#MH370 Most people don’t know enough about Malaysia and its government. Here’s what you should understand.

By Adam Taylor. Published by The Washington Post on 20 March 2014.

Malaysia's government is in the spotlight due to its handling of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared just 40 minutes after leaving Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing on March 8.

It's an unusual situation for the country. Malaysia doesn't usually make headlines -- it's not a huge tourist destination, like its neighbor Thailand, and it hasn't had a recent disaster like the Philippines or Indonesia. Instead, Malaysia has mostly become known as a quiet success in Southeast Asia in recent years, where GDP per capita was well ahead of Thailand and Indonesia and the economy was expected to grow between 4.5 percent and 5.5 percent in 2014.

Now, with the Malaysian government facing scrutiny from all corners, everyone is beginning to wonder: Is there more to Malaysia than meets the eye?

The geography and history of Malaysia

Look at a map of modern Malaysia and the geography of the place may strike you as unusual. Roughly half of the country exists on the Malay Peninsula, bordering the lowest tip of Thailand. The other part of the country is on the northern part of Borneo island, which it shares with Indonesia. In both of these two parts there are smaller states: the city-state of Singapore, which sits just off the coast of the Malay Peninsula, and Brunei, which is in the Malaysian part of Borneo.

The modern Malaysian state began with the Federation of Malaya's independence from the British Empire in 1957, but the area had been populated for a far longer time -- in Sarawak's Niah Caves in East Malaysia, there's evidence of human remains from 40,000 years ago. The first independent state covering the region is commonly considered to be the Malacca sultanate, an Islamic Malay monarchy that controlled the area from 1400 to 1511, when the city of Malacca was captured by a Portuguese invasion. After a long period of Portuguese rule, the Dutch took it over in 1641, with the British Empire gradually taking over Penang in 1786, Singapore in 1819, and Malacca itself in 1824, ultimately securing control of what would later become Malaysia.

British rule continued until World War II, when Japanese troops were able to overrun the unprepared British authorities and take over the area. After Japan lost the war, the British returned but could not regain the authority they had before due to their war. An anti-colonial insurgency known as the "Malayan Emergency" began in 1948, compelling Britain to create the Federation of Malaya that same year, which in turn became became independent in 1957. In 1963, modern Malaysia was created with the Malaysia Agreement; North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore joined it in a new independent state, though Singapore would be expelled two years later. (Brunei, which had once been at the center of the Bruneian Empire, remained an independent, and oil-rich, sultanate).

Malaysia's complicated ethnic politics

Toward the end of British rule, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) emerged as a political force dedicated to protecting ethnic Malays and the Islamic religion. Since independence, the party has been a part of every government alliance.

Today, Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy, loosely modeled after the United Kingdom: The head of state is the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, effectively a monarch elected by Malaysia's traditional Malay rulers. The prime minister is the head of government, officially appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to lead a majority in Malaysia's lower house of parliament. While the constitution of Malaysia, which came into force in 1957, says all Malaysian citizens are equal, Bumiputera (a designation that refers to the indigenous people of Malaysia, including ethnic Malays) are singled out for special treatment in Article 153. That section of the constitution begins: It shall be the responsibility of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

The logic behind Article 153 was that Chinese and Indian immigrants to Malaysia had been favored during British rule, and both had subsequently gained economically while Malays and others remained in poverty. After independence, these economic disparities had begun to cause problems in the country: Singapore's removal from Malaysia was based in part upon a number of race riots that took place in the country between Chinese and Malay groups in 1964, and Kuala Lumpur had its own race riots in 1969. In 1971, economic measures referred to as the “New Economic Policy” (NEP) were implemented to favor Bumiputera, offering them positive discrimination in the civil service and business in a bid to improve their economic standing.

The quiet, yet successful, economy

Under British rule, Malaysia became one of the world's biggest exporters of tin, palm oil and rubber. And as one of the three countries that controls the Strait of Malacca, an important shipping route, it still plays a key role in international trade. High-tech manufacturing has  become a successful part of Malaysia's economy, and Kuala Lumpur is now a global center for Islamic banking. The city is also home to Petronas Towers, which replaced Chicago's Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) as the world's tallest building in 1998 and held the title until 2004.

All this has resulted in a pretty favorable economy. The Doing Business Project recently ranked the country as 6th in its annual rankings, and GDP per capita is higher than neighbors like Thailand and Indonesia.

Despite these good signs, there have been criticisms that the country's ethnic policies were in effect creating a lack of competition and stifling opportunities for non-Bumiputera. The Economist recently noted that 25 percent of the population is thought to be Chinese and to control much of the country's business, while Indians were said to be around 7 percent and overrepresented in professional careers. The magazine warned that Malaysia faces a brain-drain unless more opportunities are put in place for non-Bumiputera ethnic groups.

An angry opposition

As you might expect, 50 years of virtually uncontested rule has resulted in some problems. Writing recently for Bloomberg Businessweek, Joshua Karlantzick argued that the country's ruling coalition only managed to win elections last year due to "gerrymandering, outright thuggery, and opposition parties’ inability to stop squabbling and make connections with rural voters." Despite some minor signs of change, the NEP remains a significant factor in Malaysian political life and its business world, with the ruling parties apparently afraid to alienate the Malay majority who make their base.

