Islamic State new killing fields, nothing less than total domination

http://bcove.me/pqcpn5yj

THE news on Saturday felt like double hammer blows. The Islamic State’s slaughter of 129 people in Paris and the Malaysian IS militants in southern Philippines’ plan to form an “official” IS faction in South-East Asia were just plain shocking and sickening.

Back in March I wrote about my fear of the IS and decried how people who profess to want to protect Islam in Malaysia were targeting the wrong people, namely non-Muslims, and particularly the Christians.

It is with deep distress I return to this growing horror which cannot be ignored.

While I do believe our Govern­ment is completely committed to fighting IS’ influence and I am deeply relieved that our police has top-notch intelligence that – as Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division head Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ayob Khan said – ensures “that we are on top of any development concerning militant groups”, this extreme form of militant Islam continues to take root in our midst.

It was reported in October that more than 100 suspected terrorists and militants have been detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012. Among them were Malaysian combatants who had returned from Syria and Iraq, as well as army commandos and civil servants. Over the last few days, more have been detained.

The Star’s report on Saturday that a former Universiti Malaya lecturer, Dr Mahmud Ahmad, who trains suicide bombers, is behind the formation of an IS group that will plan attacks in Malaysia and the region is even more chilling.

More scary was Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein’s revelation on Monday that the IS is targeting Malaysian leaders who are regarded as tagut. Tagut the article explains are “those who have crossed religious boundaries” which is extremely vague.

But it would appear to mean, going by online definitions, people who worship other gods as well as Muslims who “exceed their limits” like legislators who make laws in Parliament. They are deemed to be equating themselves with Allah and challenging Allah’s divine laws.

If these are all possible meanings of tagut, then all our elected representatives and government leaders, Muslim and non-Muslim, are fair game to IS.

In Graeme Wood’s article entitled “What Isis really wants” in the March issue of The Atlantic, he states that IS’ aim is to restore the Caliphate after it ended in Turkey almost a century ago. (Isis or the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham is the earlier manifestation of IS).

After some 14 months of fighting, the proponents achieved their goal on June 30, 2014, when their leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, proclaimed himself as the new caliph and successor to Prophet Muhammad in a mosque in Mosul, Iraq.

his 21st-century construct, however, is global and borderless and as such, al-Baghdadi says he is the leader of Muslims everywhere who must pledge allegiance to him. Failure to do so means being branded as an apostate, which is punishable by death.

Wood quotes Bernard Haykel, described as the leading secular expert on IS ideology, as saying these jihadists are “authentic throwbacks to early Islam and faithfully reproducing its norms of war.”

Haykel further states, “Slavery, crucifixion, and beheadings are not something that freakish (jihadists) are cherry-picking from the medieval tradition” and that IS fighters “are smack in the middle of the medieval tradition and are bringing it wholesale into the present day.”

The Islamic State, according to Wood, also claims that common Syiah practices, such as worship at the graves of imams and public self-flagellation, have no basis in the Quran or the Prophet’s examples.

“That means roughly 200 million Syiah (Muslims) are marked for death. So too are the heads of state of every Muslim country, who have ele­­­­­vated man-made laws above Syariah by running for office or enforcing laws not made by God,” he writes.

He adds this is because the Islamic State is committed to purifying the world of apostates, and presumably tagut, even if it means mass killings. So back to Hishammuddin’s statement that our leaders are IS’ targets. He also declared that the threat will not stop them from fighting the terrorists. Fighting the IS should be every citizen’s responsibility, at least it should be for every citizen who still believes in a multiracial, democratic Malaysia.

At such a dangerous time, I reiterate my appeal to Muslims and non-Muslims to stand together. I cannot believe peace-loving Malaysian Sunnis would agree to IS’ desire to wipe out millions of Syiah Muslims and non-Muslims.

Unfortunately, we still have leaders wanting to play the religious card which sows confusion and suspicion between Muslims and non-Muslims. We have seen the antics of some this year and the latest one is from the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister who is thinking of having mandatory halal and non-halal trolleys in supermarkets.

Thankfully, ever since the proposal came to light, many groups, including Malaysian Muslim Solidarity (Isma), have criticised it.

As Isma president Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman opined: It is not practical and “Islam is not about making things difficult”.

Many have also asked: With such thinking, what will follow next? Food courts to have halal and non-halal cutlery? Separate banknotes and coins?

And what about enforcement? Who gets fined if a shopper uses a halal trolley for non-halal items? Said shopper or supermarket owner?

If the minister really wants to help all shoppers, he should insist supermarkets maintain their trolleys well and give them a wash regularly. I have struggled with trolleys with bad wheels, sticky handles and grubby baskets.

Seriously, our leaders have a lot more important things to worry about, like ferreting out more IS recruiters in our schools, armed forces and government, than segregating shopping carts. This is a fight against a deadly, implacable and seductive enemy and we don’t need any distractions like these in the name of religious correctness.

It certainly won’t make us any safer or more Muslim in the eyes of the IS which is intent on annihilating the present world order to replace it with their own.

BY JUNE H.L. WONG

Aunty recalls this memorable line from Aamir Khan’s movie, PK. It is spoken by the central character, an alien stranded on Earth as he clutches the shoe of his friend who was killed in a train bomb blast: ‘Stop protecting your own god, otherwise only shoes will be left on this planet and not people.’ Feedback to aunty@thestar.com.my

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Can France's daring move eliminate Islamic State? Terrorism is modern society's cancer !

