Isnin, 10 Februari 2014

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports


Kenyan Arsenal fan kills Liverpool supporter

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 02:51 PM PST

February 11, 2014

An Arsenal fan in Kenya stabbed a Liverpool supporter to death on Saturday while they were watching on television as the Merseyside club beat the Londoners 5-1 in the Premier League, said a local police chief.

Tom Odera, police chief in the north eastern region of Meru, said "the assailant and the deceased had a bitter argument over the match".

"The assailant, David Mwangi, drew out a knife and stabbed Anthony Mutethia," Odera told Reuters by telephone yesterday.

Kenyans, like most Africans, are fervent English Premier League fans and regularly throng bars and restaurants to watch their favourite teams.

The fanatical support has, in the past, seen Kenyan football fans grab headlines for the wrong reasons.

A Manchester United follower in the capital of Nairobi last year committed suicide after his team lost to Newcastle United.

In 2009, an Arsenal fan hanged himself after the Londoners lost to United in the second leg of a Champions League semi-final game.

"We encourage people to be football fans as a hobby but taking fanaticism into football is discouraged," said Odera. – Reuters, February 11, 2014.

Tube strike threatens Fulham’s clash with Liverpool

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 02:46 PM PST

February 11, 2014

Commuters squeeze into a busy tube carriage during the evening rush hour on the second day of a strike by London Underground workers in central London, February 6, 2014. – Reuters pic, February 11, 2014.Commuters squeeze into a busy tube carriage during the evening rush hour on the second day of a strike by London Underground workers in central London, February 6, 2014. – Reuters pic, February 11, 2014.Fulham have confirmed tomorrow's Premier League match against Liverpool could be postponed because of strike action on the London Underground.

With staff taking industrial action there will be a reduced service on a number of lines, leaving Fulham concerned about the safety of supporters making their way to the club's Craven Cottage stadium in west London.

In a statement yesterday, Fulham officials said: "The club can confirm that it is currently proceeding on the basis that the game will go ahead.

"However, the club has concerns over the potential impact that the strike may have on the ability of its safety staff to attend the ground in sufficient time and numbers to ensure that it is able to open the ground and effectively operate it, from the time that the gates are open to the public until the departure of all supporters.

"After consulting with the local authority and the Metropolitan Police, it has been decided that if the proposed action is still undetermined at 1500GMT (11pm MYT) tomorrow (Tuesday), and the club cannot guarantee enough staff are available to attend the ground in sufficient time and numbers, then as a consequence the club would not be able to comply with the terms of its safety certificate and the fixture would be postponed and rescheduled for a future date.

"A further statement will be released at 3pm on Tuesday to confirm whether the game will go ahead or be postponed."

Arsenal are also scheduled to play in the English capital tomorrow, but the Gunners have already confirmed they expect their match against Manchester United to go ahead as planned. – AFP, February 11, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

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Asylum seekers accuse Australia navy of abuse as boat towed to Indonesia

Posted: 09 Feb 2014 08:46 PM PST

February 10, 2014

In this photograph taken on February 8, 2014 an empty Australian lifeboat that carried asylum seekers turned back by Australian navy is docked at Pangandaran wharf in western Java island. – AFP pic, February 10, 2014.In this photograph taken on February 8, 2014 an empty Australian lifeboat that carried asylum seekers turned back by Australian navy is docked at Pangandaran wharf in western Java island. – AFP pic, February 10, 2014.On New Year's day, 45 asylum seekers in a ramshackle wooden boat slid ashore on a small island off the Australian city of Darwin. Four others had been swept overboard that morning in rough seas and were believed dead.

The survivors, from Africa and the Middle East, stumbled onto the beach, thankful to find refuge on Australian soil. Or so they thought.

Within an hour, an Australian warship and other vessels arrived. Military personnel forced the asylum seekers back onto their wooden boat and towed it out to sea. Their destination: Indonesia.

Determining precisely what happened is difficult. But interviews with five of the passengers reconstructs a journey they say was marked by physical and verbal abuse.

Their accounts highlight just how far the newly elected conservative government of Prime Minister Tony Abbott is going to meet his election promise to "stop the boats" – a policy which involves towing vessels back to Indonesia, the main departure point for people-smuggling boats.

In a statement in response to questions on the accusations from the five asylum seekers, Immigration and Border Protection Minister Scott Morrison said he did not give "credibility to malicious and unfounded slurs".

"I know and trust that our Navy and Customs and Border Protection Service act in accordance with their training and lawful orders and would only use force where necessary," he said. The navy refers all questions about the operations to Morrison's office.

About 16,000 asylum seekers came on 220 boats to Australia in the first seven months of last year. The government has said that since mid-December, not a single boat has arrived.

In separate interviews, the five asylum seekers all said their vessel landed on the island – raising questions about what Canberra means when it says no boats have arrived. One of the men said he had carried a Global Positioning System (GPS) device that showed Darwin was roughly 35km away.

They also gave multiple accounts of military personnel using plastic zip ties and pepper spray to restrain asylum seekers. Passengers were denied proper access to food, water, medical treatment and toilets, they added.

Reuters was given permission by Indonesian immigration authorities to interview the five men, who were detained when their boat arrived back in Indonesia. Four were interviewed in person in the city of Kupang and the other by telephone.

Tensions flared as soon as the Australian military personnel arrived on the island off Darwin, said Yousif Ibrahim Fasher, an English-speaker from Sudan's Darfur region. He said he told the Australians that four men had been swept overboard.

"We told them: 'that direction, we lost people.' We told them everything. They said: 'No, you go back to the boat'."

"We refused, and then they used force," Fasher said.

Men who resisted were picked up by their arms and legs and dumped in the boat, the asylum seekers said. Fasher said he saw military personnel kick and use zip ties to handcuff one man who tried to flee.

The boat, its engine crippled after men sabotaged the motor on arrival, was tethered to a navy speedboat and towed back to sea.

Morrison said claims of four people falling overboard had been investigated and that he was confident they were not true.

Abbott came to power last September partly because of his tough stance on asylum seekers, an issue that has polarised Australia since the first boats from Vietnam came in the 1970s. The government has offshore detention centres in the impoverished South Pacific nations of Papua New Guinea and Nauru capable of holding thousands.

He has likened the battle to stop the boats as a war, insisting secrecy is important to prevent "the enemy" receiving information.

The UN refugee agency has warned that Australia could be breaking its obligation under the UN Refugee Convention by failing to hear asylum seekers' claims.

Standing on the beach that New Year morning, Mansoor Ali, a former sailor in the Eritrean Navy, stared at his GPS device.

His reading suggested the boat had landed on one of several islands north of Darwin in Australian territorial waters, a former Australian Navy officer with experience in intercepting asylum seeker boats told Reuters.

But unbeknown to Ali, the sand beneath his feet was not as Australian as he assumed.

In 2001, then Prime Minister John Howard made it harder for asylum seekers by removing the right of unauthorised boat arrivals to apply for a visa on landing in several territories, such as Christmas Island, that were popular due to their proximity to Indonesia.

