones around Anwar's neck By Mariam Mokhtar
Saturday, May 11, 2024

Malaysiakini : The 76-year-old Anwar and his trusted lieutenants encouraged more youths to get involved in politics, but are those who show promise being groomed? Are they allowed to flourish and gain experience tackling the countryā€™s many challenges?

Not walking the talk

He may have campaigned on an anti-corruption platform, but when tasked with forming the new government, he invited senior politicians facing a slew of corruption charges to join his coalition.

How does one have confidence in his Madani administration with untrustworthy people in his cabinet?

When he told Muslims to take advantage of the miracles of the Quran and instructed the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) to provide greater input into government policymaking, Malaysians became wary.

The many issues Malaysians face, like divisions in society, increased intolerance, inexplicable fear of the crucifix, hatred of dogs and pigs, prying in non-Muslim affairs, invasions of privacy of some Malays by the khalwat squad, and the whipping of women for having illicit sex, were all facilitated by Jakim.

What did Jakim do to highlight the convicted felon, Najib Abdul Razakā€™s corruption in 1MDB? When PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said there was no such thing as corruption, why didnā€™t Jakim correct him? Anwar has not helped by giving Jakim more power.

When Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh brought the country to its knees by attacking a private enterprise with allegations of humiliating Islam and insulting Allah, why did Jakim stay silent? Anwar also kept quiet for weeks until the situation worsened.

The Perak mufti took seven weeks to announce what we already knew concerning the KK Mart attacks. Other muftis followed his lead, but where were they when the nation was on tenterhooks for two months? This is what happens when they emulate a leader who lacks leadership.

Anwar once said he wanted to ā€œupliftā€ the dignity of the government but he can only do so if men and women of integrity occupy positions of power in the cabinet.

Focus on Malaysiansā€™ needs

In recent weeks, Anwar rejected claims that he failed to help the Indian community since taking office. When shaping his reply, he urged the Indians to ā€œstabā€ him if they felt that his help had been insufficient.

As PM, Anwarā€™s language is not premier-like. He could have used a different word when referring to the Indians. The word ā€œstabā€ has probably revealed his innermost feelings about the Indians. Is his vocabulary too limited to describe his interaction with them? Stabbing reminds us of violence and death.

He needs to be reminded of the time when a young Indian teenager asked about university quotas for non-Malay students. It was shocking how he publicly humiliated her. The bottom line of his response was that itā€™s all about votes. Nothing more, nothing less.

As leader of a peaceful, multi-cultural, multiethnic, and multifaith nation, Anwarā€™s support for the terrorist group Hamas and his justification of the explosive Iranian drones on Israel, are both reckless and unfathomable.

US Treasury Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Undersecretary Brian Nelson

The claim, on May 9, by the US Treasury Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Undersecretary Brian Nelson, that American security forces had been monitoring ship-to-ship oil transfers in Malaysian waters is serious.

Washington has also said Malaysia is a transit point for Iranian oil, dodging US sanctions, helping the terrorist Hamas raise funds, and being a party to the Iranians by perpetuating violence and conflict in the Middle East.

The Middle East is like a tinderbox and Anwar need not muddy the waters further and drag Malaysia into the confrontation. He could have urged restraint on all sides - Israel, Hamas, and Iran - but he did not.

He could have suggested more dialogue but failed to do so.

When the US sneezes, Malaysia will catch a cold. Do not doubt the power of economic sanctions because, at the end of the day, it is the rakyat who suffer.

With all these in mind, Anwar should focus on the needs of Malaysiaā€™s own citizens above the needs of others.

posted by Major D Swami (Retired) @ 2:59 PM   0 comments
Another sequel to Comical Aliā€™s art of (mis)information By R Nadeswaran

Malaysiakini : He created lies and half-truths, most of which kept us amused despite the vagaries of war which resulted in the loss of lives.

A decade later, many clones of the Iraqi minister appeared on the local scene, making vain attempts to defend then-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak over his involvement in the 1MDB saga.

Then communications minister Salleh Said Keruak was dubbed Malaysiaā€™s Comical Ali for similar outrageous comments on the US Department of Justice (DoJ).

Many stood in line to say his or her piece, especially after Najibā€™s ā€œmy way or the highwayā€ statement to cabinet colleagues.

Among them was then Umno information chief Annuar Musa, who said the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report should absolve 1MDB of allegations that it lost RM42 billion and transferred RM2.6 billion into the prime ministerā€™s personal accounts.

ā€œIt is impossible for him to be involved in the companyā€™s day-to-day operations. The management of 1MDB should be commended for its success in managing the company despite the pressure mounted by various parties that affected its reputation,ā€ he had said.

MCAā€™s Wee Ka Siong said the PAC report showed that the prime minister was not behind the management of 1MDB.

ā€œThey were just pure business deals. We should learn from the weaknesses which have been identified and move on,ā€ he said.

Malaysians are now being treated to local ā€œComical Aliā€ moments but some are not yet getting into the mould of Ali Hassan. If they try a bit harder, they may get there!

A new successor?

