KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — Six Cambodian nationals were apprehended in Tembat forest reserve, Terengganu last Saturday for crimes involving wildlife and trespassing into the forest reserve.

Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar said the arrests were made in an integrated operation by the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhiitan), General Operations Force and Rimba, a non-government organisation.

He said further inspection on the six intruders yielded a tortoise shell, a wild boar tooth necklace, a necklace of wildlife tusks, one elephant tusk and four pheasant feathers.

“Also seized were tools to extract gaharu wood such axes, machetes, diggers, gaharu cleaning sets and one packet of gaharu wood,” he said in a statement today.

Xavier said the case was being investigated under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 and the National Forestry Act 1984. — Bernama

Do Malaysians still remember how the prime minister has repeatedly stressed that “New Malaysia” is strictly based on the rule of law?

This is apart from the Pakatan Harapan manifesto that promised to do away with detention without trial laws such as Sosma, Poca and Pota.

Recent police action is disturbing as it is in direct contradiction to both assertions. The Malaysian police have arrested seven men including two assemblymen under the Security Offences (Special measures) Act, or Sosma, for allegedly “supporting, promoting, recruiting, funding and being in possession of items related to Sri Lanka based militant group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).”

The Melaka state assemblyman and his Negeri Sembilan counterpart were detained for allegedly “supporting the ideology of LTTE, which had been classified as a terrorist group in Malaysia since 2014…”

Dr Mahathir Mohamad also said that he is satisfied with the explanation given by police on the crackdown. “The police have briefed me. They (the police) have reasons to take action.”

Before the last general election, Mahathir claimed that he was not responsible for Operation Lalang in 1987 but that it was the inspector-general of police (IGP) who had initiated the operation. Was he also satisfied with the explanation given by the IGP then?

It must be pointed out that all laws that allow for detention without trial such as Sosma and the previous ISA go against the rule of law. They violate the principles of natural justice and human rights.

The use of detention without trial raises massive doubts about the basis for the allegations, and it merely highlights the lack of evidence in incarcerating these victims.

The police have claimed that between 2001 and 2012, they have arrested 284 of Jemaah Islamiyah militant members; 512 IS members since 2013 and; 25 LTTE members since 2009.

Certainly, a terrorist in any society is a security risk if he or she carries arms and explosives or supports violence against the society of which they are members.

Thus, although IS and LTTE are similarly categorised as “terrorist groups” by the Malaysian government, it would be foolish not to differentiate them according to whether they are potential threats to Malaysian security.

Showing sympathy not a crime

But when is it a crime for Malaysians or anyone else in the world to show sympathy for liberation struggles such as the LTTE or the Palestinians or the Rohingyas and others?

For years, Malaysians have supported the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation and this has been backed up by the government’s official stands.

The PLO has been very focused on their opposition to Israeli/Zionist aggression. I don’t remember any case of Malaysians being arrested for allegedly “supporting, promoting, recruiting, funding and being in possession of items related to the Palestine Liberation Organisation”.

Likewise, LTTE has very specific objectives, namely, to secure an independent state of Tamil Eelam in the north and east of Sri Lanka in response to the state discriminatory policies of successive Sri Lankan governments towards Tamils.

It would be naïve for anyone not to know that LTTE has sympathisers in our country, especially among the Malaysian Tamil community.

During the 1930s when Japan had invaded China and committed untold atrocities, Malaysian Chinese supported anti-Japanese activities in China including sending funds to the resistance.

Likewise, during the Spanish Civil War in the Thirties, the anti-fascist resistance had sympathisers that included George Orwell and other intellectuals from all over the world who were incensed about Mussolini’s fascists. In more recent times, the Irish Republican Army’s campaign against the British rule in the North of Ireland also had sympathisers and funders among politicians and big business personalities in the Irish American community.

Double standards

Now, IS is a different kettle of fish because unlike LTTE, their objective of a caliphate through their world-wide terrorist activities using flexible, geographically diffuse network of autonomous cells means that they do not have a specific country as their ultimate target.

Nevertheless, in 2018, Merdeka Center in their survey found that support for global and regional terror groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah was highest in Malaysia at 18.1%. Support for IS was also highest in Malaysia.

