Lina Joy Loses Her Appeal For Religious Freedom

It’s official – after months of fighting the courts and the political inertia, Lina Joy has lost her appeal to remove the word ‘Islam’ from her MyKad.

The two Malay Muslim judges voted to dismiss her appeal, while the Sabah & Sarawak Christian judge upheld her appeal. 2 to 1, she lost her case. The Sabah & Sarawak judge is not happy about it.

What do I think about this whole non-freedom of religion? I stated it long, long ago – metaphorically in The Parable of Kampong Kayukayu, and using political comparisons in Apostasy, Treason and North Korea. Dr. Hsu also has an illustrative conversation about the subject.

All around the world, people with open ears are listening in. Or perhaps rather, open eyes are reading their online news and blogs. Even sarcastic and cynical Indonesian bloggers are scratching their heads. You can see the link to Time magazin’s article about it after the Star report.

And now, below is the current report from The Star.

————–

From The Star 31 May 2007:

Federal Court rejects Lina’s appeal in a majority decision

By CHELSEA L.Y. NG and RAPHAEL WONG

Media Player 

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court, in a majority decision, has rejected Lina Joy’s appeal to compel the National Registration Department (NRD) to remove the word Islam from her identity card. 

The 42-year-old will now have to either subject herself to the jurisdiction of the Syariah Court on whether she is an apostate or seek a review of the Federal Court decision. 

Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim ruled that the NRD had reasonably imposed a condition requiring Lina to obtain a certificate of apostasy from the Syariah Court before it proceeds to make the deletion. 

The second most senior judge on the Bench, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Justice Richard Malanjum, however, handed down a dissenting judgment criticising the NRD’s act as “unconstitutional and discriminatory”. 

The third judge on the panel, Federal Court judge Justice Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, concurred with the Chief Justice in dismissing Lina’s appeal. 

Approached after the judgment, Lina’s lawyer Benjamin Dawson said he was considering filing for a review of the judgment. 

Related Stories:
Lina unhappy with decision
CJ: NRD’s requirement is reasonable
Judge: It’s illegal and unreasonable
Mixed reaction to court decision

Crucial decision in Lina Joy case
Commission to study religious- sensitive cases
Court has yet to decide on Lina Joy’s appeal
Counsel: Islam can’t be renounced at will
The Lina Joy case: Right not infringed on
NRD has right to require apostasy order, says counsel

—————

And the foreign rags are already picking up on this event. Here’s a bit of what Time magazine says:

From Time.com 30 May 2007:

Malaysia’s Crisis of Faith

Muslims gathered for a vigil outside Malaysia’s Palace of Justice awaited the verdict on Lina Joy’s case, May 30, 2007 – Tengku Bahar/AFP/Getty Images (Time magazine caption)

– In what has been dubbed a blow to Malaysia’s religious freedom, the country’s highest court on Wednesday denied an appeal by Christian convert Lina Joy to make her switch from Islam recognized by law.

– Joy is a Malay originally known as Azlina Jailani, and by Malaysian law her ethnicity automatically makes her a Muslim subject to Shari’a law. In order to make her 1990 conversion to Christianity legal, she needed permission from the Shari’a courts, which consider a renunciation of Islam a major offense. But, since she is still classified as a Muslim by the state, Joy was not allowed to have her case heard by the civil courts. Her six-year-long campaign to convince the civil system to legalize her conversion failed, prompting her appeal to the Federal Court, after the Court of Appeal rejected her claim in September 2005.

– On Wednesday, the Court announced that it had no jurisdiction over the case since it was under the purview of Shari’a law, effectively punting on any attempt to clear up the gray space that exists between Malaysia’s two legal systems. The ruling was greeted by shouts of “God is great” from many in the assembled crowd outside the Palace of Justice in Kuala Lumpur.

– Last November, at a party conference for the Muslim-dominated United Malays National Organization ruling party, one delegate vowed he would be willing to “bathe in blood” to defend his ethnicity — and, by extension, his religion. [Hey, wonder who and what the writer might be possibly be referring to? 5th paragraph from top.]