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil was in his element commenting on Malaysiaā€™s slide by 37 points in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index published last week by Reporters Sans Borders (RSF).

ā€œBeing at 107, that for me, is still an unsatisfactory achievement but itā€™s not too bad either. In 2021, we were on the 119th rung; in 2022, we were ranked 113th.

ā€œHowever, the current position is still good compared to the previous administrations,ā€ Bernama quoted him as saying.

If that was not convincing, he came out with a blinder the following day.

He said the RSF Index was not the gold standard, which earned him an immediate and stiff retort from its Asia-Pacific bureau director Cedric Alviani.

ā€œI would disagree with Fahmiā€™s statement that the RSF index is not a gold standard. We are the only ones with such a comprehensive global index for assessing press freedom.

ā€œWe base our assessment on the reality of the situation for journalists reporting on the ground. Malaysia has fallen by 10 points compared to last year, according to our respondents,ā€ he told Malaysiakini.

If the RSF Index is not the gold standard, what is, YB? Are you going to judge it on the pats on your back that you get from party members and cronies?

If you continue blocking websites and making arrests and when the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) continues to lodge police reports against bloggers, do you expect to move up the index?

A zealous MCMC

Fahmi also defended the MCMC after it had lodged a report against Murray Hunter over his claim that the internet regulator and the police had become politicised institutions.

Hunterā€™s article titled ā€œChegubardā€™s arrest and charging is a warning to all Malaysiansā€, which MCMC said ā€œseemed to be defamatoryā€.

If so, there are avenues through the civil courts, but why is the state getting involved? Whatā€™s so criminal about saying that and it is his opinion?

Rightly, the rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) criticised MCMC for their actions, saying that it was heavy-handed and unnecessary.

It also said a public body funded by taxpayers had no business complaining of defamation.

Fahmi said while LFL had the right to criticise MCMC, he was confident that the internet regulator did so after considering the legalities of it.

ā€œI think MCMC will have (their own) perspective on the matterā€¦ I donā€™t think theyā€™re being a bit too much,ā€ Fahmi said.

ā€œThey have got legal grounds for the action they are pursuing. LFL can comment and criticiseā€¦ Feel free to do so.ā€

But Hunter did the same - comment and criticise. Why then the police reports?

I agree that Section 233 of the MCMC Act makes it an offence to transmit any communication deemed offensive or could cause annoyance to another person.

But this provision should be used judiciously and fairly instead of what has been described as ā€œselective persecutionā€.

On social media, there are hundreds of offensive statements made by politicians, wannabes, and self-appointed guardians of religions. Yet, no action is taken and even the police have classified them as NFA (no further action).

Buck stops with Fahmi

On April 7, Professor James Chin of the University of Tasmania posted a worrying note on his Facebook page. Reproducing a response from X, he noted: ā€œMadani Govt is working hard to crack down on people like me...ā€

As a rejoinder, he posted a note from X which read: ā€œIn the interest of transparency, we are writing to inform you that X has received a request from MCMC regarding your X accounts that claims the following violates (the) law of Malaysia.ā€

He neither criticised nor commented. He forwarded and posted a video clip made by a group from East Malaysia. Why shoot the messenger?

In December, Fahmi denied requesting social media platform X to remove a post critical of him.

Fahmi said neither he, his office, nor his staff lodged any report on the matter, adding that the MCMC has the power to take any action without consulting him.

Is he looking after the boss and his interests? Or is criticism not allowed to be levelled against any minister or the Madani government?

As the minister in charge, Fahmi must be accountable for the actions of all agencies under his purview.

The buck always stops with the boss.

posted by Major D Swami (Retired) @ 2:45 PM   0 comments
Are Madani principles incompatible with a free press? By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Monday, May 06, 2024

Malaysiakini : What exactly are these values, which are so important to the social fabric of this country that it means disregarding universal ideas of press freedom?

I never bought into that clichĆ© of ā€œfree pressā€ believing that such a state is heavily reliant on context and generally those who advocated this ideal rarely practised it themselves.

This doesnā€™t mean I donā€™t subscribe to the concept of a ā€œmarketplace of ideasā€, which depends on the freedom of expression that has always been constrained here in Malaysia; the press is the prime example.

What happened to repealing the Sedition Act?

When Harapan political operatives were not in power, they demonised the BN and Perikatan Nasional regimes about various laws, like the Sedition Act. Indeed the best summation of why this act is so vile is in an opinion piece in 2023 by Madpet, which laid out the existential threat to free speech and expression:

The Sedition Act criminalises seditious tendency - intention is irrelevant, truth is no defence, and freedom of expression is sidelined.

It makes it an offence to do or say things that ā€˜have a seditious tendency to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection againstā€¦ā€™. Hence, it does not matter if what was said was even the truth or a justified opinion, for all that matters is whether it had a seditious tendency or not.

Whether the maker of the statement had the intention of doing this act that caused a seditious tendency is irrelevant.

