EZAM MASUK UMNO

Ada sahabat lama tanya kenapa Ezam pilih untuk masuk UMNO?  Saya diam, tak ada jawapan.  Lagipun saya dah lama gak mufarakah dengan parti KeADILan nie.

Dah ramai kawan tanya, carilah jugak beritanya – jangan tak tahu langsung – Lihat pula dalam kenyataan akhbar tempatan – katanya ada 6 orang tokoh pemuda akan menyertainya – Nak gak tahu siapa mereka nie – Apakah sumbangan mereka nie pada gerakan Reformasi – bukan lepas Mac 8 2008 tapi pada hari pemecatan DSAI – 2 September 1998 sehinggalah tertubuhnya ADIL dan KeADILan.

Suratkhabar menyatakan mereka yang turut serta ialah Sdr. Anuar Shaari, Sdr. Azwandin Hamzah, Sdr. SD Johari, Sdr. Hamdan Taha, Sdr. Mohd Nazmi Rosli, Sdr. Khairul Annuar Ramli, Sdr. Ahmad Daud Che Ghani dan Sdr. Abd. Ghani Haroon.

Ada yang saya kenal dan ada juga yang saya kurang kenal.  Sdr. Anuar Shaari memang saya kenal – lemah lembut, ex PTD.  Sdr. Azwandin pula – kami pernah berlaga angin dalam KeADILan Wilayah – Sdr. Ghani pula kali terakhir saya jumpa di Palace of Justice – saat menunggu keputusan perbicaraan Lina Joy.  Hamdan Taha – biasalah otai lama pemuda.  Sd. Johari memang pegawai Ezam – tak terkejut dia ikut boss – malah Setiausaha Pemuda Selangor memang biasa lompat parti – dulu Sdr. Wan Indera Putra – entah apa nasib dia kat UMNO.

Kesimpulan saya senang je, asalkan tak keluar ISLAM sudah, parti politik nie alat je, jangan sebab alat kita dah hancur lebur – matlamat akhir tu yang penting. 

Selamat Berpolitik – pelajaran yang saya belajar ketika dalam parti ialah “Tiada yang kekal dalam parti – matlab: Tiada musuh kekal dan Tiada kawan kekal”  sendiri mau ingat bila bercakap dan bertindak.

Shahrul Peshawar, Kg. Bharu

CYCLONE NARGIS – insert from wikipedia

On May 3, 2008, Cyclone Nargis devastated the country when winds of up to 250kph (150 mph)touched land in the densely populated, rice-farming delta of the Irrawaddy Division.

Recent reports estimate that more than 130,000 people are dead or missing from Cyclone Nargis that hit the country’s Irrawaddy delta. Shari Villarosa, who leads the U.S. Embassy in Yangon, said the number of dead could eventually exceed 140,800 because of illnesses and injury. Adds the World Food Programme, “Some villages have been almost totally eradicated and vast rice-growing areas are wiped out.”

The United Nations projects that as many as 1 million were left homeless; and the World Health Organization “has received reports of malaria outbreaks in the worst-affected area.” Yet in the critical days following this disaster, Myanmar’s isolationist regime complicated recovery efforts by delaying the entry of United Nations planes delivering medicine, food, and other supplies into the Southeast Asian nation. Similarly, the junta continues to reject the United States offer to provide much-needed assistance, although on May 13, the first U.S. military transport plane was allowed to land, bringing 14 tons of medical supplies, mosquito nets and blankets.^[52] The government’s failure to permit entry for large-scale international relief efforts was described by the United Nations as “unprecedented.”

 The Burmese Foreign Ministry stressed its capability in handling the aftermath of the cyclone and insisted that it was not ready to accept large-scale foreign assistance.

AP news stories state that foreign aid provided to disaster victims was modified to make it look like it came from the military regime, and state-run television continuously ran images of Gen. Than Shwe ceremonially handing out disaster relief.

More than a week after the disaster, only one out of 10 people who are homeless, injured or threatened by disease and hunger have received some kind of aid.

According to British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, “A natural disaster is turning into a humanitarian catastrophe of genuinely epic proportions in significant part because of the malign neglect of the regime.”