The Malaysian government's manner of dealing with opposition leaders also appears to show it's on the back foot. The best-known opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, was sent to jail on corruption and sodomy charges in 2000. While the sodomy charges were overturned in 2004 and he was released, Anwar is now facing the threat of jail again on more sodomy charges.

An ethnic Malay and former member of UMNO, Anwar was once deputy prime minister of Malaysia but fell out with leaders. He now leads a multi-ethnic three-party opposition group called Pakatan Rakyat, running on a manifesto that aims to end the NEP ethnic policies and promote a system of meritocracy.

Why this all matters to MH370

The response to the disappearance of MH370 from the Malaysian government and Malaysia Airlines (a state-run company) is seen by many as evidence of a lack of ability among the country's political and business elite -- a result of decades of positive discrimination in favor of Malays and a lack of competition in business and politics. Malaysian officials aren't used to dealing with a free and open press, and they have blundered in their attempts to deflect questions about the plane. While they are no longer suspected of involvement in the plane's disappearance, the fact that two passengers were traveling on fake documents has embarrassed both the airline and the state.

It's possible Malaysia's internal politics could have played a direct role in the plane's disappearance. It's true, for example, that pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah was a member of an opposition party and distantly related to Anwar (Anwar himself has said that the speculation about political motives was "grossly unfair" to the pilot). The country's Muslim Brotherhood-styled Islamist party, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), is also a part of Anwar's opposition coalition and increasing in popularity, though speculation about an Islamist-backed terrorist attack remains just speculation.

A more likely problem for Malaysia is that of perception. A country once known for its quietly strong economy is becoming better known as something else: a disorganized, unmeritocratic country completely unable to cope with a real emergency.

[Correction amended 3/25/2014] Link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/03/20/most-people-dont-know-enough-about-malaysia-and-its-government-heres-what-you-should-understand/?utm_content=bufferbbc30&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

World Vision's Decision to Hire Employees in Same-Sex Marriages

By Celeste Gracey and Jeremy Weber. Published on 24 March 2014.

World Vision's American branch will no longer require its more than 1,100 employees to restrict their sexual activity to marriage between one man and one woman.

Abstinence outside of marriage remains a rule. But a policy change announced Monday [March 24] will now permit gay Christians in legal same-sex marriages to be employed at one of America's largest Christian charities.

In an exclusive interview, World Vision U.S. president Richard Stearns explained to Christianity Today the rationale behind changing this "condition of employment," whether financial or legal pressures were involved, and whether other Christian organizations with faith-based hiring rules should follow World Vision's lead.

Stearns asserts that the "very narrow policy change" should be viewed by others as "symbolic not of compromise but of [Christian] unity." He even hopes it will inspire unity elsewhere among Christians.

[Editor's note: All subsequent references to "World Vision" refer to its U.S. branch only, not its international umbrella organization.]

In short, World Vision hopes to dodge the division currently "tearing churches apart" over same-sex relationships by solidifying its long-held philosophy as a parachurch organization: to defer to churches and denominations on theological issues, so that it can focus on uniting Christians around serving the poor.

Given that more churches and states are now permitting same-sex marriages (including World Vision's home state of Washington), the issue will join divorce/remarriage, baptism, and female pastors among the theological issues that the massive relief and development organization sits out on the sidelines.

World Vision's board was not unanimous, acknowledged Stearns, but was "overwhelmingly in favor" of the change.

"Changing the employee conduct policy to allow someone in a same-sex marriage who is a professed believer in Jesus Christ to work for us makes our policy more consistent with our practice on other divisive issues," he said. "It also allows us to treat all of our employees the same way: abstinence outside of marriage, and fidelity within marriage."

Stearns took pains to emphasize what World Vision is not communicating by the policy change.

"It's easy to read a lot more into this decision than is really there," he said. "This is not an endorsement of same-sex marriage. We have decided we are not going to get into that debate. Nor is this a rejection of traditional marriage, which we affirm and support."

"We're not caving to some kind of pressure. We're not on some slippery slope. There is no lawsuit threatening us. There is no employee group lobbying us," said Stearns. "This is not us compromising. It is us deferring to the authority of churches and denominations on theological issues. We're an operational arm of the global church, we're not a theological arm of the church.

"This is simply a decision about whether or not you are eligible for employment at World Vision U.S. based on this single issue, and nothing more."

Yet the decision is still likely to be regarded as noteworthy by other evangelical ministries. Aside from World Vision's influential size—it took in more than a billion dollars in revenue last year, serves an estimated 100 million people in 100 countries, and ranks among America's top 10 charities overall—World Vision also recently fought for the right of Christian organizations to hire and fire based on faith statements all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court—and won. It also opposed a 2012 attempt by USAID to "strongly encourage" faith-based contractors to stop discriminating against gays and lesbians in order to receive federal funds.