France vs ISIS 2015 By Li Min After the brutal terror attacks in Paris, France's Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve called for

Can France's daring move eliminate Islamic State? Terrorism is modern society's cancer !

France vs ISIS 2015 By Li Min

After the brutal terror attacks in Paris, France's Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve called for the "dissolution of mosques where hate is preached." Earlier this year, French authorities said "Foreign preachers of hate will be deported [and their mosques] will be shut down." The reiteration is taken by many as a renewed demonstration of France's tough response to the attacks.

The tougher the stance France shows, the more embrace it will get from the public. Likewise, after the September 11 attacks, the US Congress rapidly passed a bill to launch war in Afghanistan and later, the ousting of Saddam Hussein won bipartisan advocacy. But reality shows that after attacks, the agitated Western society tends to overestimate the effects of fierce retaliation and underrate the complexity of the origins of terrorism.

Closing mosques where hatred is preached may be interpreted by Muslims in a way France doesn't mean. Frankly speaking, the French government is daring enough to take such a measure and it faces a smaller risk of public opposition than if China and Russia did the same. Countries with which the West has biased opinions have to consider the response from Muslims and primarily criticism from Western opinion.

France's air strikes against the Islamic State (IS) with its Western allies can have some effects, but the IS cannot be uprooted unless the West sends large-scale ground forces or fully supports the Assad regime to fight them.

Even if the IS could be largely crushed, it doesn't make much difference. In the Middle East, there are no political strongmen any more, and its political and social structures have been shattered. Built up by extreme forces taking advantage of the rift, the example of the IS can be repeated easily.

More importantly, the West's bombs can destroy the encampments and ammunition depots, but cannot deal with attire like veils. Nor can the West prevent children from being sent to extreme religious schools or grapple with conservative Islam.

Until now, Osama bin Laden is still deemed by many in the Arabic world as a positive figure fighting the West, which reflects the limitation of the war on terrorism.

Terrorism that originates in the Middle East has been embedded with unbelievable hatred. The West has no measures to counter it, nor can it form a consistent organization to take action. The West has been depressed by the consequences of the Arab Spring.

In the Islamic world, there is no figure or power of authority to advance the regional reforms, and apparently the vacancy cannot be filled from the outside. The Islamic world may be in pressing need of examples where some of its countries completely modernize so as to bring some inspiration.

But such a plan is not realistic in the current situation. In this sense, much of the West's drastic rhetoric only works to show their emotions with problems remaining unsolved. It is merely a response to public opinion.

Terrorism is modern society’s cancer



A series of terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday night have left the world in shock, and all people with a sense of justice will strongly condemn the atrocities. With the Bataclan concert hall, soccer stadium and restaurants as targets, it's obvious that the terrorist attacks were elaborately planned. These are the most severe terrorist attacks the West has suffered in recent years. They are also the most coordinated and lethal terrorist attacks worldwide in recent years.

Since the 9/11 attacks, the cost of anti-terrorism efforts has been increasingly soaring in both developed and developing countries. However, terrorism continues spreading like cancer. Al-Qaeda has been greatly devastated, but Islamic State, a more brutal extremist group, has emerged. The West is suffering from intermittent terrorist attacks, while in some turbulent underdeveloped countries, terrorist attacks have become commonplace in the fight against their governments. In China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, a small number of young people has also embraced terrorism, instigated by extremist ideas, turning Xinjiang into a global anti-terrorist front.

Middle East countries suffering from turbulence and abject poverty are the hotbed of terrorism. Like an airborne virus, it spreads to other regions. Refugees and immigrants from the Middle East have brought some deep-rooted problems to Europe and the US. Europe and the US need new immigrants, but their societies have been resisting the trend, including anti-immigration protests.

People with radical ideas from Europe and the US continue to travel to the Middle East to join jihad. Some of them have returned, carrying the terrorist virus. In many cases, terrorist attacks in Europe and the US are no longer directly launched by terrorist groups from the Middle East. The identity of terrorists and the nature of some terrorist groups have become complicated. It is more difficult to take precautions.

Since it's virtually impossible to reverse globalization, openness and freedom, the system on which societies operate runs counter to the anti-terrorism system. A dangerous element identified by security authorities could be totally free, which means a much higher cost for preventing terrorist acts.

Every government is trying every means to defend themselves from terrorist attacks, but the general understanding of terrorism remains ambiguous and elusive. Geopolitics and ideologies are driving a wedge between different countries. Some countries have double standards over terrorism, imposing a harsh attitude to terrorists on their own turf, but striking a noncommittal and even sympathetic stand on terrorists in other countries.

The rapid rise of IS, to some extent, is believed to being used by the US and Europe to topple Syria's Bashar al-Assad's regime. The US is of two minds in cracking down on IS. Terrorism, by taking advantage of the divergence among major powers, survives and free societies invite intermittent terrorist attacks. Furthermore, terrorism can gain support from some radical forces, and lone wolf attacks could also cause heavy losses as terrorist attacks do.

Terrorism is like a cancer of the world, which requires a long-term fight. As the chance of wars among countries gets slim, terrorist attacks will probably become the most challenging global form of violence.

Source:  Global Times

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Changing the world with words

Yap: If it makes strategic sense, and our gut tells us there’s a market for it, why not?

SETTING up a business and making money is one of the primary goals for most entrepreneurs. Say what you like — that you’re in because you love it, or love to experiment or just have some time to spare — but in the end it boils down to making money.

I came across one interesting business in Malaysia, though, that chooses to prioritise social mission over profit.