To give you an example of how disingenuous Harapan is when it comes to the Sedition Act, here is DAPā€™s Ramkarpal Singh in 2018 berating the Harapan regime under Dr Mahathir Mohamad for continuing to use the Sedition Act - ā€œIt is not difficult to repeal the Sedition Act as such a move will likely be supported in Parliament the way the goods and services tax (GST) was abolished.ā€

The Bukit Gelugor MP also said then-deputy home minister Mohd Azis Jammanā€™s announcement that the Sedition Act will continue to be used until it is amended or abolished misses the point that such laws ought not to be used on anyone, regardless of political affiliation, as Harapan had promised to repeal the act in its election manifesto.

And then Ramkarpal in 2023 reminded everyone that the Anwar administration would not repeal the Sedition Act saying: ā€œWe have many more engagement rounds to go, and I hope we can complete them in the next few months and come up with recommendations on how the law can be improved.ā€

From virulently condemning the law, now some people want to improve it. Is something like the Sedition Act part of our Eastern values or manners of how things are done in Malaysia?

Take this whole 3R issue. When Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh started this KK Mart issue, why didnā€™t the state gag him using instruments like the Sedition Act? Why wasnā€™t he sanctioned by the political class using the various 3R laws to stop this incitement which led to terrorist attacks on private property?

The answer is simple. These 3R laws are generally meant for non-Malays. After all, various Malay political operatives, preachers and religious leaders have insulted the non-Malays, insulted non-Muslim religions, and yes, insulted and defied the royalty, but no action was taken against them beyond chats with the state security apparatus, which amounted to bupkis.

Insults against Islam

It is only the most disingenuous Harapan supporter who would gaslight you into believing that these laws are needed to stop the extremists from the opposition.

Donā€™t believe me? Well, take a look at the new Islamic Development Department (Jakim) hotline where the rakyat are encouraged or are enabled to report insults against Islam. This is not some sort of half-baked attempt at populist religious appeal.

Minister in the Prime Ministerā€™s Department (Religious Affairs) Mohd Naā€™im Mokhtar, reminds us ā€œā€¦the initiative is a collaboration between Jakim, state religious departments, police, and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.ā€

ā€œSo it has to be collaborative. This means complaints can be made immediately and Jakim with the relevant agencies can take urgent action,ā€ he said.

Why do you think that a federal-controlled initiative does not have a hotline where anyone can lodge a complaint of insults against any religion? Do you think any instrument like this encourages or discourages freedom of expression and a free press?

Now every journalist in this country, every public commenter, would be in the crosshairs of anyone who thinks that Islam was insulted and a report would be made against them. This would include where the religion of the state intrudes into the domains of non-Muslims and of course, anyone pointing this out would theoretically be insulting the religion of the state.

It also lays to rest the rather dumb argument put forward by some Harapan supporters that laws that restrict free speech are there to curtail religious and racial provocations.

Last week, controversial blogger Chegubardā€™s lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali pressed the government on when it would abolish the sedition laws and criticised the regime for weaponising the MCMC. He asked, ā€œIf this is not intimidation, what can we call it?ā€

Eastern values or manners that we practise in Malaysia, perhaps?

posted by Major D Swami (Retired) @ 1:44 PM   0 comments
KKB polls: Indians and the futility of voting By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Thursday, May 02, 2024

Malaysiakini : ā€œPSM members do a lot of groundwork but are very bad at marketing ourselves.ā€

PSMā€™s S Arutchelvan

If PSM can accomplish things like these, is Papparaidu really going to tell these estate workers that with all the political power DAP has at a state and federal level and its corporate connections, the party and the Indian political operatives within it cannot resolve their housing issue in a timely manner?

SD refusal

Do you know why all these political operatives do not want to sign a statutory declaration (SD) to fulfil all the promises made to the Hulu Selangor plantation workers as they requested? It is because they do not want a public reminder of their apathy or inaction.

If Harapan thought its manifesto was not worth the paper it was printed on, does anyone really think that they would put their names to something they know they could resolve but for reasons known only to the political and corporate class, they could not be bothered to do?

I keep saying this. I truly believe voting is the least a citizen can do in a democratic society. However, what is the point of the Indian vote in this by-election? To prop up the establishment? I am talking about Harapan and PN here.

If this was a PKR candidate I am sure there would be a louder chorus to throw the Harapan candidate under the bus but since this is a DAP seat, people are tripping over themselves to justify why voting is essential to maintain the status quo.

Do you want PN to take over? Arenā€™t they already taking over by proxy?

Itā€™s not that hard

What I really do not get is that these Indian issues are practical and should be easy to resolve.

Do not believe people who spout such horse manure that these are complex issues. No, they are not.

They become complex because of the connective tissue between corporate and political power. Unfortunately, Indian issues such as these are always under the yoke of the political and corporate class.

One of the points in the SD as sighted by Malaysiakini was ā€œthat the new Kuala Kubu Baharu assemblyperson deal only with legitimate residentsā€™ committees they have mandated, instead of ā€˜cronies or representatives of political parties and employersā€™ā€.

Do you know why these Hulu Selangor plantation workers and whoever helped them craft this SD are determined on this point? DAPā€™s RSN Rayer gives us the answer in his attack against former ally and now adversary P Ramasamy.