– After all, what is religious freedom if a 42-year-old Malay woman isn’t allowed to follow the faith of her choosing?

JB Motorcyle Kicking Robbers Busted

The punishment I propose: Make the perpatrators sit on a real motorcyle on a real tarred road. Preferably, handcuffed to the handlebars. Now kick the bike over! Watch as they fall and get injured. Laugh, have some coffee with donuts, and repeat.

Cruel and unusual, perhaps, but so were their attacks on unsuspecting motorcyclists. And this punishment is FUN. YouTube it, or make a VCD and sell it to raise cash for charity.

Btw, good job JB police! Although it took a while.

—————-

From The Star 29 May 2007:

‘Kick and rob’ gang busted

By NELSON BENJAMIN

JOHOR BARU: Two teenagers have been detained in a police swoop on a gang that has been terrorising motorcyclists by kicking them off their machines before robbing them. 

In some of the cases, the victims, mainly Malaysians returning from work in Singapore, were badly injured after they fell off their motorcycles.  

Johor police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Hussin Ismail said the teenagers – school dropouts aged 15 and 16 – were also part of the gang responsible for numerous robberies since early this year. 

“To date we have rounded up nine people and are looking for seven more,” he said. 

DCP Hussin said the gang operated in small groups on two or three motorcycles. They usually trailed a motorcyclist in the wee hours of the morning. 

“Once they get close enough, they kick the motorcycle handle to throw the victim off balance,” he said, adding that their latest victims were two female motorcyclists who were returning home after finishing work in Singapore on May 18. 

DCP Hussin said the gang’s reign of terror came to an end when police arrested two men in their 20s in Bandar Baru Permas Jaya on May 22. 

“We recovered some stolen items from previous cases,” he said, adding that follow-up operations led to the arrest of seven other suspects, including the teenagers, the same day. 

DCP Hussin said the suspects were high on syabu and ganja when they were detained. 

“We recovered an array of items including passports, auto pass documents, ICs and other items belonging to their victims,” he said. 

All the suspects are aged between 15 and 22. 

DCP Hussin also said that police busted an armed robbery gang hours after they were believed to have struck at a factory in Taman Universiti in Skudai on May 23 with the arrest of five men and the recovery of two pistols and ammunition. 

Police also recovered a stolen car and fake number plates. 

DCP Hussin said a police patrol car spotted a man behaving suspiciously in a Proton Waja and gave chase at about midnight that day. 

“We managed to stop the car in Jalan Tebrau and found a bag containing the guns inside the car. 

“We checked the car boot and found two fake number plates,” DCP Hussin said, adding that the vehicle was reported stolen last year. 

He said the 26-year-old driver from Johor Baru was detained. 

Subsequently, police arrested four others around the city and recovered a Proton Saga. All the others were aged 23 to 41. 

DCP Hussin said investigations showed that the suspects could have been involved in an armed heist at the factory at 11.10am that day in which RM2,500 and mobile phones were taken.

Robbed at JB Petrol Kiosk

First that case and now this case. The victim was lucky not to be a girl, or else the robbers would almost certainly have gone through with gang rape like in the first case. If this were the USA, the robbers might have raped him anyway.

There are three conclusions complementary conclusions to be made:

1. Petrol kiosks in JB are not safe.

2. After dark in JB it is not safe.

3. JB is not safe. Period.

—————

From The Star 26 May 2007:

Site supervisor held up after toilet stop

JOHOR BARU: A male site supervisor in his 20s was held up at knifepoint at a petrol station toilet here and taken on a terror ride before being robbed and tied to a tree. 

The victim, who had been having a drink with his wife and friends at a stall in Jalan Skudai, had gone to a nearby petrol station at about midnight yesterday. 

It is learnt that when he was in the toilet, several men armed with parangs held him up at knifepoint, bundled him into his car and drove off. 

He was taken on a four-hour ride, and ended up 300km away in Seremban, tied to a tree. The robbers escaped with the victim’s car, cash and other valuables worth thousands of ringgit. 