Akasaa defines itself as a social enterprise that specialises in projects that bring meaningful change to society through publication and content management. Founded and owned by Angela Yap, the company creates platforms and business models for clients who want to make profit and, at the same time, become leaders in innovative social change.

While that’s a lot to factor in, Yap sums it up as a business with more action than just talk.

Her current project is a book, Dining with Dragons by Carol Selva Rajah, an internationally-acclaimed, Sydney-based chef originally from Malaysia.

“Chef Carol took six years to write this food memoir. She’s written many award-winning books, but this is her first novel, and it may be the world’s first food memoir on Malaya, Malaysia and Singapore by someone of her calibre.

“Food plays a powerful role in human memory. Food memory is a legitimate area of cultural and biological research in many leading schools in the US and Europe,” explains Yap.

She hopes the book will inspire Malaysians to remember how things were, and use these “food memories” as a way to heal as a nation. She says it is one of the first books written from the heart using food as an agent to bring about social change.

Yap seized the opportunity to partner up with Carol just as the book was just about to be printed in Australia by an Australian publisher.

“I read it, I loved it, I wanted to publish it. And we knew exactly where we wanted to drive it. Her Australian publisher relinquished the rights to us,” explains Yap.

Publishing such a book here would be a good example of Akasaa’s philanthropic mission, but the company has moved into a different phase of growth as it is focuses on publishing and training — garnering more project with authors, books and partnerships.

In the context of Malaysians who’ve made a name for themselves in Australia like Carol, Yap says that they are always scouting for such talent. “Books, research and writing have a long incubation. We’ve taken a lot of risks banking on projects for the long term. Our longest one is a 10-year research project on the late Justice Tan Sri Eusoffe Abdoolcader (dubbed by the British press as the Legal Lion of the Commonwealth) — we’re publishing a series of books on him beginning December,” says Yap.

Her job is not an easy one — having to balance between creating a positive image for her clients and partners, bringing about social change and making money. But Yap says all of this is made possible by the great team she has.

“A lot of times, how we assess, market, position and promote a book is extremely unorthodox, but if it makes strategic sense, and our gut tells us there’s a market for it, why not?”

Yap is practical, determined and straightforward. Her passion has garnered her many accolades, one being the Most Successful Woman Award 2012.

Yap once worked in a bank, is a writer (her first love), a “geeky” researcher (a close second love), a former strategist for one of the Big 4 (PWC, KPMG, Deloitte and E&Y) and once signed up with the UNDP for a short stint.

“These things paid the bills. Then came all the pro bono social activism/human rights work with Amnesty (I was on the board of governors) and a few non-profits.

“Everywhere I went, people opened opportunities and doors for me, probably because I was very young and they saw how enthusiastic I was in doing everything,” she recalls, the enthusiasm still very much evident despite the challenges.

Yap believes that a big part of overcoming problems is to not talk about it but learning to meditate on it.

“Being quiet and putting aside time for introspection allows for eureka moments to happen. Solutions come when the mind is clear, and that clarity carries a momentum of its own. Then when you act, it carries gravitas,” she explains.

While it’s always easier to work with clients who have similar values, Yap doesn’t always have that luxury.

“The test is in whether you can bring together many divided interests and make things happen,” she opines.

Lastly, every business owner needs a supportive partner.

“If you want to be successful, find a partner who is supportive of your success.” — By Karina Foo

Immigration & education drive property prices; Secondary property sales may take lead

Immigration and education are two drivers of property prices in cities in the next 10 years to 2024, said property consultancy Knight Frank International.

Its Asia-Pacific reaearch director Nicholas Holt said up to 76,000 Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWI) from China have immigrated the last 10 years - the highest - while up to 72% of Malaysia’s UHNWI send their children abroad, the highest. (See graphics below).

The cities include London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Holt was presenting his Wealth Report 2015 updated till third quarter 2015 at the 25th National Real Estate Convention in Kuala Lumpur.

He defined UHNWIs as those with US$30mil and above in investible income excluding their primary residence.

In an Attitudes Survey involving 600 advisors of UHNWIs by Knight Frank, the advisors - bankers included - said about 10% of their Malaysia’s ultra-high net worth clients were considering changing their domicile in the earlier part of this year.

“This compares with an overall 12% in Asia who are considering changing domicile,” said Holt.

Data show drop in primary market transactions

SUBANG JAYA: The ongoing slowdown in the local property sector could see transactions in the secondary property market overtaking that of the primary market.

Citing data from the National Property Information Centre (Napic), PPC International Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk Siders Sittampalam said the economic slowdown has affected transactions in the primary property market this year.

"Siders: ‘Total volume of transactions in the primary market has dropped, and this has also resulted in values dropping. >>

“Total volume of transactions in the primary market has dropped, and this has also resulted in values dropping.

“As such, there will come a time when the secondary market will lead the primary market,” he said at a press conference after the launch of the 25th National Real Estate Convention (NREC) 2015 yesterday.

Siders said it was difficult to provide a specific timeline on when he expected transactions in the secondary market to exceed that of the primary market.

“In terms of value, the primary market will find it harder to match the secondary market due to rising land and building costs,” he said.

Siders said he expected transactions in the primary market to improve once cooling measures imposed on the local property sector have been relaxed.

“Once the economy picks up and Bank Negara backs off on its cooling measures, the primary market will pick up again.”

He also said a drastic hike in interest rates will have an impact on the property sector.

“Over the last few years, the property market had been steadily growing due to various measures such as the developers interest bearing scheme (DIBS). Because of these measures, pricing in the market has been distorted.