Under pressure from then-opposition leader Abbott over a surge in asylum seekers, the previous Labor government last year expanded this to include all of Australia's coastline.

For Ali and the others, the result was immediate: an armed escort back to where they came from.

Once out to sea, the asylum seekers were guarded by 10 personnel from the warship HMAS Parramatta, according to witness recollections of its hull number. Shifts changed every four hours.

Some of the guards called asylum seekers "monkeys" and told them they were not wanted in Australia, Fasher said.

Guards imposed strict discipline on the cramped, roughly 10-metre-long boat. Food and water were insufficient and some requests for medical help went unheeded, the asylum seekers said.

The greatest tension built towards the back of the craft, in a room below deck where Australian engineers struggled to repair the engine. The room was the only route to the toilet.

Fearing someone would break the engine once it had been fixed, the Australians instituted a rule: one visit to the toilet per day for men, and only night visits for women.

"I remember they used to stop us going to the bathroom. Forbidden to stand, forbidden to speak, forbidden to raise your voice," said Bakil Abdul Hamid, a 28-year-old Yemeni, who said his brother Mohammad was one of the four swept to their deaths on January 1.

As the trip wore on, hope dwindled. After several days, unrest broke out. Taking the opportunity with the boat stationary as Australian engineers again tinkered with the engine, the asylum seekers launched a desperate protest.

Ali was the first to hurl himself into the water, three asylum seekers said. At least 10 others jumped in. Guards began tackling, pepper-spraying and zip-tying people in an effort to stop more following. Some of those pulled from the water said they were then pepper-sprayed in the face.

"We were suffering. People did not prefer life to death," said Faisal Salaad, a 33-year-old who said he watched the scuffle as he floated in the sea.

The following day, as the boat continued its journey, violence broke out again.

Around midday four men, angered by the toilet curbs, went into the engine room.

The first through the door, Bobies Ibrahim Nooris, 20, was pepper sprayed in the eyes, he recalled, causing him to stumble into an engine exhaust and seriously burn his hand.

Fasher was the only passenger spoken to by Reuters who claims to have seen what happened next.

Military personnel grabbed the hands of the other three men and forced them onto the exhaust as punishment, he said.

These accusations, already made in the Indonesian and Australian media, have been denied by the Australian government. No other passengers could corroborate Fasher's account.

In the early hours of January 6, the guards changed shifts. As the asylum seekers dozed, the Australians slipped away leaving behind a small supply of food and water, and just enough fuel to reach Indonesia.

Deflated and exhausted, the asylum seekers sailed for about two hours to Rote, Indonesia's southernmost island. Locals called the police, who put them in detention. – Reuters, February 10, 2014.

Football: Violence stains Brazil’s love affair with football

Posted: 09 Feb 2014 06:57 PM PST

February 10, 2014

 Members of Brazilian Corinthians' torcida (organized supporters), Gavioes da Fiel, cheer for their team during the 2014 Paulista championship football match against Portuguesa, Sao Paulo, Brazil. - AFP pic, February 10, 2014. Members of Brazilian Corinthians' torcida (organized supporters), Gavioes da Fiel, cheer for their team during the 2014 Paulista championship football match against Portuguesa, Sao Paulo, Brazil. - AFP pic, February 10, 2014.Brazilians famously love football. But sometimes fanaticism goes overboard and violence results, as recent outbreaks of hooliganism and a fan attack on players attest.

Last December saw one of the worst incidents of hooliganism in years when fans of Atletico Paraense clashed with visitors Vasco da Gama.

Television footage showing fans attacking each other flashed round the world, focusing on one bloodied man being mercilessly kicked in the body and head.

The December violence was all the more shocking, occurring just six months before Brazil stages the World Cup.

President Dilma Rousseff reacted sternly by insisting Brazil would not tolerate such behaviour.

But last weekend, Brazilian fans were in the news for all the wrong reasons once again after dozens of Corinthians supporters invaded the club's training complex and attacked players.

They threatened to break the legs of at least two players and grabbed Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero around the neck.

Former AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato, one of those targeted for poor recent form promptly left the club on Wednesday to join Sao Paulo with Jadson going the other way.

Brazilian 'ultras' - hardcore fans - may not have the reputation of English hooligans of yesteryear or Argentina's feared "barrasbravas."

Yet football violence directly cost a reported 30 lives last year in the giant country and for hard-line supporters such incidents come with the territory.

"Fighting is a consequence - of having to defend our colours," says one Corinthians fan, Alan Mateos, 25.

Mateos is a veteran member of the club's "Gavioes da Fiel" (hawks of the faithful) supporters' group which numbers more than 100,000, one of Brazil's biggest fan organizations.

Alan is easily recognisable with his bare chest and a body covered with tattoed slogans and club badges.

On the terraces they make their intimidating, high-adrenaline presence felt amid a torrent of drum beating and chanting - insults of rivals to the fore.

Criminal records

"Defending Corinthians is our passion. We are always there, at every match," says Gavioes' 'chairman' Wagner da Costa.

Asked if he expects to see fan violence during the World Cup he told AFP flatly: "We are 'Corinthians' before Brazilians."

In seeking to rationalize hooliganism, Wagner da Costa notes there is "a problem in society.

Yet he adds football is just one facet of violence in the country as a whole.

"When we go to a disco in the suburbs there are more fights than there are in the stadium," Da Costa asserts.

Eduardo Carlezzo, who sits on a national commission of lawyers on sporting law believes fans will put aside tribal club loyalties at the World Cup and get behind Brazil.

At the same time, Carlezzo identifies an evident correlation between football and people with a predisposition to violence.

"The groups of supporters comprise many people with a criminal record who come along to cause problems," indicates Carlezzo.

He insists that a supporter's statute passed in 2003 providing for hooligans to be fined and slapped with jail terms of up to three years is not enough.

"There needs to be better control, (more) information from intelligence services and a tougher law," he insists.

But others say legislation will not provide an answer to the fundamental problem.

"Repression alone will not resolve the issue," says Bernardo Buarque de Hollanda, professor at the Getulio Vargas research foundation and an author of works on football fanaticism.

"At first sight, you think this is just about young men from the suburbs struggling to hold down a job with low educational attainment and low social aspirations," Buarque de Hollanda told AFP.

But he insists making such generalizations is a risky business.

"I know several leaders of (radical fan) groups with university degrees who live in Rio's South Zone," the posh end of the city. – AFP, February 10, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

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Victoria eyes US ambitions after New York Fashion Week

Posted: 09 Feb 2014 07:21 PM PST

February 10, 2014

 Models present the work of Victoria Beckham during the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2014. - AFP pic, February 10, 2014. Models present the work of Victoria Beckham during the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2014. - AFP pic, February 10, 2014. The sky's the limit for Victoria Beckham, the Spice Girl turned acclaimed designer who has big dreams Stateside after unveiling her latest catwalk collection in New York yesterday.

Proud husband, retired football star David sat front row with sons Brooklyn, 14, Romeo, 11, Cruz, 8, looking elegant with slicked back hair, and bouncing two-year-old Harper on his knee.

