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Malaysia 8th worst in government curbs on religion, says study - The Malaysian Insider
Malaysia has been ranked among the top 10 countries with very high government restrictions on religion, according to the latest findings of US-based think tank Pew Research Center. The findings, which cover 2013, put Malaysia at the eighth spot in the "very high" category among countries known for state interference or curbs on religion. Malaysia was ranked just a spot lower than Saudi Arabia, while neighbouring Brunei and Singapore were placed at the 15th and 18th spots, respectively. Malaysia increased its score on restrictions imposed by the state, climbing to 7.9 out of 10 in 2013, from 7.6 the year before.
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Cobra gives elderly man the jitters – BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily New
KUCHING: An elderly man was said to have got the shock of his life when he saw a cobra in front of his house at RPR Batu Kawa here early yesterday. The cobra was seen slithering on top of a concrete marker belonging to Kuching Water Board. The house owner, in his 50s, was opening the door around 10am when he saw the reptile coming from his neighbour’s house.
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Dismissing suit threat, The Edge says will keep publishing Jho Low, 1MDB articles
— Reuters picKUALA LUMPUR, March 1 — The Edge Media Group said today it will continue to publish articles on Low Taek Jho and his alleged links to the controversies surrounding 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), despite facing possible legal action by the Malaysian billionaire. In a brief statement that ran in its business weekly The Edge, group CEO and publisher Ho Kay Tat said the group has received several letters from Low’s lawyers accusing the group of allegedly defaming Low. “We would like to state here that The Edge Media Group stands by all the articles we have published about Mr Low and about 1Malaysia Development Bhd, and we will continue to publish news stories about Mr Low and 1MDB as and when it is merited,” Ho said. The statement also attached the first page of the latest legal notice the group received dated February 26, demanding a retraction of an allegedly false and defamatory assertion published by the group’s news portal The Malaysian Insider (TMI).
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Iban community riled by names for hornbills – BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily New
Everything, as the rejoicing of two offspring of the Oriental pied hornbill turned sour, as unwittingly the naming of two offspring after ‘Kumang’ and ‘Keling’ angered the Iban community here due to its deep religious connotations. Given the names by a committee member of Piasau Nature Reserve (PNR), Musa Musbah, the unexpected reaction yesterday was that the act not only touched on the sensitivities of the Iban, but is actually insulting and disrespectful to the beliefs of the community. PNR understood ‘Keling’ to be an Iban prince and ‘Kumang’ as a princess, and presumed it would resonate with nature lovers but it turned out to be offensive, a public Iban figure said. “Kumang and Keling are people of ‘Panggau Libau’ (a place of the gods) and they are ‘Petara’ (gods) of the Iban community and should not be levelled with the animals, or their names should not be given to animals,” said an activist of the Iban community here, Bill Kayong.
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The Dress That Broke The Internet
Blue and black? Gold and white? It's a debate that still rages on. The stars weigh in! Plus, meet the woman who started the whole thing!
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1MDB’s first US$1billion money trail - The Malaysian Insider
– The Malaysian Insider pic, March 1, 2015.From 2009 to 2014, 1Malaysia Development Berhad’s (1MDB) initial US$1 billion was shuffled and swapped around, in an apparent bid to avoid scrutiny by its string of external auditors, The Edge Malaysia reported. 1MDB invested US$1 billion into a US$2.5 billion joint venture with PetroSaudi Holdings Cayman Ltd, a private Saudi Arabian company whose main shareholder was a businessman named Tarek Obaid. However, PetroSaudi Holdings did not inject any money into the joint venture, and its 60% equity was in the form of a valuation of assets worth US$1.5 billion. Once it was formed, the joint venture firm immediately had to repay a mysterious “loan” of US$700 million to PetroSaudi Holdings, leaving it with only US$300 million before it had even begun operations.
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Mainland Chinese family ejected from flight over seatbelt dispute - Nation | The Star Online
PETALING JAYA: A three-year-old boy who refused to fasten his seatbelt during a Hong Kong-bound Cathay Pacific flight caused his family to be ejected from the aircraft, but not before sparking a commotion on board and delaying the flight. The Straits Times reported that the boy’s parents, a mainland Chinese couple, were urged to secure their three-year-old in his seat moments before flight CX564 was due to take-off from Bangkok at 3.15pm on Tuesday. Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported a passenger by the surname Lau telling Apple Daily that the boy had refused to sit down and wear his seatbelt. A video taken by Lau showed another female passenger getting irritated with the commotion and asking the flight crew to “call the police”.
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Religious controls in Malaysia worse than Syria, Brunei, study finds
— Picture by Yusof Mat IsaKUALA LUMPUR, March 1 — Malaysia practices some of the most stringent controls on religion in the world, ranking seventh out of the 198 countries surveyed in an annual study on religious restrictions and hostilities. The study, published by US-based Pew Research Centre on its website this week, found that Malaysia’s penchant for religious controls worsened in 2013, scoring 7.9 out of 10 points on the Government Restriction Index (GRI). Malaysia’s 2013 score also ranks it as more restrictive on religion compared to Saudi Arabia, Syria and Southeast Asian neighbours Myanmar, Brunei and Singapore – all of which were ranked among the 18 countries with a very high rate of religious restrictions. Malaysian respondents replied in the affirmative when asked if the government interferes with worship or other practices of religious groups, and also on harassment and intimidation of religious groups by the government.