“Now, when people have committed to their loans, especially youths and first time buyers, and there is a sudden hike in interest rates, there will be a dip in the market.

“Loans go bad and many properties will go under the hammer. This will not be a healthy market.” Siders said he was hopeful that any interest rate hike by the central bank would be a “sustainable increase.”

Bank Negara maintained its overnight policy rate in September at 3.25%.

The NREC was organised by the Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia and the Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector, Malaysia.

The event highlighted major concerns for the future of the real estate industry in Malaysia during the current economic period.

BY EUGENE MAHALINGAM

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Penang property market to be resilient on sustained demand

PETALING JAYA: Penang’s property market is expected to stay resilient on the back of sustained demand, especially from Penangites working abroad planning to return and prospective retirees eyeing homes in the state.

“There has been a slowdown in the last year. There are a few categories of investors in Penang; those who are owner occupiers, those who are investors for the cultural developments, those who are in the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) and Penangites who work abroad but would like to settle in Malaysia,” said Penang Institute CEO and head of economics studies Dr Lim Kim Hwa (pictured) at the National Real Estate Convention (NREC) 2015 yesterday.

“For the last two categories, the properties in Penang would be priced significantly cheaper, thus I believe the demand in the property sector in Penang would remain rather constant,” concluded Lim during his presentation entitled “Penang: The Next Metropolis”.

In terms of the wider economy, Penang is expected to register a 5% to 6% growth in its gross domestic product (GDP), outpacing the overall country’s growth by 1%, he said, noting that last year, Penang’s GDP grew by 7.4% while Malaysia’s grew by 6%.

According to Lim, Penang contributes 21.8% of the balance of Malaysia’s trade surplus, specialising in machinery, transport equipment and miscellaneous manufactured articles.

“Penang’s economy is more export-orientated, and now there is a better demand for electrical and electronic goods,” he said.

The export sector is expected to improve with the recovery of the US economy and the weaker ringgit, he added.

“It is important that Penang provides the best environment to attract more investments. Penang is the main manufacturing and economic hub for electronic and electrical items. Bayan Lepas is already full. It is important to provide more space for industrial growth.”

Some of the projects and initiatives that are expected to contribute to this growth is the IT-BPO at Bayan Lepas, BPO Prime at Bayan Baru and Changkat Byram, south of Batu Kawan.

Other projects that will benefit Penang overall include the Penang Transport Master Plan, Penang Heritage Arts District – Ilham Penang at Sia Boey, Creative Animation Triggers at Wisma Yeap Chor Ee, and Komtar refurbishment. “All of these projects involve the private sector,” added Lim.

“The Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) is the catalyst to [turning Penang into a] metropolis, as it involves alleviating a lot of the problems locally in Penang, especially traffic congestion,” said Lim.

Expected to be completed in 2030, the RM27 billion project would include amenities such as trams for the heritage zones, LRT for the island and mainland, and water taxis.

Lim said Penang is on track to achieving its metropolis status.

“It is an ongoing process, and there is no deadline. Penang aims to transform into an international, intelligent city filled with life. To create a great metropolis, it has to be unique, and it has to attract people to want to live and expand the growth of the city,” he said.

NREC 2015 saw more than 250 participants from the banking, development, property and consultancy industries.

NREC is organised by the Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (RISM) and co-organised by the Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants in the Private Sector Malaysia (PEPS).

Themed “Homes For Generations – Redefining Development Trends”, the convention highlighted concerns for the future of the real estate industry in Malaysia.

By Hannah Rafee / theedgeproperty.com 

Malaysian Islamic State militants: Dr Mahmud is forming South-East Asian terror bloc; Paris attacks !

Regional faction to unite different terror cells from Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines

KUALA LUMPUR: Wanted Malay­sian IS militants hiding in southern Philippines are planning to form an “official” Islamic State faction in South-East Asia.

The region’s IS faction is also planning to unite different terror cells in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

It will include among others the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and other terror groups in the region.

Integral in the plan is former Universiti Malaya lecturer Dr Mah­mud Ahmad, who is high on the wanted list for his involvement with the IS along with his cohorts – sundry shop owner Mohd Najib Husen and former Selayang Muni­cipal Council employee Muham­mad Joraimee Awang Raimee, 39.

Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division head Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ayob Khan (pic) said Dr Mahmud, also known as Abu Handzalah, was actively training with the ASG as well as taking part in terror operations in the southern Philippines.

“Intelligence indicates that he was involved in two bomb attacks against the Philippines’ army recently.

“We believe the ASG regards him highly as an asset,” he told The Star yesterday.

But SAC Ayob indicated Dr Mahmud was not content with just being involved with the ASG.

His ultimate goal is to officially form the South-East Asian IS.

“He has performed the bai’ah or the oath of allegiance on video but to form the South-East Asian cell of IS, Dr Mahmud has to travel to Syria and swear his allegiance in front of IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

“We discovered through intelligence sharing that going to Syria is his priority now,” he said.

The same could be said for the different terror groups, especially the ASG, where the leaders had also sworn allegiance to Abu Bakr on video, added SAC Ayob.

“These groups are only seen as IS allies, and not an official IS cell,” he said.

He added that if Dr Mahmud’s plans came to fruition, it would spell even more danger to the region with the different terror groups operating under one banner.

“We are cooperating with other security forces in the region, especially the Philippines, to ensure that this will not occur.

“We believe that Dr Mahmud is trying different means to gain safe passage to Syria, including using fake identification documents and passports but we will remain vigilant,” he said.