In other words, other Christian organizations look to World Vision for leadership on defending faith hiring practices. Stearns acknowledges this, but wants observers to understand why World Vision is voluntarily changing its own policy.

Stearns said World Vision has never asked about sexual orientation when interviewing job candidates. Instead, the organization screens employees for their Christian faith, asking if they can affirm the Apostles' Creed or World Vision's Trinitarian statement of faith.

Yet World Vision has long had a Christian conduct policy for employees that "holds a very high bar for all manner of conduct," said Stearns. Regarding sexuality activity, World Vision has required abstinence for all single employees, and fidelity for all married employees.

However, World Vision now has staff from more than 50 denominations—a handful of which have sanctioned same-sex marriages or unions in recent years, including the United Church of Christ, The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Presbyterian Church (USA). Meanwhile, same-sex marriage is now legal in 17 states plus the District of Columbia, and federal judges have struck down bans in five other states (Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, Virginia, and—most recently—Michigan) as well as required Kentucky to recognize such marriages performed in other states. (All six rulings are stayed until the appeals process is complete.)

Stearns said World Vision's board has faced a new question in recent years: "What do we do about someone who applies for a job at World Vision who is in a legal same-sex marriage that may have been sanctioned and performed by their church? Do we deny them employment?

"Under our old conduct policy, that would have been a violation," said Stearns. "The new policy will not exclude someone from employment if they are in a legal same-sex marriage." Stearns said the new policy reflects World Vision's parachurch and multi-denominational nature.

"Denominations disagree on many, many things: on divorce and remarriage, modes of baptism, women in leadership roles in the church, beliefs on evolution, etc.," he said. "So our practice has always been to defer to the authority and autonomy of local churches and denominational bodies on matters of doctrine that go beyond the Apostles' Creed and our statement of faith. We unite around our [Trinitarian beliefs], and we have always deferred to the local church on these other matters."

The reason the prohibition existed in the first place? "It's kind of a historical issue," said Stearns. "Same-sex marriage has only been a huge issue in the church in the last decade or so. There used to be much more unity among churches on this issue, and that's changed."

And the change has been painful to watch. "It's been heartbreaking to watch this issue rip through the church," he said. "It's tearing churches apart, tearing denominations apart, tearing Christian colleges apart, and even tearing families apart. Our board felt we cannot jump into the fight on one side or another on this issue. We've got to focus on our mission. We are determined to find unity in our diversity."

Highlighting the church/parachurch distinction: Board member and pastor John Crosby, who served as interim leader when a number of churches split off from the Presbyterian Church (USA) after the denomination dropped a celibacy requirement for gay clergy in 2011. At a conference that laid the foundation of the new Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians, the Minnesota megachurch pastor stated, "We have tried to create such a big tent trying to make everybody happy theologically. I fear the tent has collapsed without a center."

However, as a World Vision board member, Crosby didn't have a problem voting for the policy change. "It's a matter of trying to decide what the core mission of the organization is," he said.

Crosby, who leads Christ Presbyterian Church in Edina, Minnesota, told CT that the decision was about making sure that World Vision is focusing on its mission to eliminate poverty worldwide. World Vision stretches across countless cultural and theological divides in a hundred countries, and so the issue of theology and how to interpret Scripture should be left to the local church, he said.

"Many of us support World Vision specifically because of its Christian identity. While there are many other good relief organizations, it's the faith component of World Vision that makes it distinctive for us," said Crosby. "[But] how can we represent ourselves as a Christian organization in such a diverse world? That's what we're trying to work through on a daily basis."

Board member and seminary professor Soong-Chan Rah told CT the decision to leave theology to others "honors the church as a whole." "It is not a statement in a particular direction, but it is trying to acknowledge the proper relationship between the church and the parachurch," he said. "If there is something we can learn from [this], it is the value of having conversations and commitment to prayer, over not just this particular issue but all controversial issues that divide the church."

Stearns was adamant the change will not impact World Vision's identity or work in the field. "World Vision is committed to our Christian identity. We are absolutely resolute about every employee being followers of Jesus Christ. We are not wavering on that," he said.

"This is also not about compromising the authority of Scripture," said Stearns. "People can say, 'Scripture is very clear on this issue,' and my answer is, 'Well ask all the theologians and denominations that disagree with that statement.' The church is divided on this issue. And we are not the local church. We are an operational organization uniting Christians around a common mission to serve the poor in the name of Christ."

In recent years, World Vision and other evangelical organizations that partner with Uncle Sam to deliver humanitarian aid overseas voiced concern over USAID attempts to "strongly encourage" all contractors to develop anti-discrimination policies covering sexual orientation or risk losing federal funding.

"Concerns over government funding had no impact on this decision," said Stearns, noting that World Vision caps federal funding at 35 percent of its cash revenues. "We fought for the whole Christian community, reminding USAID that faith-based organizations have a religious exemption and are not required to follow government hiring guidelines.

"If the U.S. government ever requires us to give up our religious hiring rights in exchange for grants, we would walk away from U.S. grants. World Vision's ministry is not for sale."