LET MUNIRAH EXPLAINS ON SEXY OUTFIT

Inilah emel yang saya hantar ke Editor, The Star berkenaan kenyataan-kenyataan balas yang membelasah Munirah, Hewi PKPIM.  Kenyataan beliau telah diremeh dan diperlekehkan oleh sesetengah kumpulan wanita yang tiada hala tujuan.

 

LET MUNIRAH EXPLAINS ON SEXY OUTFIT

 

Dear Editor

 

When Munirah Bahari of National Islamic Students Associaton of Malaysia made statement that our school uniform are sexy, she must have a very credible and strong evidence to support her.   

 

She must be given room and opportunity to share with the public on the findings and facts the her organization had gathered.  We should give more room for young people like her to express their ideas eventhough it is something that yet to be proved and to be challenged.

 

We should try to understand her beliefs and from what perspective she’s narrowing from.  We cannot simply put her claim as baseless or irresponsible just because we think as what we think.  

 

I agree, the victims of rape and sexual harassment doesn’t be the one who are wearing sexy outfits alone, those who are clad in tudung are also the victims, it is not the matter of age neither, an infant of one month may also be victim as well as a grandma of 80 years old.  Even the disabled also was not spared.  The worst side of rape is that even their own daughter – their own flesh did not save from the rapist.  

 

We might missed some useful information or facts that may reduce rapes and sexual harassment cases if we continue to sideline others discovery.  I strongly urged that Munirah be given chance to explain further on her statement.  After all this is something that concern our daughters and sisters appearance at school.

 

SHAHRUL PESHAWAR

Kg. Changkat, Gombak

 

 

Rice crisis in Malaysia

I just cant understand how Malaysia faced shortage of rice while living neighbouring to Thailand and Indonesia – a well known rice producer.  You ask me – and my simple answer will be:  The minister incharge should resign.  This is Malaysia – “I did it my way” 

Shahrul Peshawar, Kg. Baru

Nargis Cyclone – Myanmar – The stubborn junta

I’m just wondering why the junta is so stubborn.  The people are dying and the aftermath will be worst than now.  International teams are offering their assistance but being denied by the junta until now… The junta were so scared that the people will get new and fresh information on the world that they will stop supporting the junta.  Pity to the children, old folks and pregnant women.

shahrul peshawar, kg baru

 

 