ā€œRamasamy and his sidekicks should all look at themselves in the mirror and ask themselves where they would be now without DAP and Harapan,ā€ he said. This is it right here.

Ex-DAP leader P Ramasamy

Political operatives, including Ramasamy, are either beholden or at war with their political parties. This is about political survival and relevancy and not about the plight of disenfranchised Indians.

Indians especially around election time are there to be used or lectured to but when the election is over, they will be thrown under the bus.

Nobody should talk about principles when you are thanking Umno and MIC for helping you win an election. Nobody should talk about principles when you have rejected reforms that you were voted in for.

Nobody should talk about principles when your coalition members engineer racial and religious discord and you are silent about it.

MIC still believes that voters must prove their loyalty to political parties. Is this the kind of sentiment that DAP wants to cultivate? Maybe it already has.

Who really cares?

PN does not care about the Indian community, other than understanding that their support especially in close races could be crucial, and they are also the low-hanging fruit for religious assimilation, especially disenfranchised Indians.

Anwar Ibrahim for a myriad of reasons enjoyed extremely healthy support from the Indian community. But these days, as prime minister, he and Harapan are slowly but surely losing support from the community.

These days, Anwar seems more interested in bullying a young student who asks him genuine questions about educational opportunities or presiding over a conversion ceremony of a young Indian convert.

And what do factotums from DAP want working-class Indians to do? Just be patient.

As long as organisations like PSM are around, there will always be a long arduous road to voice their grievances and, of course, possible resolutions.

So if the way is long and arduous but thatā€™s the way you are going, my question is simple - why should these Indians vote?

posted by Major D Swami (Retired) @ 3:02 PM   0 comments
Has the Quran been ā€˜preserved perfectlyā€™? Conclusive evidence shows its parts are lost - Plagiarized for Posterity
Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Faith Freedom Internationl :

One of the most popular arguments for Islam is what we might call the ā€œArgument from Perfect Preservation,ā€ which claims that, since the Qurā€™an has been perfectly preserved for nearly fourteen centuries, God must have been miraculously preserving it. This argument is based on a verse of the Qurā€™an: ā€œWe have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)ā€ (Quran 15:9).i

After quoting this verse, Muslim apologist Mazhar Kazi comments:

ā€œMuslims and non-Muslims both agree that no change has ever occurred in the text of the Qurā€™an. The above prophecy for the eternal preservation and purity of the Qurā€™an came true not only for the text of the Qurā€™an, but also for the most minute details of its punctuation marks as well. . . . It is a miracle of the Qurā€™an that no change has occurred in a single word, a single [letter of the] alphabet, a single punctuation mark, or a single diacritical mark in the text of the Qurā€™an during the last fourteen centuries.ā€œii

Kaziā€™s claim is odd for two reasons. First, itā€™s certainly no miracle for a book to be preserved for fourteen centuries. The Dead Sea Scrolls, copies of the Bible, and other writings have survived longer than fourteen centuries, so Muslims can hardly appeal to preservation as proof of divine inspiration. Second, itā€™s simply false to say that the Qurā€™an has been perfectly preserved. When we turn to the early Muslim sources, we find that entire chapters of the Qurā€™an have been lost, that large sections of chapters are missing, that individual verses were forgotten, and that words and phrases were changed. Indeed, we know from Muslim reports that Muhammadā€™s most trusted teachers couldnā€™t even agree on which chapters were to be included in the Qurā€™an!

I. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE QURā€™AN

The first Qurā€™anic revelation came to Muhammad around the year 610. Muhammad delivered many more verses to his scribes and companions for memorization and recording over the next two decades. These verses were written on stalks of palm leaves, bones of dead animals, flat stones, and whatever else Muslims could find. There was no complete manuscript of the Qurā€™an during this time.  [Adminā€™s comment: This itself shows that Quran is not from God. A true God would have turned Muhammad into a scholar overnight and provided him with good stationery to record the Quran! And there are numerous other logical proofs too.]       

Qurā€™anic revelation ceased when Muhammad died. Shortly after Muhammadā€™s death, Caliph Abu Bakr needed to suppress a rebellion, and he sent many huffaz (people who had memorized portions of the Qurā€™an) to fight at the Battle of Yamama. Many of these huffaz died, and Muslim sources tell us that portions of the Qurā€™an were lost. Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif says:

Many (of the passages) of the Qurā€™an that were sent down were known by those who died on the day of Yamama . . . but they were not known (by those who) survived them, nor were they written down, nor had Abu Bakr, Umar or Uthman (by that time) collected the Qurā€™an, nor were they found with even one (person) after them.iii 

ā€œUmar bin al-Khattab asked about a verse of Allahā€™s book, they answered: ā€˜It was with a man who got killed on day of Yamama (battle)ā€™. He (Umar) said: ā€˜We all shall return to Allahā€™. Then he ordered to collect the Quran, therefore he was the first one who collected it in one book.ā€ (Kanz ul Ummal, Volume 2, p. 574) 

And: 

ā€œUmar was once looking for the text of a specific verse of the Qurā€™an he vaguely remembered. To his deep sorrow, he discovered that the only person who had any record of that verse had been killed in the battle of Yamama and that the verse was consequently lost.ā€ (Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif, p. 10 ā€“ see also as-Suyutiā€™s al-Itqan fi ā€˜ulum al-Quran, volume 1, p. 204) 

Abu Bakr decided that it was time to gather what remained of the Qurā€™an in order to prevent more from being lost, and he appointed Zaid ibn Thabit to this task. After Zaid completed his codex around 634 AD, it remained in Abu Bakrā€™s possession until his death, when it was passed on to Caliph Umar. When Umar died, it was given to Hafsa, a widow of Muhammad.