SAC Ayob said his division was committed towards combating any terror element be it foreign or domestic.

“Our priority is intelligence ga­thering to ensure that we are on top of any development concerning militant groups,” he said.

“We are working with our counterparts in the Philippines to track down and capture Dr Mahmud and his accomplices.”

SAC Ayob, who has been dealing with terrorism matters for more than 20 years, said it was not uncommon for militant scholars or academicians to become leaders like Dr Azahari Hussin and Noordin Mat Top to name a few.

The trio – Dr Mahmud, Mohd Najib and Joraimee – have been on Bukit Aman’s wanted list since April 2014 following their escape to southern Philippines.

SAC Ayob urged anyone with information on militancy to contact the nearest police station or the counter-terrorism division at 03-2266 7010 or 011-2104 6850 or to e-mail CTD.E8M@gmail.com.

BY FARIK ZOLKEPLI The Star/Asia News Network

Ex-lecturer trained with al-Qaeda while studying

KUALA LUMPUR: Wanted militant Dr Mahmud Ahmad was apparently involved in militancy since the 1990s.

Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division head Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ayob Khan said, at 36, the former Universiti Malaya lecturer was a veteran militant, having trained with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan in the late 1990s while he was studying in Pakistan.

“Once he became a university lecturer, he recruited and sent four Malaysians to Syria.

“Prior to joining UM, he used his position as a lecturer at a private college to lure students into militancy,” he told The Star yesterday.

He added that in January last year, Dr Mahmud managed to arrange a meeting between the region’s militant leaders to form the Daulah Islamiyah Asia Tenggara.

“He then followed up by meeting with al-Qaeda elements at a house in Shah Alam in April 2014,” he said.

Sources revealed that Dr Mahmud was responsible for instil­ling extremist ideology and convincing Ahmad Tarmimi Maliki to become the first Malaysian suicide bomber.

“Ahmad Tarmimi’s suicide bomb attack killed 25 special forces personnel in Iraq last year,” one source said.

Dr Mahmud along with his two accomplices – sundry shop owner Mohd Najib Husen and Selayang Mu­­nicipal Council employee Mu­­ham­­mad Joraimee Awang Raimee, 39 – fled to southern Philippines on April 22 last year.

It is learnt that the three were also responsible for smuggling three East Turkmenistan Islamic Movement fighters to southern Philippines.

Another source revealed that Mohd Najib could be described as Dr Mahmud’s right-hand man and closest confidant.

“Mohd Najib is also instrumental in arranging various meetings with other militant groups at the behest of Dr Mahmud,” the source said.

The source added that the sundry shop owner had vast experience in militancy and provided Dr Mahmud with the necessary links to other militant groups, including those from Indonesia. - The Star

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Good and successful English learner: one crucial attribute

I REFER to the reports “Poor English stops medical grads” (The Star, Nov 9) and “Our English needs life support” (The Star, Nov 11, click here:Malaysian English needs life support: Poor English among doctors, stops medical grads).

In the second report, Prof Datuk Dr Raymond Azman Ali, chairman of the medical deans council of public universities, was quoted as saying, “How do you expect them (medical undergraduates) to comprehend medical theses and help patients if they cannot understand them in the first place?”

Let’s face it. Malaysia’s English is in a state of decay. Something urgent must be done to address the sharp fall in the standard of English. But we have been clamouring for something to be done for the umpteenth time.

The Government has implemented a bewildering array of initiatives to rectify our English problems but all to no avail.

What’s wrong with the teaching of English?

So far, what has been reported by the news media about the initiatives to improve English among Malaysian students have mainly focused on teachers, teaching methods, and the learning environment (to a certain degree). But they have missed out one crucial attribute: the good English learner! In her seminal paper “What the Good Language Learner Can Teach Us”, published in March 1975, Joan Rubin stressed the importance of drawing from the success of accomplished language learners.

She said, “I would like to suggest that if we knew more about what the ‘successful learners’ did, we might be able to teach these strategies to poorer learners to enhance their success record.”

The paper stated that those weaker students might become aware that stronger students always have the right answer but the weaker students always fail to discover why, always fail to discover what little “tricks” stronger students have employed to find the right answer.

The little “tricks” distilled from the research on “Good Language Learner” are:

1) The good language learner is a willing and accurate guesser. He is able to infer the meaning of a text or a speech based on its context (for example, the topic, setting, or attitudes of a speaker or a writer).

2) The good language learner has a strong motivation to communicate, or to learn from a communication, no matter where he is. He is determined to do anything to make himself understood.

For example, he might use body gestures to communicate if he couldn’t pronounce a word properly. He might also deploy a circumlocution, the practice of using more words to express something, by asking, “What is the object you use to click an icon on the screen of a computer?” when he is groping for the word “mouse”.

3) The good language learner is not afraid of making mistakes when learning, writing, or speaking a second language.

4) The good language learner constantly finds patterns in the language. For example, a good English learner is aware of the various tenses appearing in a text or a speech. He understands whether a sentence signifies the past, the present, or the future.

5) The good language learner seeks every opportunity available to practise the language. For instance, a good English learner might mingle with English native speakers, travel to English-speaking countries, listen to English news, watch English movies, and speak English as much as possible everywhere.

6) The good language learner always benchmarks himself against the best or native speakers. He never ceases improving and always learns from his own mistakes.

7) The good language learner always pays attention to meaning. He pays attention to the context of the speech, the interrelationship of the participants, the rules of speaking, and the mood of the speech. He constantly finds ways to make the things he wants to remember more meaningful.