World Vision's 2010 victory before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on faith-based hiring practices was watched closely by many Christian organizations (500 people signed up within 24 hours for a related ECFA webinar in April 2010). World Vision general counsel Steve McFarland later gave a series of ECFA webinars advising how other ministries could best structure their statements of faith to defend their hiring practices.

Yet Stearns said World Vision is not suggesting other ministries should now follow its lead.

"We made this decision for our organization based on who we are. Every organization has to come to its own conclusion," he said. "We are still passionate about protecting religious hiring rights—making sure that every Christian organization gets to decide this issue for themselves and not have the government decide it for them." (The latest example: World Vision's amicus brief on Hobby Lobby's Supreme Court case against Obamacare's contraceptive mandate.)

"We're not doing this for any legal reasons," he said. "If we wanted to, we would fight another battle on this all the way to the Supreme Court."

So the question becomes: Will supporters, particularly theologically conservative ones, let World Vision adopt a neutral stance on same-sex marriage? One of the first prominent voices out of the gate: Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, who tweeted, "I'm glad Carl Henry didn't live to see this," and promptly penned a reaction, concluding: "World Vision is a good thing to have, unless the world is all you can see."

Maintaining neutrality on such divisive issues is proving increasingly tricky for Christian organizations with broad coalitions. The most recent example is Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, which has declared neutrality on abortion, same-sex marriage, and guns as it seeks to encompass more Christians yet preserve its diverging base of 2.5 million Lutherans. Yet Thrivent's theologically conservative wing has not been pleased.

And the policy change comes as World Vision has reduced its U.S. workforce by 10 percent over the past 15 months as expenses have risen and government grants have decreased, reports The News Tribune in nearby Tacoma, Wash. "The last 12 to 24 months have been among the most challenging of any we have ever faced," Stearns wrote to 408,000 donors in a January letter that marked "the first time Stearns had sent out a letter asking child sponsors to increase their giving due to cutbacks," the newspaper reported.

Stearns hopes World Vision will not experience similar division like Thrivent and risk losing conservative supporters as a result.

"I don't want to predict the reaction we will get," he said. "I think we've got a very persuasive series of reasons for why we're doing this, and it's my hope that all of our donors and partners will understand it, and will agree with our exhortation to unite around what unites us. But we do know this is an emotional issue in the American church. I'm hoping not to lose supporters over the change. We're hoping that they understand that what we've done is focused on church unity and our mission."

And Stearns believes that World Vision can successfully remain neutral on same-sex marriage.

"I think you have to be neutral on hundreds of doctrinal issues that could divide an organization like World Vision," he said. "One example: divorce and remarriage. Churches have different opinions on this. We've chosen not to make that a condition of employment at World Vision. If we were not deferring to local churches, we would have a long litmus test [for employees]. What do you believe about evolution? Have you been divorced and remarried? What is your opinion on women in leadership? Were you dunked or sprinkled? And at the end of the interview, how many candidates would still be standing?

"It is not our role to take a position on all these issues and make these issues a condition of employment."

Stearns said he doesn't expect any outcry among World Vision's 100 country affiliates, since World Vision International allows each country to set its own hiring policies appropriate to its local legal context. Even in Uganda, where a high-profile new law criminalizing gays and lesbians has been opposed by World Vision Uganda, it stated: "The issue of same-sex relationships will neither prevent us from serving children, families and communities around the world, nor obstruct our collaboration with one another and with our partner organizations."

The policy change will also not affect World Vision's partnership with ministries that maintain current faith-based bans on same-sex behavior. "This is a very narrow policy change. It's strictly about whether this issue should be a condition of employment at World Vision."

How would Stearns respond to critics who bemoan the decision as yet another Christian organization caving before the advancing gay rights movement?

"We're not trying to do anything that's symbolic for the rest of the church," he said. "But if we're making a statement at all, I hope it's a statement about unity.

"I hope it's a statement that says when Christ left, he gave us the Great Commission [to make disciples] and the Great Commandment [to love others as ourselves], and we're trying to do just that," said Stearns. "Bridging the differences we have, and coming together in our unity."

Stearns has even written books on this subject. "In some manner we haven't finished Christ's mission for the church because we've been divided and distracted by too many other things," he said. "We've got to find our way to unity beyond diversity in the Christian church.

"I know the Evil One would like nothing better than for World Vision to be hobbled and divided on this issue, so that we lose our focus on the Great Commandment and the Great Commission," said Stearns. "And the board is determined not to let that happen.

"I hope if it's symbolic of anything, it is symbolic of how we can come together even though we disagree. We—meaning other Christians—are not the enemy. We have to find way to come together around our core beliefs to accomplish the mission that Christ has given the church.

"We feel positive about what we've done. Our motives are pure," said Stearns. "We're not doing this because of any outside pressure. We're not doing this to get more revenue. We're really doing this because it's the right thing to do, and it's the right thing to do for unity within the church.

"I'm hoping this may inspire unity among others as well," he concluded. "To say how can we come together across some differences and still join together as brothers and sisters in Christ in our common mission of building the kingdom."