The suspects, who blindfolded the victim, had also taken him to a nearby bank, forcing him to reveal his ATM pin number before withdrawing money from his bank account. 

They then drove him for several hours before stopping at an isolated spot, where they tied him to a tree. The victim managed to free himself later and sought the help of passers-by to lodge a report. 

Those with information can contact the police hotline at 07-221-2999 or the nearest police station.  

8-Bit Theater: Guards Let Their Guard Down

From here…

To here:

The Light Warriors have a probably left a higher body count of innocents than of villians and monsters by now. The exp from MiA guards alone must be worth several levels. The ongoing stopover in Pravoka no doubt contributes to the obscenely deep blood debt.

Plot-wise, this sequence of events starts from way back here. Absurdity, selfish amorality and laughs abound.

The IPCC Does Not Want Balanced Climate Reporting

Here is something revoltingly annoying to do with global warming arrogance, bullying and prejudice. I first got wind of it from Sean of Is It Getting Warmer?, who learnt of it from the Climateer, who posted a link to the original article below. Take a look…

—————-

From Cosmos Magazine:
Climate reporting “too balanced” say scientists

Thursday, 19 April 2007

Daniela Hirschfeld

SciDev.Net

MELBOURNE: Airing the views of climate change sceptics in the media may only be serving to keep the global warming controversy boiling, argue scientists.

Leading climate change experts have warned the World Conference of Science Journalists in Melbourne, Australia, that a balanced view does not always reflect the consensus of the research community.

Kevin Hennessy, a lead scientist with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said yesterday that media attention on “the view of a handful of climate change sceptics” amplifies their opinions and “implies that there is little agreement about the basic facts of global warming”.

Hennessy is also with the marine and atmospheric division of Australian government research body, CSIRO.

Speaking in a session about climate change reporting, he said editors and journalists have a duty to ensure that facts are presented in context. Balanced reporting, he said, “perpetuates the public’s perception that scientists are in disarray, which is misleading in the case of climate change”.

Geoff Love, secretary of the IPCC and former deputy director of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, said that IPCC assessment reports from 1990 through to this year are strong evidence of “the coming together of the scientific community.”

Emphasis on the sceptic view does not help public understanding of climate change, said Love.

Media coverage has not always reflected the consensus of the majority of the scientific community, said Ian Lowe, president of the Australian Conservation Foundation a non-profit environment group. “That only makes the public and political discussion more difficult,” he said.

The problem is compounded by a lack of reporting on climate change, according to Chris Mooney, a U.S.-based science journalist attending the conference. Although the 2006 hurricane season attracted a lot of media attention, Mooney presented statistics from the United States showing that climate change has never been a priority in the media.

The situation is similar in Africa, said Ochieng’ Ogodoa a Kenyan correspondent for London, U.K.-based news web site SciDev.Net. Articles about deaths caused by floods or other natural disasters, and political scandals related to climate change tend to get precedence, he said. 

—————-

To summarize, Hennessy of the IPCC is saying that anthopogenic global warming theory should be the only view discussed. It is authoritatively correct because the IPCC says so and therefore is not to be disputed or doubted. Opposing or alternative views are automatically wrong and not to be mentioned – to do so is heresy.

Therefore, the media should be responsible by airing only opinions that agree with the IPCC’s stand on global warming. (Not that the media don’t already seem to be doing that – at least here in Malaysia, every piece of news except for my opinion letters automatically assumes human-cause global warming to be a proven fact.)

To paraphrase: “I, Hennessy, am correct. Those with contrary views are wrong. Only the IPCC has the right to speak its views in the media. End of discussion.”

It this not the very definition of dogmatism that is usally directed at religious faiths? (See my news-printed tirade against dogmatism, in this case seen in so-called ‘religious pluralism’.)

Anyone who questions the ‘sole, absolute, objective truth’ of global warming is branded as an unscientific heretic who probably believes the Earth is flat too. Cuh, ad hominem attack and straw man argument 2-in-1. 

The ‘global consensus’ of scientists that the IPCC chose to suit its own stated purposes are the only ones who are reputable – all critics are dishonest, not interested in real science and have sinister oil-company sponsored agendas.