If we want to arrest the decline in English among our learners in Malaysia, it is absolutely essential that our poor English learners learn from the little “tricks” of the good language learners espoused by Rubin.

Mastering English is inevitable. As Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said recently, “Like it or not, English is a prerequisite in today’s world, and without English, Malaysians can only be ‘jaguh kampung’ and lack the ability to penetrate the international market/>.”

MR LIM Alor Setar The Star

Focus on the English learners instead of teachers

In October, there was a survey by Pemandu (Performance Management and Delivery Unit)on ‘the importance of increasing English proficiency’. And 90 percent of the 190,000 respondents of this survey say that students in Malaysia should be given a choice to take more subjects in English.

“Malaysia has lost its competitiveness due to our standards in English going down,” AirAsia founder Tony Fernandez lamented on Twitter in the month of October.

On Nov 2, 2015, the words of Nor Azian Abd Manan, the principal of SK Bukit Beruntung: “When we think about our country, the future of our country, the future of our students... I feel very sad to see that many of our students, when they have finished school, they can’t even speak in English” were splashed on the headline of a major English daily across Malaysia.

A few days ago, Edmund Lee reported that there were glaring grammatical errors and poor sentence structures in the essays of the winners in an English essay writing competition organised by a Kuching group recently.

Lately, it was reported that 1000 medical graduates have failed in their endeavors to become doctors due to their poor grasp on English. And on Nov 11, 2015, five shocking big words, ‘Our English needs life support’ were splashed on the headline of a major English daily.

Professor Dr Raymond Azman Ali, the chairperson of medical deans council of public universities, was quoted further in the report as saying, “How do you expect them(medical undergraduates) to comprehend medical theses and help patients if they cannot understand them in the first place?”

The news are chilling!

All these happenings have converged to conclude that Malaysia’s English is in a state of decay. Something urgent must be done to address the decline of the standard of English in the country.

But, we have been clamouring to arrest the deterioration of English in the country for many years.
The Malaysian government has implemented a bewildering array of initiatives to rectify our English problems, but all to no avail.

Every day, we keep hearing from one shocking news to another about the sorry state of our English.

What’s wrong with the teaching of English?

During the budget 2016 speech , our Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said, “Given the importance of the English language to face current global competition, another two initiatives, namely the Dual Language Programme and Highly Immersive Programme will be implemented as an option at a cost RM38.5 million. In this respect, 300 schools have been identified as a pilot project.”

Could the above plans really solve the problems? I doubt it.

From Oct 19 to 21, there was an English teaching event, the International Conference on English Language teaching (ICELt) 2015, which was organised by the Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia and Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara).

The chief aim of the conference was on English language teaching, its theme - ‘Creative Teachers, Efficient Learners’.

During the conference, the text of Rural and Regional Development Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s speech, was read out by the ministry’s deputy secretary-general Rahim Abu Bakar. The minister said in his speech, “It’s not just about getting teachers to be more proficient in the language. It is about being better and being creative teachers.”
It’s a laudable objective.

In the Malaysia Education Blueprint, there is also an initiative to make SPM English a must-pass subject, although its implementation has been delayed by the ministry recently, citing inadequate teaching resources and undesirable English standard among students as main concerns.

One crucial attribute

So far, what have been reported by the news media about the initiatives to improve English among Malaysian students have focused on teachers, teaching methods, and learning environment(to a certain degree). However, they have missed about one crucial attribute: the successful English learner!

In her seminal paper, ‘What the ‘Good Language Learner’ Can Teach Us’, published in March 1975, Joan Rubin stressed the importance of drawing from the success of accomplished language learners, “ We all know of students who learn a second language in spite of the teacher, the textbook, or the classroom situation. How do these individuals achieve their success?

She stressed in the paper, “I would like to suggest that if we knew more about what the ‘successful learners’ did, we might be able to teach these strategies to poorer learners to enhance their success record.”

The paper stated that those weaker students might become aware that stronger students always have the right answer but the weaker students always fail to discover why, always fail to discover what little “tricks” stronger students have employed to find the right answer.

The little ‘tricks’ distilled from research on ‘Good Language Learner’ are:

1. The good language learner is a willing and accurate guesser. He is able to infer the meaning of a text or a speech based on its context ( For example, the topic, setting, or attitudes of a speaker or a writer).

2. The good language learner has a strong motivation to communicate, or to learn from a communication, no matter where he is. He is determined to do anything to make himself understood.

For example, he might use body gestures to communicate if he couldn’t pronounce a word properly. He might also deploy a circumlocution, the practice of using more words to express something, by asking, “What is the object you use to click an icon on the screen of a computer?” when he is groping for the word, “mouse”.

To promote the use of English among Malaysian students, language researcher Robert L Cooper has this to say, “If we want to enable the student to use English, then we must put him in situations which demand the use of English.”

3. The good language learner is not afraid of making mistakes when learning, writing, or speaking a second language.

4. The good language learner constantly finds patterns in the language. He constantly analyzes, categorises, and synthesises the myriad forms of sentences in the language.

For example, a good English learner is aware of the various tenses appearing in a text or a speech. He understands whether a sentence signifies the past, the present, or the future. He knows how to use the correct order of adjectives in a sentence: “a big red bus” instead of “a red big bus”; “a good boy” instead of “a boy good”.

5. The good language learner seeks every opportunity available to practice the language. For instance, a good English learner might mingle with English native speakers, travel to English speaking countries, listen to English news, watch English movies, and speak English as much as possible everywhere.