Read more here:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/march-web-only/world-vision-why-hiring-gay-christians-same-sex-marriage.html?paging=off

By Alex Murashko, CHRISTIAN POST Reporter. Published on 25 March 2014.

Christian leaders such as evangelist Franklin Graham and Russell D. Moore, who is president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, expressed outrage that Christian relief organization World Vision announced it would hire employees in same-sex marriages on Monday.

"I was shocked today to hear of World Vision's decision to hire employees in same-sex marriages," Graham, the son of renowned evangelist Billy Graham, said in his statement. "The Bible is clear that marriage is between a man and a woman.

"My dear friend, Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision and Samaritan's Purse, would be heartbroken. He was an evangelist who believed in the inspired Word of God. World Vision maintains that their decision is based on unifying the church – which I find offensive – as if supporting sin and sinful behavior can unite the church. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, the Scriptures consistently teach that marriage is between a man and woman and any other marriage relationship is sin," Graham, who is the president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Moore also released a statement on Monday in which he pointed out that World Vision, one of the largest Christian relief organizations in the world, said its move was no capitulation, just a recognition that some groups supporting World Vision have differing views on sex and marriage.

"This is no surprise, on one level," Moore explained. "The constellation of parachurch evangelical ministries founded after World War II have been running headlong, with some notable exceptions, toward the very mainline liberalism to which they were founded as alternatives. Some think if we can just barter away Christian orthodoxy fast enough we can catch the wave of that Presbyterian Church (USA) church growth boom.

"But here's what's at stake. This isn't, as the World Vision statement (incredibly!) puts it, the equivalent of a big tent on baptism, church polity, and so forth," he writes. "At stake is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If sexual activity outside of a biblical definition of marriage is morally neutral, then, yes, we should avoid making an issue of it. If, though, what the Bible clearly teaches and what the church has held for 2000 years is true, then refusing to call for repentance is unspeakably cruel and, in fact, devilish."

Moore's statement includes his belief that the world has entered an era "where we will see who the Evangelicals really are, and by that I mean those who believe in the Gospel itself, in all of its truth and all of its grace." He continues, "And many will shrink back."

He writes that there's "an entire corps of people out there who make their living off of evangelicals but who are wanting to 'evolve' on the sexuality issue without alienating their base."

"I don't mind people switching sides and standing up for things that they believe in," Moore states. "But just be honest about what you want to do. Don't say, 'Hath God said?' and then tell us you're doing it to advance the gospel and the unity of the church."

He concludes, "Donor bases come and go. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ stands forever. World Vision is a good thing to have, unless the world is all you can see."

Trevin Wax, managing editor of The Gospel Project at LifeWay Christian Resources, said the decision by World Vision brings on a time to grieve for children everywhere.

"No matter what you think about this decision, I hope you feel a sense of grief…for the children," Wax wrote on The Gospel Coalition's blog. "This is a story of deep and lasting significance, because there are children's lives at stake in how we respond.

"Children will suffer as Evangelicals lose trust in and withdraw support from World Vision in the future. It will take time for evangelicals to start new organizations that maintain historic Christian concepts of sin, faith and repentance."

After listing reasons children suffer in so many ways, not just in decisions such as the one that World Vision made, and how Evangelicals will respond with grief, he writes. "But we also grieve for children here at home who are growing up in a culture in which sexual idolatry distorts the meaning of marriage and the beauty of God's original design."

Read more here:

http://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-leaders-shocked-grieved-by-world-visions-decision-to-hire-employees-in-same-sex-marriages-116730/cpt

Malaysia Government seeks EXTRA RM2.3 BILLION for 2013 expenses

By Leven Woon. Published by Free Malaysia Today on 24 March 2014.

Putrajaya today tabled an RM2.392 billion Supplementary Supply Bill in the Dewan Rakyat today seeking extra allocations for 2013 expenditures. The Prime Minister’s Department and Public Service Department were among the agencies seeking the largest additional allocations of RM55.6 million and RM53.3 million respectively. Meanwhile the Treasury sought RM2.09 billion contribution to statutory funds.

According to the bill, the contribution was meant to finance development expenditures last year. Public Service Department on the other hand reasoned that the RM53.3 million was to fund the medical costs of retired civil servants and army veterans. It said the amount for that purpose has been credited to the contingency funds beforehand but additional costs have been incurred.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister’s Department said it is requesting RM55.6 million more due to the expenditures of the new Istana Negara’s opening ceremony celebration (RM31.2 million) and Federal Territories Land and Mineral Office’s contractual workers’ salaries (RM10.74 billion).

It is also to cover the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) operation costs (RM8 million) and operation cost shortages (RM3.4 million). Other requests were from the Foreign Ministry (RM28.1 million), Agriculture and Ago-based Ministry (RM20 million), Natural Resources and Environment Ministry (RM8 million), Works Ministry (RM50 million), Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry (RM13.8 million), Communication and Multimedia Ministry (RM46.9 million) and Home Ministry (RM15.9 million). Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry sought an extra RM20 million while Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government was asking additional RM10 million.

Th government had tabled a RM251.6 billion budget in 2013 and had initially asked for an extra RM15 billion in the first Supplementary Supply Bill.