During Caliph Uthmanā€™s reign, approximately 19 years after the death of Muhammad, disputes arose concerning the correct recitation of the Qurā€™an. Uthman ordered that Hafsaā€™s copy of the Qurā€™an, along with all known textual materials, should be gathered together so that an official version might be compiled. Zaid ibn Thabit, Abdullah bin Az-Zubair, Saā€™id bin Al-As, and Abdur-Rahman bin Harith worked diligently to construct a revised text of the Qurā€™an. When it was finished, ā€œUthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Qurā€™anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burntā€œ. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, Book 61, Number 510)iv The Qurā€™an we have today is descended from this codex.

II. DISPUTES AMONG MUHAMMADā€™S SCHOLARS 

Not all Muslims approved of the new Qurā€™an. Indeed, some of Muhammadā€™s top teachers rejected Zaidā€™s version.

Muhammad once told his followers to ā€œLearn the recitation of the Qurā€™an from four: from Abdullah bin Masudā€”he started with himā€”Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhaifa, Muā€™adh bin Jabal and Ubai bin Kaā€™b.ā€ [Sahih Bukhari Volume 6, Book 61, Number 521] v Interestingly, Ibn Masud (first on Muhammadā€™s list) held that the Qurā€™an should only have 111 chapters (todayā€™s version has 114 chapters), and that chapters 1, 113, and 114 shouldnā€™t have been included in the Qurā€™an. 

Because of this (along with hundreds of other differences), Ibn Masud went so far as to call the final edition of the Qurā€™an a deception! He said, ā€œThe people have been guilty of deceit in the reading of the Qurā€™an. I like it better to read according to the recitation of him [i.e. Muhammad] whom I love more than that of Zayd Ibn Thabit.ā€vi

Should Muslims submit to this ā€œdeceitā€? Not surprisingly, Ibn Masud advised Muslims to reject Zaidā€™s Qurā€™an and to keep their own versionsā€”even to hide them so that they wouldnā€™t be confiscated by the government! He said: 

ā€œO you Muslim people! Avoid copying the Mushaf and recitation of this man. By Allah! When I accepted Islam he was but in the loins of a disbelieving manā€ā€”meaning Zaid bin Thabitā€”and it was regarding this that Abdullah bin Masā€™ud said: ā€œO people of Al-Iraq! Keep the Musahif that are with you, and conceal them.ā€vii

But Ibn Masud wasnā€™t the only one of Muhammadā€™s trusted teachers who disagreed with Zaidā€™s Qurā€™an. Ubayy ibn Kaā€™b was Muhammadā€™s best reciter and one of the only Muslims to collect the materials of the Qurā€™an during Muhammadā€™s lifetime. Yet Ibn Kaā€™b believed that Zaidā€™s Qurā€™an was missing two chapters! Later Muslims were therefore forced to reject some of Ibn Kaā€™bā€™s recitation: 

Umar said, ā€œUbayy was the best of us in the recitation (of the Qurā€™an), yet we leave some of what he recites.ā€ Ubayy says, ā€œI have taken it from the mouth of Allahā€™s Messenger and will not leave it for anything whatever.ā€ [Sahih Bukhari Volume 6, Book 61, Number 527] viii

Narrated Zirr bin Hubaish:

I asked Ubai bin Kaā€™b regarding the two Muwwidhat (Surats of taking refuge with Allah). He said, ā€œI asked the Prophet about them, He said, ā€˜These two Surats have been recited to me and I have recited them (and are present in the Quran).ā€™ So, we say as Allahā€™s Apostle said (i.e., they are part of the Quran)ā€œ

Narrated Zirr bin Hubaish:

I asked Ubai bin Kaā€™b, ā€œO Abu AlMundhir! Your brother, Ibn Masā€™ud said so-and-so (i.e., the two Muā€™awwidh-at do not belong to the Quran).ā€ Ubai said, ā€œI asked Allahā€™s Apostle about them, and he said, ā€˜They have been revealed to me, and I have recited them (as a part of the Quran),ā€ So Ubai added, ā€œSo we say as Allahā€™s Apostle has said.ā€

[Bukhari: Volume 6, Book 60, Numbers 500 and 501]


Due to these disputes among Muhammadā€™s hand-picked reciters, Muslims are faced with a dilemma. If Muslims say that the Qurā€™an we have today has been perfectly preserved, they must say that Muhammad was horrible at choosing scholars, since he selected men who disagreed with todayā€™s text. If, on the other hand, Muslims say that their prophet would know whom to pick when it comes to Islamā€™s holiest book, they must conclude that the Qurā€™an we have today is flawed! 

