Islam and Australia's indigenous peoples

Peta Stephenson

December 14, 2011 Muslim conversion is growing in Indigenous communities. In the 2001 national census, 641 Indigenous people identified as Muslim. By the 2006 census the number had climbed by more than 60% to 1014 people. This recent rise in conversions among Indigenous Australians may seem to be a political gesture. But unknown to many is the long history between Aboriginal people and Islamic culture and religion. Three centuries of history Indigenous and Muslim communities have traded, socialised and intermarried in Australia for three centuries. From the early 1700s, Muslim fishermen from Indonesia made annual voyages to the north and northwestern Australian coast in search of sea slugs (trepang). The trade that developed included material goods, but the visitors also left a lasting religious legacy.

Transnasional fiasco proves failure of privatisation, says MB

Dec 14: Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim (pic) said the crisis faced by Konsortium Transnasional (KTB) in its Cityliner bus services proves that the Federal government’s privatisation policy was a failure. Khalid was reacting to KTB’s request to the state government to offer it financial lifeline in order to resume its suspended Cityliner bus services. Khalid said it showed that the original aim of privatisation in order to reduce the government’s burden had gone awry. “After so long, the government provides a conducive business environment which guarantees continuous profit but when the business suffers losses, the government is forced to bear the burden to rescue the company.

'Arrest Sarawak CM and family members for grand theft'

Dec 14: Parti Keadilan Rakyat has called for the arrest of Sarawak's long-serving chief minister Taib Mahmud (right) and his family members for alleged abuse of public office as well as wide scale theft and corruption. Referring to a letter by several NGOs on the matter, PKR vice president N Surendran said the time had come for the authorities to finally sprint into action and charge Taib and his billionaire family members for plunder of state resources. "For years, concerned individuals, organizations and the political opposition have called upon the BN government to stop Taib's plunder of Sarawak's wealth and natural resources. But successive BN government's have taken no action whatsoever against Taib and his criminal empire. The facts revealed in this letter are simply staggering," said Surendran in a statement to Harakahdaily.

Sans polls reforms, 'ghosts' to decide next gov't

Dec 14: If recommendations by the parliamentary select committee  for electoral reforms were ignored, the outcome of the next general election would be in the hands of phantom voters, said DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng. Speaking as a panelist of a forum organised by Malay-daily daily Sinar Harian on the much awaited 13th general election, Lim said other factors would determine the results of the polls once the issue of 'phantom voters' was solved. “After the ‘ghosts’ are ‘captured’, then Sabah and Sarawak will decide who rules the country,” he said.

15 mahasiswa ditahan polis

KUALA LUMPUR, 14 Dis: Polis bertindak menangkap 15 orang mahasiswa yang mengadakan perhimpunan flashmob menuntut kebebasan akademik di KL Sental dekat ibu negara petang ini.

Mereka antara kira-kira 40 orang pelajar yang hadir berkumpul kira-kira jam 4 petang tadi yang diketuai pengerusi perkumpulan Gerakan Menuntut Kebebasan Akademik (BEBAS) Mohd Safwan Anang.

Difahamkan, belum beberapa minit sempat mereka berkumpul, sekumpulan anggota polis datang menghalang mereka dan mengarahkan bersurai.

Video hina hudud ada kaitan dengan Noh Omar?

Harakahdaily

KUALA LUMPUR, 14 Dis: Penerbit video Sembang Rakyat yang menerbitkan klip video yang  menghina hukum hudud adalah dimiliki oleh orang yang sama yang menguruskan blog Datuk Seri Noh Omar. Penerbit video ini juga adalah orang yang sama yang menguruskan laman web Puteri Umno Selangor dan Umno Tanjung Karang di samping blog Pena Noh Omar itu. "Besar kemungkinan dia adalah orang kuat Noh Omar," kata seorang blogger yang juga menerbitkan video klip bagi mendedahkan siapa sebenarnya di belakang video klip yang menghina hukum hudud ini.

Video klip hina hudud: Pemuda PAS lapor polis

(Pemuda Kelantan menunjukkan laporan polis yang dibuat) KOTA BHARU 14 Dis: Dewan Pemuda PAS Negeri Kelantan, hari ini membuat laporan polis berhubung klip video bertajuk ‘lagi hudud PAS’ yang disiarkan di halaman Youtube. Laporan itu dibuat memandangkan  klip video berkenaan melanggar aturan Perkara 3 Perlembagaan Persekutuan, Syekyen 120 Enakmen Majlis Agama Islam dan Adat Istiadat Melayu 1994, seksyen 298 dan 298A Kanun Keseksaan. Laporan berkenaan dibuat oleh Setiausaha Dewan Pemuda PAS Negeri Kelantan, Mohamed Nuri Mat Yaacob di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah Kota Bharu, Pengkalan Chepa, di sini tengahari tadi.