Link: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/03/24/govt-seeks-extra-rm2-3b-for-2013-expenses/

In the last five years, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) only convicted 1,395 inividuals and collected RM48 million in fines despite receiving a RM983 million government allocation, said Kampar MP Ko Chung Sen today.

“This means for every case convicted, the government spent an average of RM704,744,” Ko told reporters in Parliament’s lobby today. He said Minister in the Prime Minister Department Paul Low should take responsibility and resign over MACC poor conviction rate despite receiving a high government allocation.

He added that MACC’s budget had increased by 24.4% in 2013 compared with 2011 but the number of cases convicted had dropped by 31.7%. Ko said in 2013, MACC received a RM251 million allocation and convicted 265 individuals.

In 2011, MACC’s allocation was RM202 million and number of individuals convicted 388. “The MACC is not only catching the big sharks, the little fishes are also getting away,” said the DAP lawmaker.

Ko said it was worrying that 90% of corporate executives agreed that bribery and corruption were a major problem for business in Malaysia as shown in a survey done by international auditing firm KPMG in January.

Read more here:

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/03/24/maccs-huge-allocation-not-justified/

Despite the government paying RM270 million, a mentoring programme implemented since 2011 to improve English language teachers’ skills has had minimum impact on the quality of English among students and teachers alike.

The Dewan Rakyat was told today that the Program Penutur Jati Bahasa Inggeris (PPJBI), which hires foreign teachers to mentor local English language primary school teachers from rural areas, was unable to prevent last year’s UPSR results for the English subject plunging lower than ever.

However, the programme, which ran from 2011 to 2013, has since been extended from Oct 1, 2013 to Sept 30, 2015, at an additional cost of RM184.4 million, according to Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan.

Read more here: 
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/03/24/rm270-million-spent-on-english-yet-no-results/

Kos dan perbelanjaan yang diperuntukkan untuk kempen dan iklan cukai perkhidmatan dan perkhidmatan (GST) yang akan dilaksanakan pada 1 April 2015 mencecah RM365 juta.

Perkara itu dinyatakan oleh Menteri Kewangan Datuk Seri Najib Razak dalam jawapan bertulisnya bagi menjawab pertanyaan Khalid Samad (PAS-Shah Alam) berhubung kos kempen dan iklan cukai itu.

Dalam jawapan bertulisnya, Najib yang juga perdana menteri berkata perbelanjaan yang telah dan akan dilakukan kerajaan berhubung kempen itu merangkumi:

i) RM98 juta untuk sistem perkomputeran GST yang siap dibangunkan oleh Jabatan Kastam Diraja Malaysia bagi 2013/2014.

ii) RM150 juta penyediaan perisian perakaunan bersubsidi kepada Perusahaan Kecil dan Sederhana (PKS) sedang diuruskan oleh kastam - meliputi RM125 juta pada 2014 dan RM25 bagi tahun berikutnya.

iii) RM100 juta bagi geran latihan kepada peniaga yang diuruskan oleh Kementerian Kewangan yang meliputi RM50 juta pada 2013 dan RM50 juta untuk tahun ini.

iv) RM17 juta bagi program publisiti melalui media arus perdana dan media sosial - akhbar, televisyen, radio dan papan tanda, laman web, blog, Twitter dan Facebook - yang diuruskan oleh Kementerian Kewangan pada 2012-2014.

Sebelum ini, Khalid yang juga ahli jawatankuasa Pusat PAS membangkitkan perkara sama dalam sidang medianya pada Februari lalu.

Sementara itu, dalam sidang medianya di lobi parlimen hari ini, Khalid mengkritik kos kempen cukai itu yang ditanggung dan menurutnya akhirnya membebankan rakyat.

"Belum apa-apa lagi, kerajaan nak kena tanggung RM365 juta untuk nak laksanakan GST. Ini duit rakyat, dan akhirnya digunakan untuk membebankan rakyat."

Selanjutnya: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/258026

#Allah: Government figures suggest Christianisation did not happen

By Leven Woon. Published by Free Malaysia Today on 24 March 2014.

The widely-touted theory that Christianisation is taking place in Malaysia cannot be valid when official data suggests that no Muslim has converted to Christianity in the last 10 years, said Kampar MP Ko Chung Sen.

He said according to a government reply in Parliament today, no Muslim including those who are new converts to Islam had renounced the religion. This was based on Syariah Court records whereby no such applications had been received.

There were however, applications by individuals seeking to verify conflicting recording of their religion status on their birth certificate and identity card.

“A lot of them have said Islam is under threat, Christiantionisation is happening in the country. But actual figures suggest that none of this has ever happened in this country,” Ko told FMT.

He said politicians and NGO’s should not raise the spectre of Christianophobia out of thin air, and should only speak based on concrete evidence. “And this figure comes from the Prime Minister’s Department,” he said.

Meanwhile, the ministry said there were at least 4,520 individuals who had embraced Islam between 2008 -2012.

Read more here:

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/03/24/govt-figures-suggest-christianisation-did-not-happen/

Diterbitkan oleh Malaysiakini pada 24 Mac 2014.