III. MISSING CHAPTERS 

Simply knowing the facts about such disputes is enough to dismiss the claim that the Qurā€™an has been perfectly preserved. Nevertheless, we may go further by briefly considering certain other problems. 

When Ibn Umarā€”son of the second Muslim caliphā€”heard people declaring that they knew the entire Qurā€™an, he said to them: ā€œLet none of you say, ā€˜I have learned the whole of the Koran,ā€™ for how does he know what the whole of it is, when much of it has disappeared? Let him rather say, ā€˜I have learned what is extant thereof.ā€™ā€ix 

One of Muhammadā€™s companions, Abu Musa, supported this claim when he said that the early Muslims forgot two surahs (chapters) due to laziness: 

Abu Musa al-Ashā€™ari sent for the reciters of Basra. They came to him and they were three hundred in number. They recited the Qurā€™an and he said: You are the best among the inhabitants of Basra, for you are the reciters among them. So continue to recite it. (But bear in mind) that your reciting for a long time may not harden your hearts as were hardened the hearts of those before you. We used to recite a surah which resembled in length and severity to (Surah) Baraā€™at. I have, however, forgotten it with the exception of this which I remember out of it: ā€œIf there were two valleys full of riches, for the son of Adam, he would long for a third valley, and nothing would fill the stomach of the son of Adam but dust.ā€ And we used to recite a surah which resembled one of the surahs of Musabbihat, and I have forgotten it, but remember (this much) out of it:ā€ Oh people who believe, why do you say that which you do not practiseā€ (lxi 2.) andā€ that is recorded in your necks as a witness (against you) and you would be asked about it on the Day of Resurrectionā€ (xvii. 13)ā€¦.[Sahih Muslim, Book 5, Hadith 2286] x

This shows that entire chapters of the Qurā€™an were forgotten.

IV. MISSING PASSAGES 

We know further that large sections of certain chapters came up missing. For instance, Muhammadā€™s wife Aisha said that roughly two-thirds of Surah 33 was lost: 

Aā€™isha . . . said, ā€œSurat al-Ahzab (xxxiii) used to be recited in the time of the Prophet with two hundred verses, but when Uthman wrote out the codices he was unable to procure more of it than there is in it today [i.e. 73 verses].ā€xi

According to Aisha, the collectors simply couldnā€™t find all of Surah 33. Why not? As weā€™ve seen, many huffaz were killed at the Battle of Yamamah. Apparently, no one who knew the entire chapter survived. 

V. MISSING VERSES 

Aisha also tells us that individual verses of the Qurā€™an disappeared, sometimes in quite comical ways: 

It was narrated that Aisha said: ā€œThe Verse of stoning and of breastfeeding an adult ten times was revealed, and the paper was with me under my pillow. When the Messenger of Allah died, we were preoccupied with his death, and a tame sheep came in and ate it. [Sunan Ibn Majah Vol. 3, Book 9, Hadith 1944]ā€xii 

The verses on stoning and breastfeeding an adult ten times are not in the Qurā€™an today. Why? Aishaā€™s sheep ate them. 

VI. MISSING PHRASES 

Since entire chapters, large portions of chapters, and individual verses of the Qurā€™an were lost, it should come as no surprise that short phrases were forgotten as well. Letā€™s consider two examples. 

First, Surah 33:6 declares that ā€œThe Prophet is closer to the Believers than their own selves, and his wives are their mothers.ā€ However, Ubayy ibn Kaā€™b and other early Muslims held that a phrase (ā€œand he is a father of themā€) is missing from this verse. Even the great translator Yusuf Ali admits this in his commentary. Ali writes: ā€œIn some Qiraā€™ahs, like that of Ubayy ibn Kaā€™ab, occur also the words ā€˜and he is a father of them,ā€™ which imply his spiritual relationship and connection with the words ā€˜and his wives are their mothers.ā€™ā€xiii It seems that Muslims have been left with an incomplete verse. 

Second, if we open a modern edition of the Qurā€™an, we find that Surah 2:238 commands Muslims to ā€œGuard strictly your (habit) of prayers, especially the Middle Prayer; and stand before Allah in a devout (frame of mind).ā€ According to Aisha, however, Muhammad recited this verse as follows: ā€œGuard strictly (the five obligatory) prayers, and the middle Salat, and Salat Al-Asr. And stand before Allah with obedience.ā€ Hence, the phrase ā€œand Salat Al-Asrā€ is missing from modern editions. 

VII. ASSESSMENT 

Obviously, the Qurā€™an has changed significantly over the years. The evidence shows that entire chapters were lost, that large sections of chapters came up missing, that individual verses were forgotten, and that phrases have been left out. Muhammadā€™s best teachers and reciters couldnā€™t even agree on which chapters were supposed to be in the Qurā€™an.