Pictures of Harper in Beckham's arms next to Vogue queen Anna Wintour, unusually smiling, went viral after Victoria's 2014 spring/summer show but this time the whole family turned out.

"I just wanted them to see what I do. The boys have never been to a show before. For them to see that mummy works and daddy works is a very positive message," Victoria said backstage.

Wintour, editor-in-chief of American Vogue and the arbiter of global style, was again front row for Beckham's fall/winter 2014 collection held in a Cafe Rouge in the heart of Manhattan.

The accomplished collection was one of the most crowded on day four of the week-long event that kicks off the global 2014 fall/winter season before the shows move to Europe.

In immaculate white surroundings, Beckham showcased an elegant and sophisticated collection dominated by floor-length dresses, pleats, spectacular naked backs and careful structuring.

Gold chains picked out details here and there, while black and white were the dominant colours.

"There is a lot more design details this season and also we are focusing on evening," said the 39-year-old designer.

"There is an element of surprise in every single piece."

Beckham, who unveiled her first collection in 2008, has won plaudits for her attention to detail and beautifully crafted, feminine outfits that can be worn during the day and evening.

She explained that her fall/winter 2014 collection had a greater attention to evening wear and to design details.

"Each season, the more people understand me and understand my brand, the more I can push it a little bit and I enjoy doing that," she said.

"I love the long beautiful feminine skirts, with a more masculine trouser underneath it. I love long lean silhouettes and the fact that they are beautifully structured," she added.

Respected for her small, beautifully crafted collections Beckham is eyeing the big league and the American market, which could mean a return to the United States.

An astute businesswoman she already sells her collections in dozens of countries and in the fall will open her first boutique, a sprawling affair in London's Dover Street.

"I am very excited about it," she said. "But I really want to focus on the US," Beckham told AFP.

"My collection does very, very well, but the potential here is huge for me to take it to the next level," she added.

"I have to spend more time here, and I have to have people here on the ground working with my retail partners, I am really pushing it," she said.

The Beckhams moved back to London from Los Angeles in 2012 but have not ruled out a possible return to the US.

Yet despite last week's confirmation that David is preparing to launch a football club in Miami, the family are not going to live in Florida, she insists.

"We are based in London, that's where our home is, that's where the children go to school.

"So we are definitely not moving to Miami, but it's great to be able to travel and you can get so inspired, you know."

Yesterday she announced that her ready-to-wear collection would for the first time be available online.

"I've got lots of ideas, lots of things that I want to do. It still feels modern, it still feels cool, it has still got edge, but it feels elegant at the same time." – AFP, February 10, 2014.

‘LEGO Movie’ tops ‘Monuments Men’ to score huge US box office win

Posted: 09 Feb 2014 04:15 PM PST

February 10, 2014

Cast member Will Ferrell attends the premiere of the film 'The Lego Movie' in Los Angeles, February 1, 2014. – Reuters pic, February 10, 2014.Cast member Will Ferrell attends the premiere of the film 'The Lego Movie' in Los Angeles, February 1, 2014. – Reuters pic, February 10, 2014."The LEGO Movie", an animated film based on the colorful plastic children's blocks, snapped up $69.1 million (RM230.1 million) in ticket sales to top weekend box office charts, easily beating the George Clooney World War Two film "The Monuments Men".

"The Monuments Men", which also stars Matt Damon, Bill Murray and John Goodman, was second with $22.7 million in sales at US and Canadian theatres. The film is based on the true story of US soldiers who rescued art masterpieces from Nazi thieves.

After three consecutive weeks in the top spot, the Kevin Hart-Ice Cube comedy "Ride Along" took third with $9.4 million, according to data supplied by Rentrak.

Led by the voices of Will Ferrell, Will Arnett and Morgan Freeman, "The LEGO Movie" features toy mini-figures of Batman, a pirate and others in a Lego universe faced with destruction on Taco Tuesday.

The film won lavish praise from critics as inventive and funny, with 112 of 118 critics giving it a "fresh" rating on the movie review site Rotten Tomatoes, and far surpassed average industry projections of an opening weekend around $50 million.

"The LEGO Movie" was heavily marketed by Warner Brothers and The LEGO Group, the Danish company that makes the popular snap together blocks. The toy company released 17 building sets inspired by scenes from the movie. McDonald's released eight collectable holographic cups with its Happy Meals.

"It's awesome," said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution for Warner Brothers of the blockbuster opening, which was the biggest of 2014 thus far.

"We had a movie playing from 5 to 85," he said. "Five-year-olds are enjoying it, their siblings are enjoying it, and their parents and grandparents are all enjoying it."

Fellman noted that 59% of the audience was actually over age 18, and 55% were male. "We even had some midnight show business," he said. Sales at 3-D showings were also far stronger than is usually the case with animated films.

The big numbers bode well for more "LEGO" films going forward from the studio.

"The Monuments Men" received mixed reviews from critics and was moved back from its original December 18 release date for additional post-production work and editing. The film, based on the book by Robert M. Edsel, was written and directed by Clooney.

"It was very much in line with the high end of our expectations," said Rory Bruer, Sony Pictures' president of worldwide distribution of the $22.7 million figure.

"We're very happy with our opening, especially given all the noise of the Olympics and the big movies opening around us," he said, adding that the film was playing well to adult audiences as was expected.

The weekend's only other major new release, "Vampire Academy", based on the first book in the "Vampire Academy" series by fantasy author Richelle Mead, opened in the No. 7 spot with $4.1 million in sales, according to studio estimates.

Rounding out the top five, Disney's long-running musical "Frozen" took fourth place with $6.9 million, while "That Awkward Moment" was fifth, collecting $5.5 million in sales. "Frozen" has racked up $369 million since its November debut.

"Lone Survivor", the tale of four US Navy SEALs who run into an ambush in Afghanistan, was sixth with sales of $5.3 million. It has generated $112.6 million over seven weeks.

Warner Brothers, a unit of Time Warner, released the film "The Lego Movie". Sony's Columbia studio released "The Monuments Men". Vampire Academy" was distributed by the Weinstein Company. Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal division, distributed "Ride Along" and "Lone Survivor". – Reuters, February 10, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Books

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Murakami ‘regrets’ book portrayal of Japanese town

Posted: 09 Feb 2014 04:52 PM PST

February 10, 2014

Best-selling novelist Haruki Murakami (pic) expressed regret last week over his portrayal of a small Japanese town in a new story, after a passage suggesting residents habitually throw cigarettes from car windows left locals fuming.

The remote town of Nakatonbetsu on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido said last Wednesday that it wanted an explanation from the publisher over how it allowed such a description to pass through an editor's desk.

The offending passage appeared in the new 24-page novella, entitled "Drive my car – men without women", which was published in the December edition of the long established monthly magazine "Bungeishunju".

"I love the land of Hokkaido and have visited there a number of times... I have written the novel this time strictly with a sense of intimacy for it," Murakami said in a statement released by the magazine.

"I find it quite regrettable and unfortunate that it has caused people living there to feel unpleasant," he said.