NAKBAH bermula era rejim Yahudi – Najib ‘Afif Arip

Tanggal 15 Mei 1948 merupakan tarikh yang amat penting untuk disingkap oleh semua umat Islam di seluruh dunia. Tarikh penting tersebut adalah detik hitam bagi penduduk asal bumi Palestin, orang Arab dan dunia Islam secara keseluruhannya.Pada tarikh tersebut, penubuhan negara haram Israel di atas bumi Palestin telah diisyhtiharkan secara rasminya. Peristiwa tersebut turut dikenali sebagai “nakbah”. Nakbah bermaksud malapetaka atau bencana besar.Dalam peristiwa nakbah, Yahudi Zionis telah bertindak kejam dengan mengusir lebih daripada 60 peratus rakyat Palestin (lebih kurang 800 ribu orang daripada sejumlah 1.39 juta) ke luar negara, manakala 30 ribu lagi diusir ke daerah-daerah yang ditakluki mereka. Daripada jumlah 580 perkampungan rakyat Palestin yang wujud sebelum perang 1948, rejim Zionis telah menghancurkan 478 buah kampung serta terlibat dalam lebih 34 jenayah pembunuhan beramai-ramai rakyat Palestin. Rejim Zionis telah bertindak di luar batas kemanusiaan. Nyawa penduduk Palestin bagaikan tiada nilai di mata mereka. Pelbagai peristiwa pembunuhan beramai-ramai telah berlaku sepanjang peristiwa Nakbah. Antaranya peristiwa yang paling tragis ialah tragedi Deir Yassin pada 9 April 1948 yang melibatkan pembunuhan seramai 254 orang termasuk orang tua, wanita dan 52 kanak-kanak. Petugas Palang Merah dan Pertubuhan Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) sendiri menyaksikan bagaimana rumah-rumah rakyat Palestin dibakar dan orang yang cuba menyelamatkan diri ditembak. Sejarah kejatuhan bumi Palestin ke tangan Yahudi bermula apabila Britain melalui setiausaha negara hal-ehwal luarnya, Arthur Balfour, telah mengeluarkan satu kenyataan bertarikh 2 November 1917 yang menjanjikan masyarakat Yahudi satu tanahair di Palestin. Pengisytiharan itu telah digelar ‘Ominous Declaration’ (Pengisytiharan Celaka). Palestin menjadi isu antarabangsa apabila kerajaan Britain pada 2 April 1947 mendesak supaya isu Yahudi dan Palestin dimasukkan sebagai agenda PBB. Tidak lama selepas itu, sebuah Jawatankuasa antarabangsa telah ditubuhkan untuk mengkaji dan membuat laporan mengenai isu Palestin. Cadangan dasar jawatankuasa ini adalah pembahagian wilayah Palestin yang tidak adil iaitu kepada negara Arab dan negara Yahudi yang merdeka, dan Jerusalem (Baitul Maqdis) diletakkan bawah tanggungjawab antarabangsa. Jelas sekali bahawa PBB sendiri bersubahat dalam proses pendudukan haram Yahudi di Palestin dan menjadi boneka kepada Yahudi. Penderitaan yang dialami oleh penduduk palestin hingga kini masih belum berakhir walau mereka telah mencuba pelbagai cara dalam usaha untuk membebaskan bumi Palestin dan mendapatkan kembali hak-hak mereka yang telah dirampas di tanah suci tersebut. Antaranya, dengan melalui perjanjian damai, persidangan, perundingan, dengan mengikut pelan damai yang dianjurkan oleh PBB dan sebagainya. Bagaimanapun, kesemua cara ini telah menemui kegagalan. Oleh kerana semua cara ini tidak berhasil, maka rakyat Palestin telah memilih jalan lain untuk merungkai permasalahan yang menimpa mereka iaitu dengan kebangkitan, penentangan dan perjuangan jihad. Dalam usaha membebaskan negara sendiri daripada cengkaman penjajah, penduduk Palestin telah dilabel sebagai pengganas oleh Israel dan sekutunya. Mereka cuba untuk mengaburi mata masyarakat dunia melalui media massa yang sering memperlihatkan dan menonjolkan penduduk Palestin sebagai pengganas. Yahudi mendakwa bahawa mereka menjadi mangsa kekejaman penduduk Palestin sedangkan pengganas yang sebenar adalah mereka sendiri. Yahudi turut mendakwa bahawa mereka adalah penduduk asal bumi Palestin semenjak zaman nabi Musa lagi. Namun hakikatnya, kedatangan mereka ke Palestin bukanlah sebagai pemilik tetapi sebagai imigran pada ketika itu. Dan kini mereka bertapak di bumi Palestin melalui kolonialisasi. Dakwaan bangsa Yahudi bahawa faktor sejarah menjadikan mereka lebih berhak ke atas Palestin tidak berasas. Mereka hanya sempat memerintah sebahagian kecil kawasan di bumi Palestin, malahan pemerintahan mereka hanya berlangsung selama empat kurun, sedangkan pemerintahan Islam berlanjutan selama 12 kurun (636 M – 1917 M). Ramai daripada Yahudi juga suatu ketika dahulu telah meninggalkan Palestin dan hubungan mereka dengan tanah itu terputus untuk hampir 18 kurun lamanya (135M hingga 20M). Manakala penduduk asal Palestin pula tidak pernah meninggalkan bumi Palestin untuk selama 4,500 tahun hinggalah kepada pengusiran secara paksa oleh kumpulan pengganas Yahudi pada tahun 1948. Namun mereka tidak pernah menyerah kalah, malah terus berusaha untuk menegakkan kembali hak mereka ke atas bumi Palestin. Sesungguhnya tragedi yang menimpa penduduk Palestin merupakan isu yang melibatkan seluruh umat Islam di dunia. Kepentingan Palestin bagi umat Islam amat jelas berdasarkan al-Quran dan hadis – ia adalah bumi suci tempat ramai para rasul dilahirkan dan wafat di sana. Ia juga medan perjuangan mereka untuk menegakkan kalimah tauhid. Bumi Palestin juga telah dimuliakan oleh Allah dengan kewujudan masjid al-Aqsa. Masjid ini di samping menjadi kiblat pertama umat Islam, juga antara masjid yang dimuliakan Allah dan tanah suci ketiga setelah Makkah dan Madinah. Rasulullah bersabda, “diutamakan (digandakan) solat di Masjidil Haram atas yang lain dengan seratus ribu solat, dan di masjidku dengan seribu solat dan di Masjid Baitul Maqdis dengan lima ratus solat” (hadis riwayat at-Tabrani, martabat hassan). Selain itu, Baitul Maqdis merupakan kiblat umat Islam. Umat Islam bersolat berkiblatkan masjid itu di sepanjang kehidupan Rasulullah di Mekah sebelum berhijrah dan juga selama 16 bulan pertama baginda di Madinah. Selepas itu Allah mengarahkan agar kiblat bertukar ke arah Kaabah di Mekah. Baitul Maqdis juga merupakan tempat berlakunya Israk dan Mikraj. Firman Allah: Maha Suci Allah yang telah menjalankan hambanya (Muhammad) pada malam hari dari Masjidil Haram ke Masjidil Aqsa yang kami berkati di sekelilingnya untuk memperlihatkan kepadanya tanda-tanda kebesaran Kami (al-Isra’: 1) Terdapat juga beberapa ayat lain di dalam al-Quran dan beberapa hadis Rasulullah yang menggambarkan keistimewaan Baitul Maqdis. Allah SWT memuliakan tanah-tanah di sekelilingnya yang menyebabkan para sahabat Rasulullah sangat menyayangi bumi Palestin. Malah ketika Umar al-Khattab menjejakkan kakinya ke kawasan ini buat pertama kalinya, beliau telah mengumumkan bahawa seluruh bumi Palestin itu adalah merupakan waqaf kepada generasi umat Islam akan datang. Realitinya, umat Islam pernah menguasai Baitul Maqdis selama 12 kurun dan memelihara kesucian kota ini, selepas ia dicemari tangan-tangan kufar berkurun lamanya. Kini, Baitul Maqdis kembali ke tangan kufar, maka siapakah yang akan mengembalikannya ke tangan umat Islam? Sesungguhnya Palestin bukanlah milik orang-orang Palestin sahaja, Baitul Maqdis bukanlah tempat suci mereka sahaja dan Masjidil Aqsa bukanlah milik mereka sahaja tetapi milik kaum muslimin dari timur sampai ke barat. Ia juga milik umat Islam generasi kini dan akan datang hingga hari kiamat. Oleh yang demikian, perjuangan untuk membebaskannya daripada tangan-tangan kufar adalah perjuangan kita bersama.   Najib ‘Afif Arip masih menuntut di peringkat ijazah Pendidikan Islam di Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM).