Don’t think it’s really that bad? Just see what they did to scientist and global warming skeptic Bjorn Lomborg. Both Ann Coulter and Michael Crichton repeatedly decry the intolerant, bigoted, pseudo-religious overtones of global warming. The GW fearmongers may deny it, but just look at their behaviour and tell me if the accusations are baseless.

I ask you, is this what science and the scientific community have become? Dogmatic adherence to your own theories at the exclusion of all others. Whoever shouts the loudest, creates fact and determines reality.

Wasn’t it not too long ago that the medieval Church tried to silence Copernicus’ contrary views of the universe? The very same silencing of critics by religious institutions – that is so outcried by true-blooded scientists – is being repeated by the so-called neutral, unbiased researchers at the IPCC.

But I shouldn’t make such torrid comparisons between anthropogenic global warming belief and religion. After all, at least there are such things as religious tolerance and inter-faith dialogues going on these days. Even the Church later came to accept the heliocentric theory on the strength of observation.

But it is unimaginable that the global warming fearmongers – Henessy and the IPCC included – would ever give any credence to skeptics who are just asking for more solid evidence and less rhetorical steamrolling.

Nay, global warming mind-controllers like Hennessy are no mere religionists. With their intended iron-fisted control of media, censoring of opposing voices and condemning critics as enemies of the people… They are the very model of 1984 big-brother Iron Curtain Communists.

JB Citizens Foil Break-in And Robbery Attempt

Good teamwork on that gb, people! Lucky for the crooks that I wasn’t there. By the time the police arrived, they might have been missing some eyeballs and other appendages due to their “Accidentally falling and landing eyes first onto a dinner fork all by themselves… All of them, several times each.”

Yeah, I seem pretty sadistic and merciless. They were armed with parangs and a rambo knife, and this being Johor, doubtless planned to use them. Not just wave them around, use them. Tell me that they deserve mercy.

————–

From The Star 24 May 2007:

Residents foil robbery attempt

JOHOR BARU: Vigilant residents here not only foiled a break-in attempt but also helped police capture five suspects. 

The residents saw the suspects, aged 24 to 35, trying to break into a house in Batu 18, Jalan Sungai Tiram, at about 10pm last Saturday and called the police. 

Johor Baru (South) OCPD Asst Comm Shafie Ismail said that policemen along with a dog-unit were sent to the scene. 

“They tracked the suspects to a kongsi (workers’ quarters) about 1km away in Ban Foo. 

“When we raided the quarters, five Indonesians tried to escape but were soon caught with the help of the residents,” he said. 

He added that two parang, a “Rambo” knife and two mobile phones, all believed to be stolen, were recovered. 

ACP Shafie said prompt action by the residents prevented the crime and led to the arrest of the suspects. 

He urged anyone with information on any crime to contact the police hotline at 07-2212 999 or the nearest police station.  

Search Tool For Scott’s Blog

I’ve added a useful tool to my sidebar.

                             

Just enter any keywords that you want to search for in my blog and click the button. The widget will list out the titles of all my posts that contain that word. (That should save me the trouble of Googling whenever I can’t remember where one of my older posts is.)

Go ahead! Try it out with something, perhaps your own name if I know you personally.

Remember to put the ” ” marks before and after a string of words to search for ALL those words together.

e.g.  Search for   “all your base”   which gets three matches, one of which is directly relevant. Rather than   all your base     which gets ten matches which aren’t related to the subject matter of badly translated to English video games.

What the Quizzes Say Scott Is

What is Scott?

————–

My Character Class:

I Am A: True Neutral Elf Paladin Ranger

Alignment:
True Neutral characters are very rare. They believe that balance is the most important thing, and will not side with any other force. They will do whatever is necessary to preserve that balance, even if it means switching allegiances suddenly.

Race:
Elves are the eldest of all races, although they are generally a bit smaller than humans. They are generally well-cultured, artistic, easy-going, and because of their long lives, unconcerned with day-to-day activities that other races frequently concern themselves with. Elves are, effectively, immortal, although they can be killed. After a thousand years or so, they simply pass on to the next plane of existance.