At the same time, the government is reported to welcome its citizens who left the country to join the IS in Syria even while other countries are trying to disown their own by stripping them of citizenship.

According to an Al Jazeera report, in which Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, the head of Counter-Terrorism for Special Branch, was quoted, Malaysians who made the mistake of joining the IS may return provided they comply with enforcement checks and complete a one-month government-sanctioned rehabilitation programme.

Furthermore, while the head of the Special Branch Counter-Terrorism Division plans to use clerics and psychologists to evaluate these former IS fighters’ ideology and psychological make-up, he added that they do not plan on detaining every single returnee.

We are told that while more than 100 Malaysians had joined IS, there are currently 51 Malaysians still in Syria, including 17 children, who according to Ayob himself, are still willing to fight for the global terror network’s dying cause.

To date, 11 other former Malaysian members are already back in Malaysia. Of these 11, the eight men were charged in court and convicted. Two were children, aged three and five, and there is one woman who has undergone a rehabilitation programme and has now returned to her kampung.

On March 10, then-IGP Fuzi Harun said police had uncovered a plan by foreign militants to use Malaysia as a “safe haven”, following the collapse of IS. “We view seriously the infiltration of foreign terrorist fighters in the country due to the defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.”

“These foreign terrorist fighters could also set up base here to attack another country, or by even launching attacks in Malaysia,” Fuzi said, adding that the militants plan to marry local women to get spousal visas to enable them to live in Malaysia or to remain in the country by using education facilities, or by being involved in business.

War on terror and the rule of law

In 1994, the UN General Assembly’s Declaration on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism, set out in its resolution 49/60, stated that terrorism includes “criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes” and that such acts “are in any circumstances unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other nature that may be invoked to justify them.”

Nevertheless, respect for human rights and the rule of law remains the bedrock of the global fight against terrorism. This requires the development of national counter-terrorism strategies that seek to prevent acts of terrorism, prosecute those responsible for such criminal acts, and promote and protect human rights and the rule of law.

It implies measures to address the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, including the lack of rule of law and violations of human rights, ethnic, national and religious discrimination, political exclusion, and socio-economic marginalisation.

Most importantly, with all such allegations, there must be due process and the right to a fair trial for individuals suspected of terrorist activity.

The human rights protections for all persons charged with criminal offences, including terrorism-related crimes, include the right to be presumed innocent, the right to a hearing with due guarantees and within a reasonable time, by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal, and the right to have a conviction and sentence reviewed by a higher tribunal satisfying the same standards.

The government should immediately release Malaysians who have been detained without trial under Sosma for alleged links to LTTE. The prime minister should be reminded of his post-GE14 commitment to the rule of law and to abide by the PH GE14 manifesto promise to do away with detention without trial laws such as Sosma, Poca, and Pota.

Kua Kia Soong is the adviser to Suaram.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.

KUALA LUMPUR: Ketua jurulatih skuad Harimau Malaya, Tan Cheng Hoe memberi bayangan awal pemain tengah Pahang, Nor Azam Abdul Azih dijangka kembali memperkuatkan jentera tengah skuad kebangsaan untuk menghadapi dua aksi Kumpulan G pusingan kedua kelayakan Piala Dunia 2022/Piala Asia 2023 di Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil bulan depan.

Pengendali berusia 51 tahun itu bagaimanapun enggan membuat keputusan terburu-buru dan akan menunggu sama ada pemain berusia 24 tahun itu akan diturunkan pengendali Pahang, Dollah Salleh untuk aksi separuh akhir kedua Piala Malaysia berdepan Kedah di Stadium Darul Makmur, Kuantan pada 26 Okt ini sebelum membuat keputusan muktamad.

Azam yang mengalami kecederaan buku lali kanan, dilaporkan mengambil ubat penahan sakit sewaktu turun beraksi berdepan Kedah pada aksi separuh akhir pertama di Stadium Darul Aman, Alor Setar pada Sabtu lepas yang menyaksikan kedua-dua pasukan seri 3-3.

