Ustaz gets nine years, whipping for sexual assaulting 10-year-old boy in Shah Alam

 

An Arabic language teacher at a primary school was sentenced to nine years and two strokes of the cane by Special Courts for Sexual Crimes against Children after finding him guilty of sexual assault on a 10-year-old boy two years ago. — Reuters pic

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 30 — An Arabic language teacher at a primary school was sentenced to nine years and two strokes of the cane by Special Courts for Sexual Crimes against Children after finding him guilty of sexual assault on a 10-year-old boy, two years ago.

Judge Yong Zarida Sazali meted out the sentence on Mohd Shahril Shaffie, 33, who was also called ‘Ustaz’ among his students after finding the defence failed to raise reasonable doubts against the prosecution case.

The judge also ordered the accused, who was present with his father, to serve his jail sentence beginning today and undergo rehabilitation counselling for eight years.

“The court also ordered the accused to undergo police surveillance for three years after completing his jail sentence,” he said.

“After studying all the evidence and hearing submissions by both parties, the court finds the accused guilty under Section 14 (a) of Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017,” said Yong Zarida.

The court, however, allowed a request by Mohd Shahril, represented by lawyer PG Cyril, for a stay of execution of the sentence, pending an appeal at the High Court.

In allowing the stay, Yong Zarida increased bail from RM8,000 to RM15,000 and ordered the accused to report to the nearest police station until the case concludes.

Mohd Shahril was charged with sexually assaulting the boy by holding the victim’s genitals for sexual purposes at his house in Subang Bestari, Shah Alam between 12.15 and 12.45pm on November 22, 2018, under Section 14 (a), which provides imprisonment of 20 years and whipping. — Bernama

Covid-19: Roadblock mounted at Sandakan entry point beginning today, says municipal council president

 

Police personnel check vehicles during a roadblock in George Town March 19, 2020. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin

SANDAKAN, Sept 30 — A roadblock was set up at the entry point to Sandakan for vehicles from red zones areas in Sabah beginning today to prevent the spread of Covid-19 to the district, according to Sandakan Municipal Council (MPS) President Wong Foo Tin.

“All vehicles from the red zone areas (Tawau, Lahad Datu, Semporna and Kunak) are prohibited from entering Sandakan district until the situation is under control.

“Those who are bringing essential goods are required to undergo a swab test at the entry point of Sandakan district,” he said in a statement here today.

Wong said the roadblock, which was mounted at Mile 32, Ulu Dusun, will be handled by the police and Sandakan Area Health Office for 24 hours daily.

As of yesterday, Sabah recorded the highest new Covid-19 cases with new clusters namely the Jalan Bomba and Jalan Utara, both in Sandakan. — Bernama

Senior citizen loses nearly RM500k in 'Poslaju-police' phone scam

 

PETALING JAYA: Another phone scam has been reported, leaving a senior citizen almost half a million ringgit poorer, after she was duped into believing that she was on the verge of being arrested by the police.

"On July 3, the victim received a call, claiming to be from Poslaju, saying that a package had been sent by her to Sabah that contained her identity card and ATM cards.

"Then on July 5, she was contacted by a man who went by the name Chong, who said RM148,000 from one Chang Poon Siew had been deposited into her account.

"The victim was then forwarded to an 'Insp Zaki' who claimed that she was under investigation and could be arrested," said Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Nik Ezanee Mohd Faisal in a statement on Wednesday (Sept 30).

In fear, she complied with the scammer's request to transfer her money to them.

Her first money transfer was done on August 7, with RM29,934 was sent to the suspect's bank account. Two more transfers were made on August 17 and 24 when she sent two cheques with a combined value of RM415,000.

On Sept 29, the victim was queried by a bank officer when she was at the bank over the large transfers made.

"At first she was hesitant but she eventually told the officer of the calls. The bank officer then told her that she had fallen victim to a scam.

"A police report was made on the same day," he said.

ACP Nik Ezanee urged those confronted with such calls and threats to remain calm and not act rashly.

"The public is advised to contact the police if they receive calls like these. These syndicates target senior citizens who may not be as exposed to the latest information on cyber crimes," he said. - Star

Can Umno Go Solo And Win If A Snap GE15 Is Held?

 

If Umno wants to return as the big boss or big brother, then it will have to drop PAS and PPBM and go solo in GE15. Then it can call the shots without having to worry about the feelings of PAS and PPBM. But that is if they can win GE15 on their own without PAS and PPBM.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Muafakat Nasional was actually mooted long before GE14 in May 2018. The idea was Umno and PAS would enter into an electoral pact, even if not an official coalition, and contest one-on-one with Pakatan Harapan, instead of three-corner contests or more.