This raises an obvious question. Whatā€™s the difference between a book thatā€™s been perfectly preserved, and one that hasnā€™t been perfectly preserved? If Muslims are right, thereā€™s no difference at all. The typical characteristics of a book that hasnā€™t been perfectly preserved are (1) missing phrases, (2) missing passages, (3) missing chapters, (4) disagreements about what goes back to the original, etc. But the Qurā€™an has all of these characteristics. Thus, Muslims who are aware of the evidence but who also want to maintain perfect perseveration of the Qurā€™an must say something like this: ā€œYes, the Qurā€™an has all the characteristics of a book that hasnā€™t been perfectly preserved, but itā€™s been perfectly preserved anyway.ā€ Can anyone make sense of such a claim? 

Itā€™s clear, then, that the Argument from Perfect Preservation fails, and that Muslims who want evidence for their faith will have to look somewhere other than the preservation of the Qurā€™an.

Adminā€™s note: Despite hundreds of evidences that Islam is false, such as the numerous mistakes in the Quran, Muslims stick to Islam mainly for Fear of Hell and the hope (Mirage) of Paradise. It needs to be reminded that Paradise is a Mirage for Muslims, promised to the gullible, and if God throws people in Hell, then Muslims will go to Hell for attributing a manā€™s words (Quran) to God, and attributing insanity to God.

   According to the authentic Hadith, after Muhammadā€™s death, the first Caliph, Abu Bakr (ruled from 632 to 634 AD), appointed the former secretary and scribe of the Prophet, Zayd ibn Thabit, to undertake the task of collecting all available material and compile it together. He collected them ā€˜from pieces of papyrus, flat stones, palm leaves, shoulder blades and ribs of animals, pieces of leather and wooden boards, as well as from the hearts of menā€™. He compiled all the material in the amazingly short span of two years and handed it over to the Caliph.

   The Suras or chapters in the Koran have been so arranged that the longest suras find place in the beginning and the shortest in the end. Thus there is no way of knowing when exactly the Prophet received a particular revelation. This becomes important since the message of a particular revelation, as we shall see later, is often contradicted by the message of a ā€˜laterā€™ revelation. Scholars, both Muslim and Western have generally been able to separate the revelations received in Mecca and those in Medina since the message of Allah is conciliatory in the former and aggressive in the latter.

   According to traditions (i.e. the authentic Hadith) many versions of the book began to be circulated and serious disputes arose. According to the traditions, the third Caliph, Uthman (644-656 AD) approached Zayd again to edit and prepare the official text. This was prepared and circulated widely and the other versions were destroyed.

    It should be noted that during the reign of the third caliph Uthman word was brought from the out-lying provinces that the Muslims in these areas were reciting the Qurā€™an in different ways. The sequel is set out in the following authentic Hadith:

ā€œHudhaifa was afraid of their (the people of Shaā€™m and Iraq) differences in the recitation of the Qurā€™an, so he said to Uthman, ā€˜O Chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book (Quran) as Jews and the Christians did beforeā€™. So Uthman sent a message to Hafsa, saying, ā€˜Send us the manuscripts of the Qurā€™an so that we may compile the Qurā€™anic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to youā€™. Hafsa sent it to Uthman. Uthman then ordered Zaid bin Thabit, Abdullah bin az-Zubair, Saā€™id bin al-As, and Abdur-Rahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, ā€˜In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit on any point in the ā€“ Qurā€™an, then write it in the dialect of Quraish as the Qurā€™an was revealed in their tongueā€™. They did so, and when they had written many copies, Uthman returned the original manuscripts to Hafsa. Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Qurā€™anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt.ā€ (Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, Book 61, Number 510).

   This tradition informs us quite clearly that other manuscripts of the Qurā€™an, some in sections, others complete, had been written out and that they were in use elsewhere in the conquered territories. Uthmanā€™s order that they should be burnt shows that there were serious textual differences between them and the manuscript in Hafsahā€™s possession.

ā€œThe traditional account of what led to the next step in the fixing of the form of the Qurā€™an implies that serious differences of reading existed in the copies of the Qurā€™an current in the various districts.ā€ (Watt, ā€œBellā€™s Introduction to the Qurā€™anā€, p 42)

     According to orthodoxy, this text has not undergone any change since then and is the standard version followed all over the world.

   Historical research, however, indicates otherwise. Wansbrough showed that far from being fixed in the seventh century, the definitive text of the Koran had still not been achieved even as late as the later part of the ninth century [In fact, there is a strong opinion among many scholars that the Quran was actually finalized in AD 933]. Thus, a statement of Muslim creed, Fiqh Akbar I, dated to the middle of eighth century, does not refer to the Koran at all, which is quite surprising.

It is conclusively proven there are some missing verses in the Quran and there also appear to be some added verses. For example, there is an authentic Hadith from the Prophetā€™s wife, Aisha, that there once existed a ā€˜verse of stoningā€™ where stoning to death was prescribed as punishment for fornication. This is no longer to be found in the accepted texts of the Koran and instead the Koranic punishment for this crime only prescribes one hundred lashes. But the early prophets carried out stoning for adultery, and Islamic law still prescribes it. According to the above authentic Hadith, more than one hundred verses from the original are missing.