Primary Class:
Paladins are the Holy Warriors. They have been chosen by a God/dess to be their representative on Earth, and must follow the code of that deity, or risk severe penalties. They tend towards being righteous, but not generally to excess.

Secondary Class:
Rangers are the defenders of nature and the elements. They are in tune with the Earth, and work to keep it safe and healthy.

Find out What D&D Character You Are, courtesy of Zinious Software corporation.

[Personally, I think of myself as more of a Lawful Good Human Paladin/Mage. Close to being Neutral Good, as I feel Good takes precedence over Law, but if it’s God’s Holy Law then it all works out fine.]

—————–

In Middle Earth, I am :

Samwise Gamgee

                   

A brave and loyal associate full of optimism, you remain true to your friends and their efforts, to whatever end.

But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer.

Samwise is a character in the Middle-Earth universe. You can read more about him at TheOneRing.net

—————

What I really should be doing in life:

Result of Quiz :: WHAT MAJOR IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
created by ohiojoshua

You scored as English/Journalism/Comm.

You should strongly consider majoring (or minoring) in Communication, English, Film, Journalism, Literature, or Writing.

It is possible that the best major for you is your 2nd, 3rd, or even 5th listed category, so be sure to consider ALL majors in your OTHER high scoring categories (below). You may score high in a category you didnt think you would–it is possible that a great major for you is something you once dismissed as not for you. The right major for you will be something 1) you love and enjoy and 2) are really great at it.

Consider adding a minor or double majoring to make yourself standout and to combine your interests. Please post your results in your myspace/blog/journal.

  

—————
I am also a Centrist and a Republican. 

Take the LotR and D&D quizzes through Jamie’s blog, the Right Major quiz at Anne’s blog, and the short political quiz through my post.

More Sexist MPs – Women’s Dressing is to Blame For Rape

Eesh, budoh! More dumb remarks from can’t-control-my-own-lust politicians. The subject matter bears relation to the insulting MPs incident and the women are asking to be raped remarks.

————–

From The Star 23 May 2007:

Two Penang reps make an issue of women’s dressing

PENANG: After the recent “bocor” (leak) controversy in the Dewan Rakyat, one would have thought that backbenchers would know enough to stay clear of sexist remarks. 

Not in the Penang state assembly. 

Permatang Berangan assemblyman Shabudin Yahaya and Sungai Dua assemblyman Datuk Jasmin Mohamed blamed women’s provocative dressing for sexual crimes, raising the hackles of Tan Cheng Liang (BN – Jawi). 

“The women’s dressing menggoda (lures) and mencabar (challenges) men,” said Shabudin, who interjected during Tan’s speech when debating the motion of thanks on the Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abas’s opening address. 

This prompted Tan to tick him off for his narrow thinking. 

“Even women who are covered from the head to the toe and two-year-old children have become rape victims. This shows that it has nothing to do with women’s dressing,” she said. 

Shabudin, who is state Islamic Religious Council president, then asked Tan for her views on a dress code for women and Jasmin rose to support it. 

Tan said she disagreed with a dress code, as women knew what to wear. 

Shabudin then interjected that men were sure to look when sexily attired women pass in front of them. 

“This is because there is a daya tarikan (attraction),” he said. 

Jasmin said that women who dressed provocatively also forgot their family responsibilities. 

Tan said the issue was not about the women’s dressing but the mindset of men. 

In his speech, Mansor Musa (BN – Batu Maung) rapped the two assemblymen for their sexist remarks, saying they were not showing a good example in the House. 

Tan also alleged that a Seberang Prai Municipal Council official had been signing the overtime claims of his workers when they did not do any extra work. 

Phee Boon Poh (DAP – Sungai Puyu) asked Tan to substantiate her allegations.  

However, Speaker Datuk Yahaya Abdul Hami disallowed the question, saying the reply should come from the concerned state executive councillor.  

————–

UPDATE from The Star 24 May 2007: Ng agrees with my observation that men’s corupted hearts/minds are the root of the problem.