In fact, the first discussions were held in 2015, three years before GE14.

But many Umno leaders did not agree to the collaboration with PAS — whether a mere informal electoral pact to agree on straight fights or whether an official coalition such as Muafakat Nasional.

Most Umno leaders — Najib Tun Razak and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi included — felt that Barisan Nasional can still win 135 parliament seats with Umno winning at least 90 or so of those 135 seats.

Other Umno leaders who did more thorough intel did not agree with this forecast. They felt that, without an electoral pact or coalition with PAS, Barisan Nasional would win less than 90 parliament seats, maybe even just 85 seats.

So, the Umno leadership was divided between those who felt they can do okay without PAS and those who felt an Umno-PAS collaboration was necessary.

On 9th May 2018, it was proven which of the two “schools of thought” was correct when Umno and Barisan Nasional got humiliated at the ballot box.

I spoke to one Umno leader as to why they turned their back on the Umno-PAS collaboration idea and he told me they thought they could win GE14 without PAS. Now they realise it was a mistake.

Today, many Umno people are feeling what they felt before GE14 — which is they do not need Perikatan Nasional or PPBM to win GE15. So, they want a vote of no confidence to be passed against Muhyiddin Yassin so that the government can collapse and then parliament can be dissolved to make way for a snap GE15.

And they hope GE15 can be held as early as November 2020 or the latest by February-March 2021.

So, the million-dollar question we now need to ask is, just like we asked five years ago back in 2015: can Umno win GE15 just as Barisan Nasional? Or will Umno need a Muafakat Nasional coalition with PAS to win GE15? And if just as BN or MN, without PPBM and Perikatan Nasional in the electoral pact, will Umno get back into power or will Umno suffer the fate it suffered in GE14 in May 2018?

If Umno wants to return as the big boss or big brother, then it will have to drop PAS and PPBM and go solo in GE15. Then it can call the shots without having to worry about the feelings of PAS and PPBM. But that is if they can win GE15 on their own without PAS and PPBM.

Ahli Parlimen Warisan, Liew Vui Keong, Dalam Koma

 

(Utusan) – Ahli Parlimen Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) Batu Sapi, Datuk Liew Vui Keong disahkan koma dipercayai akibat jangkitan radang paru-paru.

Perkara itu disahkan oleh salah seorang pegawainya kepada Utusan Malaysia.

Beliau bagaimanapun enggan mengulas lanjut kerana tiada perkembangan terbaru yang diterimanya setakat ini.

“Ya,” katanya ringkas ketika ditanya apakah Vui Keong kini berada dalam keadaan koma.

Difahamkan, Vui Keong dimasukkan ke Hospital Gleneagles, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah selepas mendapat jangkitan radang paru-paru.

Kakitangan itu berkata, Vui Keong yang juga bekas Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri (Undang-Undang) sempat berkempen ketika Pilihan Raya Negeri (PRN) Sabah, baru-baru ini.

“Namun pada akhir-akhir tempoh berkempen, YB (Yang Berormat) sudah mula sakit dan saya tidak lagi mendengar perkembangan terbaru sebab YB berada di Batu Sapi. Saya pula jaga Penampang, ia jauh seperti utara dan selatan.

“Saya pun tidak mahu ulas panjang tentang perkara ini, sebab lebih baik isteri beliau sendiri yang bercakap mengenainya,” katanya.

Pada Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-14 (PRU-14), Vui Keong merampas kerusi Parlimen Batu Sapi di bawah tiket Warisan daripada calon Parti Bersatu Sabah, Datuk Linda Tsen Thau Lin dengan majoriti 4,619 undi.

Vui Keong adalah Timbalan Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri dalam kerajaan terdahulu ketika di bawah pentadbiran bekas Perdana Menteri ,Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi pada 2008 dan Timbalan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri dalam Kabinet bekas Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak pada 2009 hingga 2013.

Presiden Parti Liberal Demokratik (LDP) sejak 2006 hingga 2014 itu menjadi Ahli Parlimen Sandakan selepas menang dalam pertandingan tiga penjuru pada Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-121 atas tiket Barisan Nasional (BN), namun usahanya untuk mempertahankan kerusi itu pada Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-13 gagal setelah tewas kepada calon DA, Stephen Wong Tien Fatt.