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Batu Kawan Umno vice-chief Khairuddin sacked - Nation | The Star Online
GEORGE TOWN: Umno has sacked Datuk Seri Paduka Khairuddin Abu Hassan (pic) as the party's Batu Kawan division vice-chairman. The party's Penang state secretary Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir said Saturday he had received a copy of the letter from Umno headquarters, which decided to sack Khairuddin, who had lodged two police reports against 1Malaysia Development Berhad. “His sacking is in accordance with the Umno Constitution and Umno Conference Regulations.
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Schoolgirl in conversion controversy yet to go to a new school - Nation | The Star Online
KOTA KINABALU: A 16-year-old schoolgirl in the centre of a purported religious conversion controversy last month is still waiting for her transfer to a new school. Penampang MP Darell Leiking, who is her family’s lawyer, said the transfer process was still in progress and was expected to be completed soon. The girl’s father Jilius Yapoo questioned the alleged conversion and stressed that he did not give his consent. The Sabah Education Department also explained that there was no conversion and the warden concerned had moved to another school.
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Thousands protest against Newcastle march of anti-Islam group Pegida - The Malaysian Insider
– Reuters pic, February 28, 2015.More than 2,000 people protested today in Newcastle, northeast England, against a march held by the British branch of Germany's anti-Islam group Pegida which drew around 400 people, a Reuters witness said. Although in Britain the local branch has had little exposure in the national media, the Facebook page of Pegida United Kingdom shows it has had over 17,000 "likes". The Reuters photographer on the scene said police were in strong attendance for the protests, which were kept apart and passed off peacefully. Fears that anti-Islam sentiment is growing in Britain have intensified as violence by Islamist militants in the Middle East dominate the headlines and after actual and threatened attacks in Europe.
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Malay Unity assembly attracts thousands of participants – Bernama - The Malaysian Insider
– The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, February 28, 2015.Thousands of Malay youths and veterans gathered tonight at the Stadium Putra, Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur to attend the Malay Unity Movement assembly aimed to strengthen unity in empowering the Malay community. The event which will see various high profile Malay leaders attending, including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, was scheduled to begin with Maghrib prayers. At the climax of the event, Najib is scheduled to deliver a special mandate in which the contents of the message is not only to be cherished by the audience at the stadium, but also for all the Malays who prioritised unity nationwide. The event's itinerary also includes events such as the launch of the big agendas of the 21st century, signing of the 21st century Malay "Waad", mandates by Malay leaders, and launch of the permanent secretariat of the Malay Renaissance Movement.
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Famous Thai temple to build separate toilets for non-Chinese | theSundaily
BANGKOK: A famous temple in northern Thailand will build separate toilets for Thais and other non-Chinese tourists, officials confirmed Saturday.
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Samsung NX500 will be available worldwide starting this month – BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily New
KUCHING: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (Samsung) has announced that its latest Samsung NX500 camera, a successor its industry revolutionary NX1, will be available globally starting March 2015.The NX500, Samsung’s latest addition to its wide arena of gadgets
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‘AG has powers to commute death sentence'
This is to get around the Australian law preventing his extradition back home.
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Heat stroke poser over boy’s death
— Pictures by Shafiq ZainBANTING, March 1 — He was an athletic 17-year-old who played football and hockey. Paul Arven Navies started complaining of headaches during a football match on Friday. Now, his family have many unanswered questions regarding his death. Earlier at the Telok Datok health clinic, they claimed a staff member there said heat stroke could have played a role in the incident.
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Service charge at hotels, restaurants not compulsory, says Ahmad Maslan – Bernama - The Malaysian Insider
– The Malaysian Insider pic, February 28, 2015.The 10% service charge imposed by hotels and restaurants need not be paid after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is implemented, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said today. He said the proposal to rename the service tax to hotel or restaurant charge should also be implemented immediately so that consumers did not confuse it with the GST. "The service tax imposed by hotels and restaurants does not go to the government. "So I want to inform that you don’t have to pay the 10% service charge if their service is not good," he told reporters in Bukit Gantang today.
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Drinking coffee may lower risk of multiple sclerosis | theSundaily
PEOPLE who drink four to six cups of coffee daily may be less likely to get multiple sclerosis, according to international research out Thursday. "Caffeine intake has been associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases," said lead author Ellen Mowry of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. "Our study shows that coffee intake may also protect against MS, supporting the idea that the drug may have protective effects for the brain," she added. The findings of a US and Swedish study – released ahead of the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting in Washington – each compared more than 1,000 MS patients to a similar number of healthy people.
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Federer lauds rivalry with Djokovic after 20th win - Tennis | The Star Online
Roger Federer rates his rivalry with Novak Djokovic as highly as his duels with Rafa Nadal, the Swiss said after beating the Serb to win a seventh Dubai title on Saturday. It was their 37th meeting and Federer's 6-3 7-5 victory means he leads the series 20-17. Federer, 33, trails Nadal 23-10 with their last meeting more than a year ago at the Australian Open. "I think it started as a semi-final rivalry, you know, because me and Rafa were ranked one and two and two and one for a long time, and he was always three or four," the 33-year-old told reporters.
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Despite threats, Muslim evangelical group invites critics to discuss Islam
― Picture by Choo Choy MayKUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 — An Islamic evangelical group accused of covertly amending the religious records of non-Muslims today urged critics of Islam to come forward and discuss their fears about the religion with them. The group called the Multiracial Reverted Muslims (MRM) said despite having received numerous threats against them and their family members, they would not respond in kind. MRM president Firdaus Wong Wai Hung said he does not understand why some non-Muslims have reacted aggressively against the non-governmental organisation (NGO) as the body has not forced anyone to accept free Qurans. “Accepting the Quran does not make one Muslim… I don’t know why non-Muslims are afraid and angry… must only ask them,” he told a press conference at the NGO’s office here.
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