Setakat ini tiada penganut Islam termasuk saudara baru yang keluar daripada Islam, tegas Menteri Di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom.

Ini, katanya, berdasarkan rekod, tiada permohonan untuk keluar Islam dibuat di Mahkamah Syariah.

Dalam jawapan bertulisnya, Jamil bagaimanapun berkata terdapat permohonan menentukan status agama yang dipohon oleh individu berikutan kekeliruan pada sijil kelahiran, kad pengenalan atau sijil akuan memeluk Islam.

"Mahkamah Syariah akan menimbang permohonan tujuan menentu status agama dalam keadaan berlakunya kekeliruan semasa pendaftaran nama terutama di negeri Sabah dan Sarawak di mana nama mereka seperti nama orang beragama Islam tetapi mereka bukan beragama Islam," kata Jamil.

Jamil (BN-Jerai) berkata demikian bagi menjawab soalan Dr Ko Chung Sen (DAP-Kampar) mengenai jumlah orang Muslim-Melayu yang keluar daripada Islam dalam tempoh 10 tahun lalu.

Bagi menjawab soalan Ko berhubung jumlah bukan Islam yang memeluk Islam, Jamil berkata maklumat yang tepat hendaklah dirujuk kepada jabatan agama atau majlis agama Islam negeri-negeri.

Beliau berkata pendaftaran masuk Islam berada bawah kuasa jabatan dan majlis itu, seperti yang termaktub dalam Senarai 2 Jadual Kesembilan, Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

"Dalam konteks ini, bagi Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur mengikut rekod Jabatan Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (JAWI), bilangan orang yang memeluk Islam bagi tempoh 2008-2012 adalah seramai 4,520 orang," kata Jamil.

Link: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/258048

What has happen to religious freedom?

By Colby Itkowitz. Published by The Washington Post on 18 March 2014.

A congressional hearing on the Air Force budget turned into a debate about religious freedom on Friday when some Republicans demanded to know why a cadet was made to erase a religious message he’d written on a dry-erase board in his Air Force Academy dorm.

Randy Forbes (R-Va.) jousted with Secretary of the Air Force Deborah James over the facts of the incident, which Forbes originally heard about from news reports (our Google research shows this story was mostly covered by right-leaning outlets).

As the story goes, a cadet had written on a whiteboard: “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

In the version Forbes relayed, the “entire” Air Force chain of command told the cadet to erase the quote from his whiteboard in his private room. James said it was her understanding that another cadet, who felt uncomfortable went straight to the source, and the cadet who wrote it voluntarily took it down.

At the House Armed Services Committee hearing, Forbes asserted that religious freedom “is not to make sure no person on the planet is offended, it’s to say that cadet ought to have the right in an own personal board to put that verse up there.”

Gen. Mark Welsh III, chief of staff of the Air Force, jumped in and said the whiteboard in question is not located in the cadets’ rooms, but rather in a shared hallway. There have been “hundreds of quotes” removed from the public board, he said.

“What you said is absolutely true. Every cadet has a right to free religious expression, but if someone else comes to him and says that bothers me, and they have that discussion — if that’s happened, I would compliment both of them,” Welsh said. Then added, “We’ve got to get the facts straight.”

Forbes told the Loop in an e-mail that he remains “deeply concerned” that the Air Force is teaching that religious expression is “incompatible with effective leadership.”

After Friday’s hearing, the Air Force Academy sought to clear up the facts. On its own Web site the academy clarifies that the cadet was not ordered to take down the message, but did so on his own after a conversation with the chain of command.

Not every Republican was so dour about the situation. Providing some levity to the hearing debate, Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), asked the secretary, “if I am offended by your budget, will you take it down?”

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/in-the-loop/wp/2014/03/18/air-force-budget-hearing-debates-religious-freedom/

The President of the Catholic League has called for a boycott of Guinness, Heineken and Sam Adams for pulling their sponsorship of St. Patrick’s Day parades in New York and Boston that barred LGBT groups from marching.

In a statement issued Monday calling for a boycott, Donohue called the beer makers bullies and said groups shouldn’t be allowed to march under their own banners in St. Patrick’s Day parades.

“The parade is quintessentially Catholic, beginning with a Mass in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It is this Catholic element that angers those who are engaged in a bullying campaign against the St. Patrick’s Day parades. The bullies also have nothing but contempt for the constitutional rights of Irish Catholics.”

Catholic League President Bill Donohue’s statement came after Guinness and Heineken withdrew their sponsorship of New York’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, and the maker of Sam Adams decided not to sponsor the Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade. Both parades refused to let LGBT groups openly march.

“Guinness has a strong history of supporting diversity and being an advocate for equality for all. We were hopeful that the policy of exclusion would be reversed for this year’s parade. As this has not come to pass, Guinness has withdrawn its participation,” Guinness said in a statement. The mayors of Boston and New York, Marty Walsh (D) and Bill de Blasio (D) also boycotted the parades.