The novella depicts fictionalised conversations between a widowed middle-aged actor and his 24-year-old chauffeuse who hails from Nakatonbetsu, a real-life mountain town whose population has dwindled to 1,900 from a peak of 7,600 in 1950.

When she flips a lit cigarette out of the driver's window, the actor thinks to himself: "Probably this is something everyone in Nakatonbetsu commonly does."

Murakami said on Friday he had "long liked how the name of Nakatonbetsu sounds" but intends to replace the name when the story comes out in book form.

"In order to prevent myself from causing any more trouble, I intend to change it to a different name," he said.

Murakami, 65, whose often surrealist works have been translated into about 40 languages, is widely spoken of as a future Nobel Literature laureate.

But members of the eight-strong town assembly were not amused at their portrayal as a community of litterbugs.

On Wednesday head of the assembly's secretariat Shuichi Takai told AFP the body intended to demand an explanation from the publisher.

"In early spring, the town people gather of their own will in a clean-up operation to collect litter on roads," Takai said.

"We also work hard to prevent wildfires as 90% of our town is covered with mountain forests. It is never a town where people litter with cigarettes everyday," he added. "We want to know why the name of a real town had to be used like that."

Murakami's latest book, "Shikisai wo Motanai Tazaki Tsukuru to Kare no Junrei no Toshi (Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage)", became the biggest-selling novel of 2013 after its April release.

An English-language translation is expected some time this year. – AFP/Relaxnews, February 10, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

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Bunuh anak teman wanita, rakyat Sudan terlepas tali gantung

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 02:57 AM PST

February 10, 2014

Seorang rakyat Sudan terlepas daripada tali gantung apabila Mahkamah Persekutuan hari ini mengetepikan hukuman mati yang dijatuhi Mahkamah Tinggi Shah Alam kerana membunuh anak perempuan teman wanitanya, empat tahun lepas.

Selepas Presiden Mahkamah Rayuan mengumumkan keputusan itu, anggota keluarga bekas pelajar kolej, Mohannad Taha Ismail dan rakan-rakannya, yang berada di mahkamah, menitiskan air mata dan kelihatan memeluk satu sama lain.

Di luar mahkamah, kesemua mereka mengucapkan 'Alhamdulillah' dan sesetengah daripada mereka menangis.

Mahkamah Rayuan membuat keputusan itu selepas membenarkan rayuan terakhir Mohannad Taha terhadap sabit kesalahan dan hukuman mati yang dijatuhi oleh Mahkamah Tinggi Shah Alam pada 30 September, 2011.

Ketika membuat keputusan sebulat suara, Hakim Md Raus berkata selepas mendengar hujah daripada kedua-dua pihak, mahkamah berpendapat bahawa berdasarkan bukti yang dikemukakan, mahkamah mendapati bahawa adalah tidak selamat untuk mengekalkan hukuman itu ke atas perayu (Mohannad Taha).

"Oleh itu, rayuan dibenarkan, mahkamah mengetepikan sabit kesalahan dan hukuman mati ke atas perayu," kata Hakim Md Raus yang mempengerusikan panel hakim lima anggota terdiri daripada Datin Paduka Zaleha Zahari, Datuk Hasan Lah, Datuk Jeffrey Tan Kok Wha dan Datuk Seri Mohamed Apandi Ali.

Pada 15 Oktober, 2012, Mahkamah Rayuan mengekalkan hukuman mati yang dijatuhi oleh Mahkamah Tinggi Shah Alam ke atas Mohannad Taha selepas mendapatinya bersalah membunuh Aaliyah Ayman Hussin Abdullah, 3 tahun.

Dia dituduh melakukan kesalahan itu di Kondominium Venice Hill di Cheras antara 7.30 malam dan 8.30 malam pada 12 Oktober, 2009.

Terdahulu, peguam Hisyam Teh Poh Teik yang mewakili Mohannad Taha berhujah bahawa tiada bukti jelas menunjukkan bahawa anak guamnya telah menyebabkan pendarahan parah pada bahagian kranium mangsa kerana tiada siapapun dalam rumah nampak Mohannad Taha menggoncang mangsa.

Beliau berhujah bahawa keterangan emak mangsa tidak boleh diterima, kerana kenyataannya kepada polis didapati bercanggah dengan keterangannya kepada mahkamah.

Timbalan Pendakwa Raya berhujah bahawa satu kesimpulan seharusnya dibuat ke atas perayu memandangkan dia tinggal bersama mangsa dan ibunya selama tiga bulan di rumah itu. – Bernama, 10 Februari, 2014.

Pelakon video Teresa Kok beri keterangan polis esok

Posted: 10 Feb 2014 02:45 AM PST

OLEH ELIZABETH ZACHARIAH
February 10, 2014

Polis belum lagi bertindak terhadap sekumpulan individu yang menggelar diri mereka 'Majlis NGO Islam', yang menawarkan ganjaran  RM1,200 terhadap mereka yang berani menampar Kok. – Gambar fail.Polis belum lagi bertindak terhadap sekumpulan individu yang menggelar diri mereka 'Majlis NGO Islam', yang menawarkan ganjaran RM1,200 terhadap mereka yang berani menampar Kok. – Gambar fail.Pelakon dalam klip video Teresa Kok, 'Onederful Malaysia CNY 2014' adalah yang pertama dipanggil polis untuk memberikan keterangan ke atas penglibatan beliau dalam klip video yang didakwa menghina kepimpinan Melayu dan Islam.

Dipercayai pelakon tersebut, Lim Ching Mau akan berjumpa dengan polis esok di Ibu Pejabat Polis Kuala Lumpur (IPKKL) pada jam 2 petang untuk memberikan keterangan.

Kok melakonkan watak sebagai pengacara rancangan feng shui dan menemubual tiga ahli panel, termasuk Lim dalam klip video Tahun Baru Cina tersebut.

Tiga ahli panel itu mempersendakan pelbagai isu, termasuk isu keterangan sistem pendidikan Malaysia dan pencerobohan pengganas Sulu di Sabah tahun lalu.

Kok sedang disiasat mengikut Seksyen 505 (b) Kanun Keseksaan kerana membuat kenyataan yang boleh menimbulkan kerosakan awam dan Seksyen 233(1)(a), Akta Komunikasi dan Multimedia.

Lim, 32 tahun, memberitahu portal berita Malaysiakini bahawa beliau memainkan watak Lydia Shum, pelakon daripada Hong Kong, dalam klip video tersebut.

"Saya rasa rupa saya seiras dengan Lydia... saya menonton beliau sejak kecil lagi," katanya.

Beliau menambah, beliau sudah kehilangan banyak kerja lakonan berikutan kontroversi klip video Kok.

"Saya harap perkara ini akan selesai secepat mungkin, saya kehilangan dua kerja dan kerja lain pula ditangguhkan. Ini menyebabkan saya kehilangan beberapa ribu ringgit," katanya.

Sebelum ini, Pengarah Keselamatan Dalam Negeri dan Ketenteraman Awam, Datuk Seri Salleh Mat Rasid berkata polis akan menyiasat klip video tersebut dan memutuskan sama ada ia merupakan hasutan atau fitnah.