Hezbollah to withdraw gunmen in Lebanon

By Robert F. Worth and Nada Bakri
Published: May 10, 2008
BEIRUT, Lebanon: Hezbollah and its allies began withdrawing their gunmen here in the capital on Saturday evening, raising hopes for a political settlement after four days of street battles that left at least 29 people dead. The fighting has stoked fears of a broader civil conflict. Skip to next paragraph Enlarge This Image Lefteris Pitarakis/Associated Press The scene in Beirut after members of a funeral procession began smashing windows, prompting a store owner to open fire.

Hezbollah acted shortly after the Lebanese Army — widely seen as a neutral force here — proposed to resolve the dispute that provoked the latest round of bloody confrontations between the Hezbollah-led opposition and government supporters.
Armed Hezbollah supporters seized control of western Beirut on Friday, patrolling the empty streets and prompting angry accusations that the group, which is backed by Iran and Syria, had staged a coup.
On Saturday afternoon, after another day of sporadic violence, the army offered to broker a face-saving solution by promising to “investigate” Hezbollah’s controversial private telephone network without harming the group’s integrity. It also proposed to retain the current chief of airport security, a Hezbollah ally whom the government had tried to fire.
That proposal — quickly embraced by both government leaders and the opposition — sharply underscored the Lebanese Army’s role as the one national institution seen as neutral here. Many have feared that the army would fragment along sectarian or political lines, as it did during Lebanon’s 15-year civil war.