“Kita amat memerlukan khidmat Azam untuk dua aksi penting menentang Thailand dan Indonesia pada 14 dan 19 Nov ini, namun saya akan membuat keputusan selepas aksi kedua Piala Malaysia di Kuantan nanti,” katanya kepada Bernama hari ini.

Untuk rekod, Azam tidak beraksi ketika Malaysia menang besar 6-0 ke atas Sri Lanka pada aksi persahabatan antarabangsa Tier 1 di Bukit Jalil pada 5 Okt lalu, selain tidak dibawa ke Hanoi semasa Malaysia tewas 0-1 kepada Vietnam pada aksi ketiga Kumpulan G pusingan kedua kelayakan di Stadium Nasional My Dinh pada 10 Okt lalu.

Dalam pada itu, Tan mengakui Harimau Malaya perlu kembali bangkit memburu kemenangan menentang Thailand dan Indonesia dalam misi menghidupkan semula peluang Malaysia untuk sekurang-kurangnya menempah tiket secara automatik ke pusingan akhir Piala Asia 2023 di China.

Harimau Malaya sebelum itu akan diuji pasukan ranking ke-115 dunia, Tajikistan pada aksi pemanas badan di Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil pada 9 Nov ini.

Malaysia kini di tangga keempat daripada lima pasukan dengan kutipan tiga mata selepas tiga perlawanan.

BUTTERWORTH, Oct 22 — An event manager accidentally entered the North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT) before crashing his vehicle into a container lorry in the area earlier today.

Seberang Perai Utara (SPU) district police chief ACP Noorzainy Mohd Noor said the 7am incident was discovered by an auxiliary policeman stationed at the port before contacting the police and providing assistance to the 41-year-old male driver.

“The man who was driving a BMW car entered the container lane at the NBCT before losing control of his vehicle and crashing into a container lorry, but he escaped uninjured,” he said here.

He said the man was believed to be intoxicated and tested positive for drugs.

The man who was driving without a valid licence was detained for further investigation under Section 45A (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for driving under the influence of alcohol as well as Section 15 (1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1987, he said. — Bernama

JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo has offered the 35-year-old co-founder of the country’s biggest startup, Gojek, a position in his new cabinet, affirming the importance of the internet sector in propelling Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

Nadiem Makarim today told reporters he has accepted a cabinet post after resigning with immediate effect as chief executive officer of the ride-hailing giant he started nine years ago.

That leaves the US$10 billion startup, one of Southeast Asia’s largest, without its most visible leader at a time it’s pursuing funding to compete with arch-rival Grab Holdings Inc.

Gojek said President Andre Soelistyo and co-founder Kevin Aluwi will take the helm as co-CEOs. The company will outline its next steps in the coming days, Gojek said in an emailed statement.

Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, will specify the role to be taken up by Makarim in a later announcement.

Makarim’s appointment – in line with the Indonesian president’s stated desire to include professionals and millennials in his second-term team – shouldn’t disrupt operations at Gojek given its deep bench of experienced managers.

“This means President Jokowi’s new cabinet will be filled with young people with ability to execute,” said Willson Cuaca, managing partner of East Ventures, one of the most active Indonesian-focused venture capital firms.

“It shows that Indonesia appreciates what they’ve done for the country. For Gojek, it’s reached a point that even if Nadiem resigns, it’s business as usual.”

The Gojek co-founder hails from a prominent Indonesian family. His grandfather was part of the delegation that won the country’s independence from the Netherlands in a 1949 conference at The Hague.

“Since the beginning, my mission in Gojek has been to display Indonesia on the world’s stage,” Makarim told reporters when he announced his resignation in Jakarta today.

“So, this is a continuation of that mission, but this is certainly for the state and within a bigger scale.”

Gojek is the largest player in an Indonesian internet industry that’s booming as smartphone adoption there explodes.

The world’s fourth most populous country with 264 million people has produced other unicorns including Tokopedia and Bukalapak, which are driving e-commerce and the digital economy more generally.

Makarim started Gojek in 2010 as a call centre arranging couriers in Jakarta. At that early stage, everything was done manually – employees called motorbike drivers one by one until someone accepted an order – and Makarim had to work at other startups in order to sustain Gojek.