Beliau menambah, sekiranya didapati bersalah, tindakan relevan akan dikenakan terhadap Kok.

Menteri Dalam Negeri, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, mengumumkan bahawa polis menerima sebanyak 300 aduan terhadap Kok tentang klip video tersebut.

"Kita sudah memulakan siasatan bersama Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia (SKMM) mengenai perkara ini.

"Kita akan mengumpulkan dan meneliti semua laporan yang diterima daripada badan bukan kerajaan (NGO)," katanya.

Klip video yang berunsurkan satira politik itu dimuat naik ke laman maya pada 27 Januari lalu.

Beberapa NGO Islam dan menteri Kabinet mengkritik video tersebut dan mendakwa video itu menghina kepimpinan Melayu dan Islam.

Menteri Kemajuan Luar Bandar dan Wilayah, Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, yang masih belum menonton video tersebut, mengatakan bahawa Kok mempermainkan insiden pencerobohan Lahad Datu oleh tentera Sulu yang mengorbankan 10 polis dan tentera Malaysia.

Bagaimanapun, polis belum bertindak terhadap sekumpulan individu yang menggelar diri mereka 'Majlis NGO Islam', yang menawarkan ganjaran  RM1,200 terhadap mereka yang berani menampar Kok.

Ahli Parlimen Seputeh itu serta penyokong beliau membuat tujuh laporan polis, Jumaat lalu, kerana bimbang atas keselamatan dirinya.

Polis mengklasifikasikan kes tersebut di bawah Seksyen 505(c) bagi kerosakan awam dengan tujuan menghasut orang awam untuk melakukan kesalahan terhadap orang lain, dan Seksyen 506 bagi ugutan jenayah.

Bagaimanapun, Ahmad Zahid berkata tiada siasatan lanjut diperlukan oleh polis, kerana tindakan NGO tersebut bukan satu ancaman.

"Tamparan bukan satu ugutan. Jika mereka mengugut untuk membunuh, maka ia satu ugutan," katanya.

NGO tersebut merancang untuk menganjurkan satu lagi protes jika ahli politik tersebut enggan mengubah sifat cauvinistik mereka. – 10 Februari, 2014.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion


Lemah sangatkah politik Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim?

Posted: 09 Feb 2014 05:07 PM PST

February 10, 2014

Penulis adalah seorang jurutera semikonduktor, wartawan freelance, penerbit dan editor buku motivasi yang suka mengikuti perkembangan politik Malaysia

Sejak Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Kajang disengajakan, ramai di kalangan ahli PKR yang menyokong dengan hujah bahawa langkah tersebut terpaksa dilakukan kerana kelemahan berpolitik Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, menteri besar Selangor.

Mereka memuji Khalid hebat dalam pentadbiran, tetapi pada masa yang sama, mengeji beliau tidak mahir berpolitik.

Apakah betul dakwaan mereka?

Menaikkan rizab Selangor

Mari kita bermula dari 2008. Khalid dilantik menjadi menteri besar Selangor dan mendapati kerajaan Selangor yang kaya sebenarnya miskin. Duit kerajaan entah ke mana meskipun Datuk Seri Dr Khir Toyo boleh memiliki mahligai di Shah Alam.

Tiada jalan lain bagi Khalid. Sama ada beliau mencari jalan untuk meningkatkan pendapatan kerajaan negeri Selangor ataupun beliau merayu dan membiarkan diri diperas ugut daripada segi kewangan oleh kerajaan persekutuan yang masih di bawah Umno.

Bagi Khalid, untuk melawan kemaraan dan kacauan Umno di Selangor, kerajaan Selangor Pakatan Rakyat mesti mempunyai dana yang bukan sekadar cukup, malah menggerunkan lawan.

Oleh itu, tidak susah untuk memahami mengapa Khalid sentiasa mewar-warkan jumlah rizab kerajaan Selangor kepada umum. Ia adalah strategi politik serampang dua mata, pertama mendapat kepercayaan dan keyakinan rakyat bahawa Selangor sedang ditadbir dengan baik, dan kedua ditujukan untuk Umno, bahawa kerajaan negeri Pakatan Rakyat mempunyai dana yang cukup untuk berperang dengannya sekiranya mereka melakukan apa-apa.

Meningkatkan rizab kerajaan negeri Selangor adalah satu langkah politik untuk menyekat sebarang peluang Umno untuk merampas kembali Selangor.

Hanya dengan rizab yang menggerunkan, Putrajaya tidak berani melakukan sabotaj berbentuk kewangan pada kerajaan negeri Selangor kerana ia tahu kerajaan Selangor mampu menyelesaikannya.

Ia dilakukan dengan baik oleh Khalid apabila beliau melawan sabotaj Umno menggunakan isu kutipan sampah melalui pembelian sendiri jentera pengurusan sampah.

Untuk membolehkan rakyat melupakan Umno di Selangor dan hanya teringat kepada Pakatan Rakyat, Khalid memberikan air percuma 20m3 setiap bulan kepada rakyatnya.

Pemberian air percuma ini menjadi satu mercu tanda kecemerlangan pentadbiran Khalid, kerana rakyat tidak pernah menikmati kemewahan ini semasa Umno-BN mentadbir.

Kerana air percuma ini, rakyat juga merasakan Selangor ditadbir dengan baik kerana rizab semakin meningkat sehingga mampu memberikan air percuma yang selama ini tidak mampu diberikan oleh kerajaan Umno-BN.

Air percuma ini pada kulitnya dilihat sebagai satu usaha berkebajikan Khalid, tetapi di sebaliknya, ia sebenarnya dicatur dengan penuh teliti yang merangkumi kehebatan ilmu strategik politik Khalid.

Lantikan Khusrin, gaji, istana

Sebagai seorang bekas CEO satu syarikat yang besar, setiap tindakan Khalid akan dilakukan dengan penghujungnya "apakah kesudahan yang diinginkan."

Khalid perlu memastikan setiap langkah taktikalnya menguntungkan kerajaan negeri dan juga rakyatnya meskipun berdepan dengan keadaan yang amat sukar. Situasinya mesti win-win, atau win-lose, tapi lose untuk pihak lain.

Selain itu, Khalid juga dilihat sentiasa mengelakkan diri dan kerajaan negeri daripada bertembung dengan pihak istana.

Khalid belajar daripada episod bantahannya terhadap pelantikan Datuk Mohammed Khusrin Munawi sebagai Setiausaha Kerajaan negeri Selangor.

Ketika itu, walaupun Khalid membantah pelantikan Khusrin yang dilakukan oleh Ketua Setiausaha Negara (KSN) tanpa merujuknya terlebih dahulu, tetapi beliau tetap menghadirkan diri ke majlis angkat sumpat Khusrin atas alasan menghormati Sultan Selangor.

Daripada segi politik, Khalid memahami sekiranya beliau memulau majlis angkat sumpah tersebut, ia akan dilihat sebagai mengisytihar perang dengan istana.

Apakah kebaikan atau keuntungan yang boleh dicapai dengan berperang dengan istana? Tiada, malah ia merugikan kerana langkah itu akan memberi laluan untuk Umno mempertingkat serangan dan menjejaskan sokongan pengundi Melayu kepada Pakatan Rakyat.