Instead, it has come through the latest conflict unscathed. That neutrality has come at a price: in this crisis, as in others, the army stood passively by, unwilling to be seen as taking sides, even when street battles were taking place.
Still, the army’s proposal is likely to enhance the political prospects of its leader, General Michel Suleiman, who appears to be the only man both political camps are willing to accept as Lebanon’s next president. The presidency has been vacant since November.
“All this has proved that the army is the only guarantor of security in Lebanon,” despite its relative weakness, said Osama Safa, the general director of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies.
It remained unclear on Saturday how the recent confrontations might alter the balance of power here. Hezbollah clearly hoped that its show of force would translate into enhanced power in the political stalemate that has crippled Lebanon for 17 months now.
But Lebanon is notoriously resistant to political settlements, and some political analysts here say they believe that the government may have won a moral victory by abstaining from large-scale violence in response to Hezbollah’s aggression. Some government leaders were already accusing the Shiite group of betraying its promise to use its weapons only against Israel.
Earlier in the day, Lebanon’s prime minister, Fouad Siniora, lashed out at Hezbollah in a televised address for using its weapons against fellow Lebanese, and he called on the Lebanese Army to retake control of the streets from militia fighters.
“The core of the problem with Hezbollah is that they have decided to force their will on the Lebanese,” Siniora said, in his first public comments since the latest crisis began on Wednesday.
At least 29 people have been killed and scores wounded in gun battles since Wednesday, in the worst sectarian bloodshed since Lebanon’s 15-year civil war ended in 1990.
The confrontation has posed a fresh challenge to the Bush administration, which has supported Siniora’s government in part to counter Hezbollah and its patrons, Iran and Syria.
On Saturday, Hezbollah officials announced that three Hezbollah members had been kidnapped in the Chouf mountain town of Aley, and that two others had been killed by fighters loyal to Walid Jumblatt, the Druse leader. Hezbollah’s statement made it clear that the group held Jumblatt, who is allied with Siniora’s government, responsible for the kidnapping and murders of the men, who were found shot and stabbed in front of a hospital.
In northern Lebanon, at least 10 people were killed in scattered gun battles between supporters of the government and the Hezbollah-led opposition, Al Jazeera television reported.
Although most of Beirut was somewhat calmer on Saturday, a funeral for a Sunni government supporter erupted into bloodshed when a Shiite storeowner opened fire on the mourners.

As the pallbearers approached a store owned by a member of the Amal Party, which is allied with Hezbollah, mourners urged the owner to close his store. When he refused, they started smashing the windows. Furious, the store- owner opened fire at them, killing Ali Masri, 23, and Moussa Zouki, 24.
Meanwhile, with violence continuing, the governments of Turkey and Kuwait began evacuating their citizens through Lebanon’s northern border with Syria, the only open route out of the country. The road to Lebanon’s airport has been blocked since Wednesday by Hezbollah supporters. Other land routes are cut off, and the Beirut port is also shut.
Some Lebanese took to the streets on Saturday to express their outrage over Hezbollah’s show of force, and over the armed attacks on a television station and newspaper allied with the government. A group of government supporters marched to the offices of Future Television, a satellite channel that was commandeered by the army after Hezbollah supporters threatened it on Friday.
“Hezbollah are liars; they are despicable,” said Nawal al-Meouchi, 60, who had come to show her support along with her husband, her son and her daughter. “They said they would never turn their arms on the Lebanese, but they have.”

"Hijack" Bantuan Kemanusiaan

Memang menyedihkan. Tetapi itulah hakikat dan realitinya bila berhadapan dengan situasi sengal dan menyesakkan. Sang Penguasa dan kebiasaannya ahli politik akan menjadi juara dalam urusan pengagihan bantuan makanan atau bantuan kecemasan. Mereka akan menetapkan siapa yang dapat dan siapa yang tidak – di Malaysia pun ada berlaku gak. Mereka juga menetapkan berapa yang mereka sendiri patut dapat dan dalam situasi sebegini, pekerja bantuan kemanusiaan tidak ada banyak pilihan melainkan berkompromi dan bekerjasama dengan mereka.