Joan Rubin further summed this up in the paper that the good language learner takes and creates opportunities to practice what he has learned while the poorer learner passively does what is assigned him.

6. The good language learner always benchmarks himself against the best or native speakers. He never ceases improving and always learns from his own mistakes.

7. The good language learner always pays attention to meaning. He pays attention to the context of the speech, the interrelationship of the participants, the rules of speaking, and the mood of the speech. The good language learner constantly finds ways to make the things he wants to remember more meaningful. As the famed language researcher John B Carroll says, “The more meaningful the material to be learned, the greater the facility in learning and retention.”

If we want to arrest the decline of English among our learners in Malaysia, it is absolutely essential that our poor English learners could learn from the little ‘tricks’ of the good language learners as espoused by Joan Rubin in the paper.

So, where to begin? I strongly believe that motivation is the crux of the matter.

To this, I would like to quote Gabi Schmiegel, a native German speaker, “I went into my first language class and made a promise to myself that I would speak this language without an accent. I went on to become not only fluent in English, but also Latin, French, and have just passed intermediate Arabic. My fluency and ease with English enabled me to study abroad”.

Mastering English is inevitable. As our Prime Minister Najib said recently, “Like it or not, English is a prerequisite in today’s world, and without English, Malaysians can only be ‘jaguh kampung’ and lack the ability to penetrate the international market.”

By Chong Beng Lim Malaysiakini

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Malaysian English needs life support: Poor English among doctors, stops medical grads

The Star says: Young doctors in the country are struggling with their poor command of English. They face problems communicating with patie..

Assalamualaikum: Islamisation of Malaysia

Malaysian English needs life support: Poor English among doctors, stops medical grads

 The Star says: Young doctors in the country are struggling with their poor command of English. They face problems communicating with patients and their peers. Even so called top students who make it to medical schools are falling short in their language skills. They news comes after The Star reported on Monday that weak English was the main reason some 1,000 medical graduates had ended their ambition to become doctors.

Poor English proficiency has also affected young doctors, reports The Star. – Wiki Commons pic, November 11, 2015.

Poor English proficiency has not only affected medical graduates, but undergraduates and new doctors as well, reports The Star.

Quoting the medical deans council of public universities chairman Prof Datuk Dr Raymond Azman Ali, the English daily reported that this would affect the quality of service of doctors since they have to communicate with both patients and their peers as well.

“It is not just a problem among medical undergraduates. We can detect similar problems with young doctors.

“With all due respect, it is apparent in hospitals when they do their presentations and converse with their peers and seniors. “English is a common language for medicine. Most of the time, we have to publish journals and present in English. It would be bad for us if we cannot communicate our work properly,” Dr Raymond said.

He said more than 90% of journals were published in English, and citing his own experiences when he was studying medicine in Australia's Monash University, where all cases were presented in English.

“How do you expect them to comprehend medical theses and help patients if they cannot understand them in the first place?” he was quoted as saying.

The Star said Dr Raymond pointed out many medical students have excellent results on paper, but have problems expressing their views during interviews.

“When we conduct our interviews in public universities, most of their results look good on paper. But if we ask them to explain something, they will ask us whether they can answer in Malay. When we ask again in English, they will get stuck,” he said.

The Star reported on Monday that some 1,000 medical graduates have stopped becoming doctors, with their poor command of English being a main factor.

Other factors include lack of interest in basic medical training, poor communication skills with patients and frustration over working conditions.

The English daily also quoted National Heart Institute (IJN) consultant cardiologist Dr Shaiful Azmi Yahya as expressing concern over the high drop out rate due to lack of English proficiency, noting that doctors needed good command of the language to further excel in their work.

However, he conceded that poor English skills were not confined to Malaysia, saying that other non-English speaking nationalities also face the same problem.

“There are many doctors who have ideas they want to share with the audience but when they present, their English is so bad that the audience cannot understand them.

“I went to a conference and there were Koreans and Japanese doctors who took part. When we tried to respond to their presentations, they could not understand what we had asked,” he was quoted as saying.

Dr Saiful graduated from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 1994, and said medicine was taught in English.

“Most of our lecturers then were Malaysians, although we did have the exception of one Myanmar and one English professor.

“We used international textbooks and journals. We did have some translated books and I remember a physiology book that was in Malay.

“During study group sessions, we used Malay and English but during examinations, we would still have to answer in English,” he told The Star.

Deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan said ongoing efforts were being taken to further improve the usage of the English language.

“I will be organising a dialogue with all stakeholders, non-governmental organisations and relevant organisations such as the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) who have been working closely with us,” he had said.

The Malaysian Insider had reported in June last year that employers were becoming increasingly dismayed by Malaysia's "generation Y" job seekers, due to their poor command of the English language and communication skills.

A survey by the Malaysian Employers Federation a few years ago found that 60% of them identified low English proficiency as the main problem with young recruits.

A similar survey conducted in September 2013 by online recruitment agency JobStreet.com found that 55% of participating senior managers and companies said poor command of the English language was the main reason for unemployment among undergraduates.

School leavers might have SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) English grades of A and B, but could not even hold a conversation in English, MEF executive director Datuk Shamsudin Bardan told The Malaysian Insider. – November 10, 2015.

Sources: The Malaysian Insiders

Poor English among doctors - Experts: Medical graduates can’t work well without good grasp of language

PETALING JAYA: The declining state of English proficiency is rearing its head in the medical fraternity.