Oleh itu, Khalid akur dengan lantikan Khusrin meskipun dalam protes kerana menjaga hubungan baiknya dengan istana perlu diutamakan bagi mengelak gangguan tidak perlu terhadap kerja beliau sebagai MB Selangor. Langkah sedemikian juga mengelakkan beliau dan seluruh kerajaan negeri daripada terperangkap dalam permainan Umno.

Berbalik ke waktu ini, ramai yang mengecam tindakan Khalid menaikkan gaji exco, speaker, timbalan speaker dan beliau sendiri sebagai menteri besar pada skala yang besar.

Walaupun panas pada awal isu ini terletus, tetapi akhirnya, isu gaji tinggi di Selangor sebenarnya berpihak kepada kebijaksanaan politik Khalid.

Gaji yang tinggi melambangkan kemakmuran pentadbiran Selangor. Gaji MB lebih tinggi daripada PM sebenarnya satu kemenangan untuk Pakatan Rakyat, kerana ia menunjukkan Selangor ditadbir jauh lebih baik daripada Putrajaya sehingga membolehkan keadaan itu berlaku. Meskipun Umno-BN mentadbir untuk 5 dekad lamanya, mereka masih tidak mampu berbuat demikian.

Khalid juga tidak mahu apa yang berlaku semasa pentadbiran Umno-BN berlaku di zaman Pakatan Rakyat iaitu ahli politik termasuk exco merekacipta projek dan menceburkan diri dalam aktiviti untuk menambah sumber pendapatan diri dan keluarga kerana kesempitan wang. Situasi inilah menjadi baja kepada suburnya masalah kronisme, salah guna kuasa, projek rundingan terus dan rasuah di dalam pentadbiran Umno-BN.

Apakah jalan keluar untuk mengelakkan perkara ini berlaku? Bagi Khalid, memberikan gaji yang setimpal kepada mereka adalah jalan keluar paling mudah dan logik. Walaupun dari luar kenaikan gaji yang dicadangnya kelihatan lumayan, sebenarnya gaji itu adalah setimpal dengan kecemerlangan kerajaan negeri Selangor.

Jais, isu Allah dan PKNS

Dalam isu kemelut agama pula, Khalid sebagai MB Selangor menghadapi dua ujian politik yang besar, kedua-duanya melibatkan tindakan Jais.

Pertama ialah serbuan Jais ke gereja DUMC dan yang kedua ialah serbuan Jais ke Persatuan Bible Malaysia (PBM) untuk merampas Bible berbahasa Melayu.

Khalid sudah tentu sedar isu Allah ini bukanlah isu akidah, kerana sekiranya ia adalah isu akidah, sudah tentu hukumnya meliputi semua negeri di Malaysia.

Namun, apabila ada sesetengah negeri dibenarkan kerajaan untuk menggunakan Allah dan sesetengah negeri tidak, sudah pasti isu Allah pada pandangan Khalid menjadi satu isu politik.

Isu Allah tidak pernah reda, dan malah makin buruk apabila ahli politik, para peguam dan media daripada kedua-dua belah terus menghangatkan suasana dengan menegaskan pandangan masing-masing mengenai penggunaan nama Allah.

Penganut Kristian terus menggesa pemimpin bukan Islam daripada PR untuk bersuara mempertahankan hak mereka. Mereka juga mengharapkan pemimpin Melayu PR bersuara untuk pihak mereka menggunakan fakta sejarah dan sudut perlembagaan.

Pihak satu lagi pula, mereka terus bertegas bahawa Allah adalah hak milik eksklusif orang Islam dan tidak boleh digunakan oleh penganut agama lain.

Perkara ini menjadi lebih rumit, apabila kajian UMCEDEL dan Merdeka Centre menunjukkan lebih daripada 75% orang Islam di Malaysia berpendapat bahawa Allah adalah hak milik eksklusif orang Islam.

Oleh itu, apakah kesudahan yang diharapkan daripada kemelut Allah ini?

Dalam isu Allah, situasi apakah yang paling menguntungkan Pakatan Rakyat dan pada masa sama menghalang Umno terus mengambil untung politik daripada segi menjauhkan pengundi Melayu pedalaman daripada mendekati Pakatan Rakyat?

Itu yang menjadi pertimbangan Khalid. Khalid sedar isu Allah sudah menghampiri tahap tiada penyelesaian, maka apa yang boleh dilakukannya ialah mengelakkan diri dan kerajaan negeri daripada menambah minyak pada isu yang tengah membara.

Ini dilakukan oleh Khalid dengan mengambil sikap pasif terhadap isu tersebut.

Khalid tahu mengheret kerajaan negeri ke kemelut Allah adalah satu tindakan tidak bijak. Isu Allah ini sepatutnya masalah kerajaan persekutuan, dan tiba-tiba kini ia cuba dijadikan seolah-olah ia masalah Selangor kerana tindakan Jais seperti cara Umno melontarkan kentang panas isu Allah ini kepada PAS.

Apakah kesudahan yang boleh diharapkan jika Khalid membawa kerajaan negeri untuk berperang dengan satu agensi di bawah kuasa sultan? Tiada, kerana 75% orang Melayu tidak bersetuju dengan nama Allah digunakan oleh agama lain, sudah tentu berperang dengan Jais dan Mais tidak akan menyelesaikan kemelut ini.

Berpihak kepada mana-mana pihak akan menyemarakkan keadaan. Langkah yang boleh diambil oleh Khalid ialah meredakan keadaan.

Bagaimana untuk meredakan keadaan? Iaitu dengan bersikap pasif dan mengelak daripada melakukan apa-apa yang boleh menghangatkan lagi kontroversi dan memberi peluang kepada Umno untuk menyerang.

Maka, kerajaan negeri Selangor mengambil pendirian menghormati apa yang dilakukan Jais dan Mais untuk tidak dilihat bertembung dengan istana sambil memberikan teguran kepada Jais agar memaklumkan terlebih dahulu kepada kerajaan negeri sebelum serbuan dilakukan pada masa depan.

Sikap pasif Khalid juga boleh dilihat apabila beliau tidak menyahut cadangan beberapa Adun DAP untuk meminda Enakmen 1988 Selangor. Jika disahut, maka Khalid sendiri membantu DAP dan Pakatan Rakyat memijak bom yang dipasang lawan.

Itulah langkah tengah yang diambil oleh Khalid untuk meredakan isu Allah.

Sudah tentu, ada pihak yang tidak senang dengan tindakan Khalid, tetapi daripada sudut politik, apa yang dibuat Khalid menghentikan isu Allah daripada terus marak dan dimanipulasikan pihak tertentu untuk menegangkan lagi hubungan antara kaum dan agama di Selangor.

Dan sikap pasif Khalid ini memberi manfaat kepada Pakatan Rakyat daripada terus rugi daripada sudut persepsi politik bahawa mereka tidak berpihak kepada orang Melayu.