ā€œGod sent Muhammad and sent down the Scripture to him. Part of what he sent down was the passage on stoning; we read it, we were taught it, and we heeded it. The apostle stoned and we stoned them after him. I (Umar) fear that in time to come men will say that they find no mention of stoning in Godā€™s book and thereby go astray in neglecting an ordinance which God has sent down. Verily stoning in the book of God is a penalty laid on married men and women who commit adultery.ā€

(Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasulullah, p. 684 and Bukhari Volume 8, Book 82, Number 817 and also Sahih Muslim Book 017, Hadith Number 4194).

See two passages in which Ubayy ibn Kaā€™b (one of Muhammadā€™s most trusted reciters of the Qurā€™an) and Aisha (the ā€œMother of the Faithfulā€) declare that approximately two-thirds of Surah 33 is missing. Both passages are taken from Abu Ubaidā€™s Kitab Fadaā€™il-al-Qurā€™an.

Ibn Abi Maryam related to us from Ibn Luhaiā€™a from Abuā€™l-Aswad from Urwa b. az-Zubair from Aā€™isha who said, ā€œSurat al-Ahzab (xxxiii i.e. Surah 33) used to be recited in the time of the Prophet with two hundred verses, but when Uthman wrote out the codices he was unable to procure more of it than there is in it today.ā€

Ismaā€™il b. Ibrahim and Ismaā€™i b. Jaā€™far related to us from al-Mubarak b. Fadala from Asim b. Abiā€™n-Nujud from Zirr b. Hubaish who saidā€“Ubai b. Kaā€™b said to me, ā€œO Zirr, how many verses did you count (or how many verses did you read) in Surat al-Ahzab?ā€ ā€œSeventy-two or seventy-three,ā€ I answered. Said he, ā€œYet it used to be equal to Surat al-Baqara (ii) [Which is ā€˜The Cowā€™ with 286 verses], and we used to read in it the verse of Stoning.ā€

   This shows that Surah 33 had at least 200 verses once, and only 73 are left now. When a scholar brought up Aishaā€™s claim in a debate with a Muslim, the Muslim proclaimed that the passage had been ā€œfabricatedā€ without providing any evidence that the Muslims in the chains presented were inventing false claims about the Qurā€™an. Abu Ubaid, who was called ā€œthe ocean of knowledgeā€ by his fellow Muslims, could not have been ignorant and sloppy in his investigation of these passages.

   About the ā€œVerse of Stoning,ā€ which was supposed to be part of the Qurā€™an but instead came up missing, Ubayy ibn Kaā€™b says above that it fell out with the other 100+ missing verses of Surah 33.

   Shiites of course claim that Uthman left out a great many verses favourable to Ali, for political reasons. Muhammad himself, as we know, is said to have suppressed the now famous Satanic Verses. The authenticity of many verses has been called into question not only by modern Western scholars, but even by Muslims themselves. On the other hand, most scholars believe that there are many interpolations making the Koranic style uneven. Some of them are of a political and dogmatic character, such as 42:36-38, which seems to have been added to justify the elevation of Uthman as Caliph to the detriment of Ali. Of course, any interpolation, however trivial, is fatal to the Muslim dogma that the Koran is literally the eternal, uncreated word of God revealed to Muhammad and thereafter unalterable and unchanged.

This article gives more details of parts of the Quran being lost https://answeringislam.org/authors/shamoun/incomplete_imperfect.html

An important 46-paged book on ā€˜Corruption and distortion in the Quranā€™ by Amar Khan is also available in English. https://www.mediafire.com/file/cduxmpc0q1vkde5/Corruption_and_distortion-tahreef_in_the_Quran_by_Amar_Khan.pdf/file and here https://www.pdfdrive.com/corruption-and-distortion-tahreef-in-the-quran-by-amar-khan-e201158462.html


i All Qurā€™an quotations are taken from Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Meaning of the Holy Qurā€™an (Beltsville: Amana Publications, 1989).

iiMazhar Kazi, 130 Evident Miracles in the Qurā€™an (Richmond Hill: Crescent Publishing House, 1997), pp. 42-43.

iiiIbn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif.

ivSahih al-Bukhari 4987.

vSahih al-Bukhari 3808.

viIbn Saā€™d, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, Vol. 2, p. 444.

viiJami At-Tirmidhi 3104.

viiiSahih al-Bukhari 5005.

ixAbu Ubaid, Kitab Fadaā€™il-al-Qurā€™an.

xSahih Muslim 2286.

xiAbu Ubaid, Kitab Fadaā€™il-al-Qurā€™an.

xiiSunan Ibn Majah 1944.

xiii Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Meaning of the Holy Qurā€™an, Note 3674.

Source: https://www.namb.net/apologetics/resource/has-the-qur-an-been-perfectly-preserved

posted by Major D Swami (Retired) @ 1:18 PM   0 comments
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