Medical deans council of public universities chairman Prof Datuk Dr Raymond Azman Ali expressed concern over the poor command of the language among medical undergraduates and new doctors.

“It is not just a problem among medical undergraduates. We can detect similar problems with young doctors.

“With all due respect, it is apparent in hospitals when they do their presentations and converse with their peers and seniors,” he said.

He said this would affect their services since doctors had to communicate with patients and their counterparts efficiently.

“English is a common language for medicine. Most of the time, we have to publish journals and present in English. It would be bad for us if we cannot communicate our work properly,” he added.

Dr Raymond said over 90% of the journals were published in English.

“How do you expect them to comprehend medical theses and help patients if they cannot understand them in the first place?” he asked.

Sharing his own experience when he studied medicine in Monash University, Australia, he said all his cases were presented in English.

“This definitely helped me to understand complex theories and present my papers in my final year.”

Dr Raymond said many medical students showed excellent credentials on paper but when interviewed, they had trouble expressing themselves.

“When we conduct our interviews in public universities, most of their results look good on paper. But if we ask them to explain something, they will ask us whether they can answer in Malay. When we ask again in English, they will get stuck,” he said.

On Monday, The Star reported that weak English was the main reason some 1,000 medical graduates had failed to become full-fledged doctors despite having completed a two-year housemanship in public hospitals.

National Heart Institute (IJN) consultant cardiologist Dr Shaiful Azmi Yahya expressed alarm over the high number who dropped out due to poor English.

He said medical doctors needed a good command of the language to excel in their field and it was not merely to understand medical references and textbooks.

“Doctors do travel and attend conferences in the course of their work,” he said. However, he noted that language problems were not exclusive to Malaysians as other non-English, native-speaking nationalities also faced the same hurdle.

“There are many doctors who have ideas they want to share with the audience but when they present, their English is so bad that the audience cannot understand them.

“I went to a conference and there were Koreans and Japanese doctors who took part. When we tried to respond to their presentations, they could not understand what we had asked,” he said.

The Daily Mail in Britain highlighted the case of Italian doctor Dr Alessandro Teppa, 45, who was banned from practising in Britain due to his bad English.

The report said that despite working as a urologist in Britain since 2012, Dr Teppa’s command of English was so poor that he posed “significant risks to patients”.

Dr Shaiful, who graduated from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 1994, said he benefited from the system in UKM, where medicine was taught in English.

“Most of our lecturers then were Malaysians, although we did have the exception of one Myanmar and one English professor.

“We used international textbooks and journals. We did have some translated books and I remember a physiology book that was in Malay.

“During study group sessions, we used both Malay and English but during examinations, we would still have to answer in English,” he said.

Deputy Education Minister P. Kama­lanathan said ongoing efforts were being taken to further improve the English language.

“I will be organising a dialogue with all stakeholders, non-governmental organisations and relevant organisations such as the Perfor­mance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) who have been working closely with us,” he told reporters.

BY RAHIMY RAHIM, NURBAITI HAMDAN, JOASH EE DE SILVA, andVINCENT LIAN The Star

Poor English stops medical grads - 1,000 students drop out due to poor command of the language

Medical graduates finding it hard to cope in their professional field and their inability to communicate in English is one of the reasons. - posed by models

MALACCA: Poor command of English has put paid to the ambition for some 1,000 medical graduates to become doctors despite having completed a two-year housemanship in public hospitals.

Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) Malacca chapter president Prof Dr M. Nachiappan said these trainee doctors could not cope with the pressure of continuing to be a full-fledged doctor.

“Despite having completed their housemanship last year, they are no longer keen to be doctors.

“The main reason was poor grasp of English. This is not good for the medical fraternity and does not augur well for the nation if stakeholders do not execute some plans to improve the standard of English,” he said.

Dr Nachiappan said other contributing factors were lack of interest in basic medical training, poor relationship skills with patients and frustration due to working condition. He said without proficiency in English, medical students would find it difficult to keep pace with their peers from other nations.

“There must be an urgency to improve the grasp of the language at the primary level. Otherwise, the quality of doctors will go downhill,” he said.

“There must be an urgency to improve the grasp of the language at the primary level. Otherwise, the quality of doctors will go downhill,” he said.

Dr Nachiappan, who is also the deputy dean of Melaka Manipal Medical College, said medical schools were also facing difficulties in churning quality medical graduates due to lack of exposure in English.

He said this was evident with the poor results obtained by medical students when pursuing their stu­dies in universities and medical colleges.

“The quality of our students are compromised due to their inabilities to communicate in English,” he said, adding that most reference books on medicine and lectures were delivered in English.

Earlier, he met a group of 11 Parents-Teachers Association chairmen who were unhappy that the Education Ministry had omitted their schools from the privilege of implementing the dual language programme (DLP).

They have been lobbying for teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI) policy since 2009.

The group’s spokesman Mak Chee Kin said they had been fighting hard to be part of the DLP for six years.

“It is unfair to us as some secondary schools which have objected to PPSMI are included.

“We hope our plight will be considered by the ministry. As parents, we felt English is crucial for the future of our children,” he said, adding that all three criteria – adequate English teachers, sufficient resources and consent from parents – were met.

The schools were SM St Francis, SM St David, SM Catholic, SM Notterdam, SM Yok Bin, SM Gajah Berang, Chinese High School, SM Pulau Sebang, SM Infant Jesus Convent, SM Canossa Convent and Methodist Girl School.

BY R.S.N. MURALI The Star

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