Khalid sedar bahawa Pakatan Rakyat berhadapan dengan masalah kurangnya sokongan Melayu pedalaman, dan orang Melayu pedalaman ini tidak mempunyai masalah untuk kekal bersama Umno-BN.

Oleh itu, daripada sudut politiknya, Khalid tidak boleh melakukan sesuatu yang menambahkan alasan untuk mereka kekal bersama Umno-BN.

Bagi rakyat di kawasan bandar dan semi-bandar, terutamanya pengundi bukan Islam, Khalid memilih untuk mengambil 'calculated risk' dengan menaruh harapan bahawa mereka sedar bahawa ini adalah permainan Umno-BN. Khalid menaruh keyakinan bahawa mereka akan kekal bersama Pakatan Rakyat untuk menumbangkan Umno-BN.

Kontroversi di PKNS dan pemecatan 30 pekerja kontrak di PKNS juga secara tersiratnya menunjukkan kehebatan Khalid berpolitik.

Tindakan tegas dan cepat ini dilakukan pada waktu PRK Kajang bakal langsung dapat mengurangkan protes dalaman secara drastik terhadap isu ini kerana masing-masing ingin menjaga kepentingan kempen Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim di Kajang.

Memahami CEO Khalid

Sebagai seorang CEO, Khalid perlu memastikan perniagaan Guthrie adalah terjamin. Sebagai MB, Khalid perlu memastikan Selangor terus berkembang, terus kaya dan terus kekal di tangan Pakatan Rakyat.

Kerajaan Selangor mesti kekal telus. Kerajaan Selangor mesti dilihat kerajaan yang 'do what you say, and say what you do.'

Asalkan kerajaan Selangor kekal di tangan Pakatan Rakyat dengan kepercayaan yang diberikan rakyat, barulah rakyat dan parti Pakatan Rakyat dapat mendapat manfaat daripadanya. Jika ia kembali kepada Umno-BN, hanya segelintir yang sahaja yang dapat tinggal di rumah seperti istana.

Kerajaan negeri yang mencampur-adukkan hal ehwal kerajaan negeri dengan hal parti tidak akan bertahan lama.

Banyak keputusan kerajaan negeri perlu diambil atas kepentingan kerajaan negeri, dan kebanyakan keputusan tersebut sebenarnya tidak menguntungkan parti politik; sebagai contoh - mengurangkan pembelanjaan daripada sudut lantikan politik atau memberi projek kecil-kecilan untuk membiayai program parti secara halus.

Lebih-lebih lagi, Khalid tahu agensi seperti SPRM adalah 'lebih rajin' untuk menyiasat salah laku di dalam kerajaan negeri milik PR berbanding Umno-BN. Oleh itu, beliau tidak boleh mengambil sebarang risiko untuk SPRM dan Umno-BN mendapat sebarang bukti kesilapan dengan membiarkan hal ehwal negeri disalahgunakan untuk keperluan parti.

Beliau terpaksa kedekut. Demi kerajaan Selangor untuk terus hidup, Khalid perlu pentingkan kepentingan kerajaan negeri daripada kepentingan parti.

Barangkali itulah yang menyebabkan ahli partinya sendiri menuduh beliau tidak pandai berpolitik, meskipun langkah politik Khalid untuk menghalang kemaraan Umno di Selangor cukup mengkagumkan.

Sebagai seorang bekas CEO di syarikat sebesar Guthrie, mustahil Khalid tidak mahir berpolitik. Politik dalam dunia korporat kadangkala adalah jauh lebih ganas daripada politik di luar.

Khalid tidak pernah malu menyatakan bahawa beliau kaya. Dan kerana itu, beliau "has nothing to lose."

CEO yang menampilkan dirinya seolah-olah tidak pandai berpoltik, tetapi, pada masa sama cukup berani dan tangkas membuat keputusan (lihat episod PKNS) apabila situasi memerlukannya adalah amat digeruni oleh kawan mahupun lawan.

Apakah anda masih percaya Khalid tidak bijak berpolitik? – 10 Februari, 2014.

* Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malaysian Insider. 

Pengikut guruji perlu ubah sikap

Posted: 09 Feb 2014 03:12 PM PST

February 10, 2014

Uthaya Sankar SB berkarya dalam Bahasa Malaysia. Beliau adalah presiden Kumpulan Sasterawan Kavyan (Kavyan) dan pemilik tunggal Perunding Media, Motivasi dan Penerbitan Uthaya. Selain menulis, membaca dan bercakap, beliau juga suka menonton filem.

Kisah Datuk Guluji didedahkan dalam The Malaysian Insider pada 27 Januari lalu. Kisah Datuk Guluji didedahkan dalam The Malaysian Insider pada 27 Januari lalu. Makalah bertajuk Mari mengenal Datuk Guluji mengundang reaksi daripada beberapa pihak. Saya memilih untuk mengabaikan maklum balas negatif yang tidak berasas daripada penyokong tegar seorang "guruji" yang marah-marah.

Dalam pada itu, saya sempat membincangkan topik berkaitan guruji dengan seorang pemuda bernama Magaenthiran Periaswamy yang berasal dari Shah Alam dan kini bekerja di Pulau Pinang.

Pemuda berumur 31 tahun itu sedia berkongsi pengalamannya secara objektif dengan harapan dapat berlaku adil kepada golongan guruji dan pengikut mereka.

Uthaya: Ceritakan sedikit latar belakang bagaimana saudara terlibat dalam ajaran guruji, tanpa perlu mendedahkan identiti individu berkenaan.

Magaenthiran: Saya menyertai kumpulan yang dipimpin seorang guruji pada sekitar 2003. Saya memutuskan untuk menyertai kumpulan itu yang beribu pejabat di Petaling Jaya atas pilihan sendiri. Tidak ada sesiapa yang memaksa atau memujuk saya menyertainya. Bagaimanapun saya tidak lagi aktif dalam kumpulan itu sejak 2007.

Bayaran RM730 yang dikenakan untuk menyertai kursus anjuran guruji itu memang sedikit membebankan bagi saya sebagai seorang pelajar kolej pada waktu itu. Bagaimanapun, saya sedar bahawa kita perlu keluarkan belanja jika mahu mendapatkan sesuatu sebagai pulangan.

Walaupun bayaran RM730 memang mahal, saya mengumpul duit dengan bekerja sambilan untuk membolehkan saya menghadiri kursus sehari yang dianjurkan. Bagi saya secara peribadi, saya mempelajari sesuatu yang baru dengan menghadiri kursus itu. Misalnya yoga dan meditasi.

Sekarang ini kita mendengar kes orang bersusah-payah serta sanggup meminjam wang daripada along untuk menyertai kursus guruji. Mungkin juga pada sekitar 2003, hanya mereka yang benar-benar mampu akan menyertainya.

Ibu bapa saya sendiri tidak menyertai kumpulan meditasi ini. Bukan kerana soal wang tetapi kerana tidak berminat. Maka, semua orang ada hak dan pilihan. Setahu saya, orang yang menyertai kumpulan guruji melakukannya atas pilihan sendiri.