Pengalaman di “hijack” ketika mengagihkan bantuan kemanusiaan bukanlah fenomena asing tetapi ianya adalah sesuatu yang real dan kebarangkalian untuk ianya berlaku adalah tinggi – 1 dalam 3.

Shahrul Peshawar

program pengagihan khemah kami untuk mangsa banjir dulu pun pernah kena hijack

Race to prevent disease among Myanmar cyclone victims

By MARGIE MASON, AP Medical Writer Sat May 10, 4:22 PM ET

BANGKOK, Thailand – Preventing a disease disaster in Myanmar is now a “race against time,” as many impoverished victims still await help a week after the brutal cyclone, experts warned Saturday.

Reports of diarrhea and skin problems already have surfaced, and health officials fear waterborne illnesses will emerge because of a lack of clean water, along with highly contagious diseases such as measles.

Children, especially those orphaned by the storm, face some of the greatest risks. Cyclone Nargis left more than 60,000 people dead or missing. The U.N. estimates that at least 1.5 million people have been severely affected in the military-run country, which has one of the world’s worst health systems.

“The fact that there are people we still haven’t gotten to is very distressing to all of us. We don’t know how many that is,” Tim Costello, president of the aid agency World Vision-Australia, said by telephone from Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon. “The people are all exposed to the elements, and they are very, very vulnerable. It’s a race against time.”

In the badly hit town of Labutta, family members were forced to use rusty sewing needles to close wounds at a hospital where no doctors or supplies were visible. One man lay dying from a lack of care after his foot was cut off in the cyclone.
The World Health Organization has reported children suffering from upper respiratory diseases, and with next week’s forecast calling for rain, there was yet another urgent reason to move quickly.

Fears of mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, which are endemic to the area, also have heightened. However, outbreaks would not be expected for another week or longer because the mosquitoes need time to breed in stagnant water left from the storm, said Osamu Kunii, UNICEF’s chief of health and nutrition in Yangon.

Cholera remains another concern, but there have been no diagnosed cases. Kunii said Myanmar’s health ministry also agreed to start a mass vaccination campaign against measles.

“Once those diseases start, it’s very hard to control,” he said, adding that food and water were reaching more survivors but not everyone. Some victims have been drinking whatever water is available, with many freshwater sources contaminated by saltwater or littered with decaying human bodies and animal carcasses. UNICEF has reported diarrhea in up to 20 percent of the children living in some badly affected areas. Injuries suffered from high winds and debris that struck people during the storm also remain a problem, with many suffering from raw open wounds.

Costello said frustration with the military junta’s slow response and restrictions placed on humanitarian aid entering the country has reached a critical point. “The government initially admitted that this was bigger than them. But now they have said, `While we need more aid, we are the military. We made this nation, and we’re very proud of it and we can cope with it,'” Costello said. “It is absolutely clear that they can’t.”

Tens of thousands of people die every year in Myanmar, also known as Burma, from diseases such as tuberculosis, AIDS and diarrhea. Malaria alone kills about 3,000 people annually in a country where medical care is too expensive for most people to afford. In 2000, WHO ranked Myanmar’s health system as the world’s worst after war-ravaged Sierra Leone.

About 90 percent of the population lives on just $1 a day. Millions also go hungry, with a third of Myanmar’s children estimated to be malnourished. “It is an unfortunate reality that this storm hit a country that already had this very marginal … health system,” said Dr. Chris Beyrer, an epidemiologist from Johns Hopkins University who has worked extensively in Myanmar. “When you have malnourishment with infectious diseases, the fatality rates go up.”

He co-authored a critical report published last year that found the government spends only about 3 percent of its annual budget on health, compared to 40 percent on the military. The country’s ailing health system combined with the junta’s paranoia of foreigners is a cocktail for an even bigger disaster in the storm’s aftermath, Beyrer said.

“I think when it comes to this regime, nothing is that surprising,” he said by telephone from Maryland. “The fundamental issue is access. This is what we were arguing about for HIV/TB and malaria control five years ago — that it is access and that the international community is ready to help.”