Kareer politiknya bertambah buruk pada 2014 apabila tersepit dalam kemelut perebutan jawatan presiden LDP yang merupakan parti komponen BN ketika itu, apabila Datuk Teo Chee Kang dipilih untuk memimpin parti berkenaan selepas Vui Keong mengambil alih tampuk kepimpinan parti daripada Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat pada 2006.

Namun,Vui Keong mendapat semangat dan talian hayat baharu dalam karier politiknya dengan meninggalkan LDP dan memilih untuk bersama Warisan pimpinan Datuk Seri Mohd. Shafie Apdal.

Johor Religious Department Vows Crackdown On Islamic Hardline Movement Hizbut Tahrir

 

(MMO) – The Johor state government has taken serious efforts to fight the ideology brought by hardline Islamist group Hizbut Tahrir as the latter is seen as going against the teachings of the Sunni denomination and trying to divide Muslim unity in the state.

Johor Islamic Religious Affairs Committee chairman Tosrin Jarvanthi said the state government, through its Islamic Affairs Department (JAINJ), has declared the movement’s Malaysian chapter, Hizbut Tahrir Malaysia (HTM), as promoting an ideology that contradicts the beliefs and teachings of Ahli Wal Sunnah Wal Jamaah (Sunni denomination).

“This prohibition on Hizbut Tahrir has been implemented by the Johor State Fatwa Committee and has been gazetted by the Johor government on October 10 last year.

“At present, we have received reports that show Hizbut Tahrir’s ideology can threaten the unity of Muslims and cause confusion in Johor,” said Tosrin during a press conference held at the Iskandar Islamic Centre here today.

Present was JAINJ director Datuk Md Rofiki A. Shamsudin and other senior religious officials.

On the claim by HTM that it is being maligned by the Johor Islamic religious authorities, Tosrin explained that a memorandum by the movement’s representatives sent to the Johor mufti’s office here last Sunday was rejected.

He said the Johor mufti’s office took the stand not to accept the memorandum that sought to clear the air on HTM’s activities as the movement is not officially registered and went against the teachings of the Sunni denomination, which is the only officially recognised denomination in Malaysia.

“At the same time, JAINJ or the Johor mufti’s office will not seek an explanation from HTM or any of its representatives.

“At present, we will leave it to JAINJ’s Dakwah division to continue to monitor the movement,” said Tosrin, who is also the Bukit Permai assemblyman.

Last Sunday, a group claiming to represent HTM sent a memorandum of protest against the fatwa on the position of the ideology but it was not accepted by the Johor mufti‘s office.

After failing to submit the memorandum, the group then held a live press conference on the HTM’s Facebook page which claimed that the fatwa issued on the ideology was full of slander, lies, distortion of facts and confusion.Based on this, Tosrin reminded HTM or any other party to be careful when making statements to avoid confusion and division within the community.

Malay Mail understands HTM is against claims by JAINJ that it was deviant and extremist.

Hizbut Tahrir is a global Islamic group seeking to recreate a caliphate worldwide. The Malaysian chapter, popularly known as HTM, is outlawed and considered “deviant” in Selangor and Sabah, with Johor prohibiting the movement’s activities.

Despite the fatwas and strong sentiment against it by Malaysia’s religious authorities, the movement is still holding out for a peaceful resolution.

MAHB names Azmi Murad as new COO

 

Azmi Murad was previously with the Department of Civil Aviation.

SEPANG: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has named Azmi Murad as its new chief operating officer (COO) effective Oct 1.

The position had not been filled since January after then COO Mohd Shukrie Salleh assumed the role of acting group CEO. In March, Shukrie was made group CEO of MAHB.

Azmi started his aviation career in 1970 with the Department of Civil Aviation (now known as the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia) as an air traffic controller before the corporatisation of MAHB in 1991.

“Throughout his career, Azmi had managed all types of airports, both domestic and international,” Shukrie said in a statement, adding that “he was instrumental in the opening of KLIA in 1998 and had managed its operations for many years.

“I am confident that Azmi will play a valuable role in elevating Malaysia’s position as a strong aviation hub.”

Azmi previously held other key positions in different fields, including general manager of the Sepang International Circuit.

He was also the chairman of the Airports Council International World Facilitation and Services Standing Committee until November 2011, and sat on the board of Tourism Malaysia.

Azmi was also a committee member of the Kuala Lumpur Tourism Development Council as well as the Malaysia-Singapore Business Council Joint Tourism and Hospitality. - FMT