Mungkin ada juga yang mengatakan bahawa bayaran RM730 terlalu mahal dan di luar kemampuan orang biasa; atau golongan berpendapatan rendah. Pada pendapat saya, jika mereka benar-benar mahu dan berminat, perlulah berusaha bagi mencapai hasrat menyertai kursus anjuran guruji itu.

Pada masa sama, saya akui bahawa kalaulah bayaran atau pengeras yang dikenakan itu lebih murah - misalnya RM100 - tentu lebih ramai orang yang berpeluang menyertai kursus anjuran guruji dan memperoleh kebaikan serta ilmu yang disampaikan.

Selepas menyertai kursus pada 2003, saya memang berfikir mengapa bayaran begitu tinggi dikenakan. Sebagai perbandingan atau perumpamaan, apa yang diajar semasa kursus sehari itu adalah topik Sains peringkat Tingkatan Lima, tetapi peserta dikenakan bayaran seperti mempelajari ilmu sains roket pada peringkat sarjana.

Bagi saya sendiri, banyak perkara positif yang saya pelajari. Walaupun saya akui bayaran RM730 adalah terlalu tinggi, saya tetap tidak menyesal.

Mengapa agaknya kini ramai yang tampil meluahkan rasa tidak puas hati dengan golongan guruji?

Banyak kali juga saya nampak guruji, tetapi tidak pernah berpeluang menemuinya secara peribadi atau secara dekat.

Mengenai soal pengikut mempertikaikan kredibiliti guruji, saya rasa ia berbalik kepada sikap dan pandangan masyarakat sendiri. Nampaknya ramai yang menyertai kumpulan pimpinan guruji dengan harapan menggunung.

Bagi mereka, apabila sudah membayar pengeras RM730 dan menyertai kursus sehari anjuran guruji, maka kehidupan mereka akan berubah sepenuhnya dan segala masalah akan selesai segera.

Mereka mungkin lupa bahawa segala-galanya berbalik kepada usaha kita sendiri. Walaupun guruji memberikan ilmu, panduan dan pengajaran, kita masih perlu berusaha dan melakukan latihan meditasi yang diajarkan itu.

Sekadar contoh, apabila seorang pelajar membayar yuran tinggi untuk mengikuti kelas tuisyen, dia tidak semestinya lulus cemerlang dalam peperiksaan jika tidak berusaha. Maka, bagi saya, semuanya berbalik kepada sikap setiap individu itu.

Bagi kelompok pengikut yang dilaporkan lantang bersuara sekarang, saya tertanya-tanya soalan yang sama. Apakah mereka menyertai kumpulan itu dengan mengharapkan guruji menyelesaikan 100% masalah mereka? Ada tidak mereka berusaha berpandukan apa-apa yang diajar oleh guruji?

Ajaran seorang guruji dilaporkan tersebar di SJKT sekitar Serdang, baru-baru ini.Ajaran seorang guruji dilaporkan tersebar di SJKT sekitar Serdang, baru-baru ini.Saya juga mendengar bahawa teknik yang digunakan oleh kumpulan pengikut guruji kini sudah lebih berorientasikan perniagaan jualan langsung atau MLM. Maknanya, mereka lebih menumpukan kepada usaha menarik orang menyertai kursus; lebih ramai pengikut, lebih baik.

Satu lagi cerita yang saya dengar ada pengikut guruji sendiri yang menjadi along. Maknanya, jika ada individu yang tidak mampu membayar RM730 untuk menyertai kurus, maka mereka boleh meminjam wang daripadanya dengan bunga (interest) yang lumayan.

Apa yang berlaku - seperti yang saya dengar daripada kawan ialah ramai peminjam wang itu hilang minat terhadap ajaran guruji dalam masa beberapa bulan.

Mereka menghilangkan diri dan tidak meneruskan bayaran ansuran bulanan kepada pengikut guruji yang menjadi along tadi. Maka, along pula dikatakan menggunakan kekerasan dan paksaan bagi mendapatkan bayaran.

Uthaya: Ceritakan sedikit pengalaman semasa saudara bersama kumpulan itu.

Saya tidak mahu memikirkan sama ada apa yang sedang dilakukan oleh guruji dan orang kuatnya adalah betul atau salah. Saya menyertai kumpulan itu pada 2003-2007 dan saya melihat segala ilmu yang dipelajari secara positif.

Harus saya akui bahawa saya bukan bersetuju dengan semua perkara yang diajar oleh guruji. Saya hanya mengambil, mengamalkan dan memanfaatkan apa yang perlu dan sesuai untuk saya. Selebihnya saya tinggalkan.

Setiap individu perlu menggunakan kebijaksanaan untuk menilai apa yang baik dan perlu diamalkan, serta apa yang kurang sesuai dan wajar ditinggalkan. Malangnya, saya akui bahawa memang ramai pengikut guruji yang terlalu ekstrem dan mendewa-dewakannya.

Kita perlu faham konsep "guru" atau "guruji". Tugasnya adalah mendidik, berkongsi ilmu serta memberikan panduan kepada murid, pelajar atau pengikut.

Masalah timbul apabila ada pihak yang terlalu taksub dan beranggapan bahawa mereka akan diberikan kuasa (power) yang sama seperti dimiliki guruji. Samalah seperti seorang pelajar mengharapkan guru di kelas memberikannya ilmu sehingga pelajar itu boleh menjadi sama seperti gurunya.

Saya sedar bahawa ada pengikut tegar guruji tertentu yang terlalu mengagung-agungkan serta mendewa-dewakannya. Misalnya, semasa perayaan Thaipusam, terdapat laporan bahawa ada pengikut tegar yang membawa kavadi yang memaparkan foto seorang guruji.

Hal ini menunjukkan bahawa pengikut itu terlalu taksub sehingga lupa kedudukan dan peranan seorang guruji. Seorang "guru" sudah diangkat terlalu tinggi sehingga menyamai dewa-dewi dalam ajaran Hindu.

Pada pengalaman saya sendiri, guruji tidak pernah meminta dirinya didewa-dewakan dan dipuja. Tetapi, apa yang dapat kita perhatikan sekarang guruji sudah dijadikan dewa. Saya tidak pasti di mana silapnya.

Harapan saya, masyarakat menyedari peranan sebenar seorang guruji sebagai guru dan pendidik. Janganlah terlalu taksub sehingga terpesong daripada konsep sebenar. Usahlah mendewa-dewakan guruji sehingga disamakan dengan Tuhan.

Pengikut tegar pula jangan memaksa orang lain turut menjadi pengikut. Kisah seorang guru sebuah sekolah jenis kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT) di sekitar Serdang baru-baru ini patut menjadi pengajaran kepada semua.

Guru itu perlu tahu bahawa dia tidak berhak menyebarkan ajaran guruji kepada murid, apatah lagi di dalam kelas. Mujurlah tindakan tegas golongan ibu bapa berjaya menyelesaikan masalah itu.

Sebagai kesimpulan, selagi sikap masyarakat dan pengikut guruji tidak berubah, selagi itu masalah seperti yang hangat diperkatakan sekarang akan berleluasa. – 10 Februari, 2014.

* Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malaysian Insider.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com
 

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