Women don’t need a dress code, says Ng

PETALING JAYA: A dress code for women will not help to change the mindset of men with dirty thoughts, Wanita MCA chief Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen said. 

“We don’t need a dress code. We have freedom to dress in our multiracial country,” she said, responding to the argument between Jawi assemblywoman Tan Cheng Liang and two fellow members of the Penang state assembly on the issue. 

On Tuesday, assemblymen Shabudin Yahaya (BN – Permatang Berangan) and Datuk Jasmin Mohamed (BN – Sungai Dua) had blamed women’s provocative dressing for sexual crimes. 

Tan had ticked them off for what she called narrow thinking. 

Dr Ng, who is deputy Finance Minister, said Wanita MCA supports Tan’s stand on a dress code. 

She added that even children and women who are “covered from head to toe” had become rape victims. 

“This shows that the cause of crime has nothing to do with women’s dressing,” she said.  

Hi Kids! Let’s Learn Holy War With Farfur the Mouse!

Kids of the Gaza strip and the world, meet Farfur (also spelled Farfour), your friendly Middle Eastern anthromorphic mouse!

Now, he may look like just another cheap and blatant third-world rip-off of a well-known American icon. But wait, don’t dismiss him just yet! Because he has lots of important lessons to teach the lil’ kiddies, such as:

“I’m calling on all children to read more and more to prepare for exams because the Jews don’t want us to learn.”

“You and I are laying the foundation for a world led by Islamists.”

“Yes, we, tomorrow’s pioneers, will restore to this nation its glory, and we will liberate Al-Aqsa, with Allah’s will, and we will liberate Iraq, with Allah’s will, and we will liberate the Muslim countries, invaded by murderers.”

“We will win, Bush! We will win, Condoleezza! We will win, Sharon!… Ah, Sharon is dead.”

Yessir, it’s all original material here on Hamas’ Tomorrow’s Pioneers children’s show! You can view several videos through links listed at that Wikipedia article, or find examples here: YouTube search, or CNN article.

Young Palestinian children are educated in that most important of basic living skills. No, it’s not reading, writing and arithmetic – it’s hating the Jews, the Americans and everyone else who doesn’t bow before militant Islam!

So don’t worry, young ones… Here’s Farfur to teach toddlers like you how to properly hold your AK-47 and detonate your nail-bomb suicide vest!

Now let’s all sing along together (yes, even you, infidel slave Barney): I bomb you, you submit to me, then you’ll live as a dhimmi…

The rest of the cast also pull their weight in pulling in the ratings points for this delightful family entertainment show.

A little girl, Harwa sings: “We liberated Gaza by force, from your death… The people firmly stand, in their fire is a flame. Rafah sings “oh, oh”, its answer is an AK-47. We who do not know fear, we are the predators of the forest.”

Precocious young boy, Muhammad serenades: “Oh Jerusalem, we are coming… Oh Jerusalem, we will never surrender to the enemy, we will never be humiliated. It is beloved Palestine that taught us what to be, and taught us to be the soldiers of the Lord of the Worlds. We will destroy the chair of the despots, so they will taste the flame of death. We will lead a war.”

Adult actor on the show Hazim joins in as well, saying things such as: “Every day do you remember Andalus (Spain)? This dear Andalus will return one day.” (Recalling the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, which was reclaimed by the Christians in the Reconquista. So remember kids, the Crusades were evil imperialist invasions, but the enslavement of Spain was a glorious time of righteous rulership by the ummah over the unbelievers!)

Disney CEO Robert Iger says about the show and its jihadist mascot: “I think it should have been obvious how the company felt about the subject.”

Which can only mean that Disney loves and approves of the virtuous rhetoric Farfur extols! Thank you Disney, even though you are all decadent kafir intimate-lovers of swine, we want you to know that we appreciate your support.

And let us end this week’s episode with the Hamas call to prayer:

UPDATE on Farfur’s successor here: Nahoul the Bee

ADD-ON: The following cartoon from http://www.coxandforkum.com pretty much sums it up!