Link: http://time.com/30126/catholic-league-president-calls-for-beer-boycott-over-lgbt-rights/

Residents Protest Removal of Memorial Cross After Atheists' Complaint

BY ANUGRAH KUMAR, CHRISTIAN POST CONTRIBUTOR. Posted on 10 March 2014.

Some residents of Lake Elsinore, Calif., are protesting the removal of a cross, which was placed two years ago in honor of a young Christian man who died in an accident there, by installing smaller crosses with messages for the atheist group under whose pressure the memorial was taken down.

"What happened to our freedom," reads the message on one of the small wooden crosses that replaced the big, white cross that was set up as a memorial for 19-year-old Anthony Devaney, who was fatally struck by a car while crossing Lake Street in May 2012.

"What if this was your child?!?!" reads the message on another cross. "Ever heard the phrase to each his own?!!! Does this bother you??? Look the other way!!" says another one. "People suck!!! Get a life!!!" reads yet another one.

The mother of the deceased, Annmarie Devaney, removed the memorial cross last Thursday to avoid a conflict, as the American Humanist Association had complained to the city of Lake Elsinore saying the cross on public property was unconstitutional and a matter of separation of church and state.

"It hurts. It's like reliving the moment again, it's like losing my son again pretty much," Annmarie told ABC News. "I don't understand why they need it to come up, but me being the mom and try to keep it positive, I want to do what's right and I don't want to make it a big deal or cause a scene."

"I think they're just looking for something to complain about, really, and I think that it's petty," she told The Riverside Press-Enterprise. "The cross is there because my son's Christian, and not for any other reason. I don't know why they're doing this, but it makes me sad."

The atheist group has said it is "pleased with the city's decision to comply with the constitutional requirement of separation of church and state by removing the Latin cross from its property."

Following the removal of the cross blogger Hemant Mehta the "Friendly Atheist" wrote on the Patheos website, "These replacement crosses are far more offensive to Anthony Devaney's memory than anything the Humanists did. Where's the backlash against these people who are using an unfortunate controversy to advance their own agenda?"

Mehta says the Devaney family could build another memorial in their home or church focusing on how Anthony lived instead of where he died. "And let's see how quickly the Lake Elsinore City Council removes these distraction crosses; at this point, there should be no reason for a delay."

According to Press-Enterprise, City Councilman Brian Tisdale says he thinks the atheist group is being insensitive by requesting Devaney to remove the cross. "I think they're going a little bit overboard and being insensitive to other people's needs," he said. "This has nothing to do with city or government."

Tisdale previously headed the city's committee that planned to erect a veterans' memorial of a soldier kneeling next to a cross at the local minor league baseball stadium. The American Humanist Association challenged the veterans' memorial, and in February a U.S. district judge ruled the monument was unconstitutional and must be redesigned.

Link: http://www.christianpost.com/news/calif-residents-protest-removal-of-memorial-cross-after-atheists-complaint-115866/

Taib might have broken Sarawak state law as Chief Minister

Written by Ho Wah Foon. Published by The Edge Malaysia on 3 March 2014.

Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, who has just stepped down as Sarawak chief minister and become the Yang di-Pertua Negeri (state governor), had led the state imperiously for 33 years; and during these years, his family members have amassed billions of wealth.

Ruling with a tight fist, Taib had allowed his immediate and extended families to control 400 companies in every sector in Malaysia and hold overseas assets worth more than RM800 million in four countries, according to the 8-page special cover story in The Edge Weekly.

Under the state constitution, the Chief Minister shall not hold any office of profit and shall not actively engage in any commercial enterprise, but according to the research findings of The Edge Weekly Taib might have broken this state law while he was ruling Sarawak. “Checks show that Taib is a director/shareholder of at least five Malaysian companies: Demak Jaya Holdings Sdn Bhd, Hamamorial Sdn Bhd; Mesti Bersatu Sdn Bhd, Pehin Sri Heritage Sdn Bhd and Ramah Jelita Sdn Bhd,” stated The Edge Weekly.

For example, Demak Jaya Holdings was started in 1988 and made an exempt private company on July 15, 2013. It is co-owned by Taib (50%) and his sister Hanifah Hajar Taib-Alsree (50%). The weekly, in its in-depth investigative report this week, also revealed that due to various reports on the web of companies owned by Taib’s family members, his family members have relinquished some of the companies or converted them to exempt status, which will block public access to their financial information.

Apart from revealing which companies have used the exempt status as a shield, The Edge Weekly also reported the connections of Taib’s family to some of the controversial privatisations of public listed companies in Malaysia and listed what assets they hold overseas.

Although as Yang di-Pertua Negeri, Taib is supposed to hold a ceremonial role, the political analysis of The Edge Weekly sees him as more than a figurehead. “He will wield more power and influence than any governor in history,” said its writer.

A full investigative report and detailed analysis on this powerful politician and his business empire, headlined A Sprawling Family Business Empire, is found in the pull-out of The Edge Weekly (March 3-March 9).

Link: http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/business-news/278183-highlight-taibs-family-in-400-firms-worth-billions-and-taib-might-have-broken-state-law-as-cm-says-the-edge-weekly-.html#.UxQo94hh3N0.twitter