Home Blog Page 425

First attacks on churches outside Klang Valley

2026: Hishamuddin confirms seven churches have become the target of vandalism in the country so far. But my tally indicates eight.

Maybe his tally doesn’t include the Convent school in Taiping that was struck by a molotov cocktail, although church officials say it was probably meant for the St Louis Catholic Church next door.

In the incident in Miri, the glass windows of the Good Shepherd Church were shattered after being thrown with bricks, according to a church member, Bernama reports. It is believed to be an Anglican church located in Lutong, Miri.

Except for the first arson attack, the other six incidents caused negligible damage.

2006: A scroller on Bernama TV Channel 502 over the 8.00pm news confirms that a church in Miri was targeted.

1858: Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Peter Chin said earlier today that incidents such as burning of churches would not happen in Sarawak. “Honestly, I do not think such incidents will happen in Sarawak. We have been living in peace and harmony for a long, long time because Sarawakians are sensible people,” the Borneo Post quoted him as saying.

Time for peace, reconciliation and forgiveness

This Sunday, I would like to share this video featuring the singer Angelina that was filmed in Assisi in Italy, the hometown of the 13th-century saint, Francis.

Make me a channel of your peace,
Where there is hatred let me bring your love,
Where there is injury your pardon Lord,
And where there’s doubt true faith in you.

4th arson attempt as 130 groups slam violence

In a ringing condemnation, 125 civil society groups and five political parties have come out to against the attempted arson attacks against churches following the controversy over the use of the word Allah.

The groups, covering a wide spectrum of Malaysian society, issued the statement here at a joint press conference held at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall this afternoon.

The condemnation comes in the wake of the latest attempted arson attack on a fourth church.

Church arson attacks: Cooler heads must prevail

2033: We round off this dark day with a statement just released by the Aliran exco: ‘Bigotry in the name of Allah’.

The silver lining in all this is that the crowds at the various protests were not as large as many had feared, and the vast majority of Malaysians simply walked away and refused to join in. Many groups and netizens issued statements and comments condemning this lapse into momentary madness. Therein lies a glimmer of hope for a better Malaysia that many of us believe is possible.

Another bright light can be seen over here, where blogger Dr Rafick, a Muslim, has initiated a donation drive to raise funds to repair the Metro Tabernacle Church.

1928: IGP Musa Hasan denied reports that a fourth church was attacked, according to the Insider. He said three demonstrations were held in Kuala Lumpur, two in Pahang, four in Selangor and one in Terengganu and they all ended within 15 minutes. He urged the public not to believe rumours spread by SMS and over the Internet.

1853: Only 25 people protested at the Kampong Baru mosque this afternoon, according to one eye-witness. A Malaysian Insider twitter update put the figure at 20. Malaysiakini put the figure at 50 and noted that other Muslims leaving the mosque told the protesters to “just go home!”

Another interesting deal in Sarawak

Here’s another land deal in Sarawak. Ta Ann Holdings Bhd, through its unit, Multi Maximum Sdn Bhd, is buying an obscure company Europalm Sdn Bhd.

Ta Ann is paying RM20.5 million for the entire two million shares of RM1 each in Europalm, according to the Business Times.

Europalm reportedly owns 1,500ha of plantation land at Jemoreng Land, Sarawak and had been awarded another 1,113ha at Seredeng Land. That would make the average purchase price RM3,200 per acre.

An analyst was reported as saying it was a very good price as “Sarawak plantation land is often considered to be more expensive at RM18,000 to RM20,000 per acre depending on the proximity, infrastructure and facilities”.

Question: How much did Europalm pay for the land?

UK unveils “grow your own food” plan

The UK has unveiled a 20-year food strategy that would include making land  available for people to grow their own food.

See, it’s not as far fetched as some people might think.

Part of the plan entails facilitating cooperation between local landowners and community groups to make land available temporarily for food cultivation.

How logging destroyed an ancient civilisation

What caused the disappearance of the Nasca people in Peru?

Archaeologists have discovered that the destruction of forests pushed the ancient civilisation, noted for their compex line drawings on the ground that are visible only from the air, across an ecological tipping point.

The loss of the forests exposed the area to the impact of the cyclical El Nino phenomenon and affected irrigation systems, they found.

Unsung heroes in the struggle for Merdeka

We are so used to the mainstream version of history. Catch this story by Hishamuddin Yahaya in Aliran Monthly to find out more about the little-known heroes in the struggle for independence.

(From left) Ishak Haji Mohammed, Dr Burhanuddin Al-Helmy and Ahmad Boestamam – Photos courtesy of Aliran Monthly

Apart from the prominent figures above, countless numbers of ordinary Malaysians, including workers, were involved in the quest for independence.

Bukit Botak: Selangor protects settlers’ rights

Well done to the Selangor state government for protecting the rights of 270 settlers through its acquisition of land in Bukit Botak, Selayang.

This goes to show that where there is political will to protect the people’s interest, there is often a way – even though there was already an agreement with a developer.

Monorail for Jaipur?

Just spotted these news items here and here on MRails International Sdn Bhd’s reported involvment in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan state in India.

I’m not quite sure what to make of these reports. But notice the reference to Penang.