Pope Francis delivers powerful message on Easter

Slamming extremism, indifferent Europe and paedophile priests.

Rome (AFP) - Pope Francis decried what he called Europe's "indifferent and anaesthetised conscience" over migrants, during Good Friday prayers in Rome during which he also slammed paedophile priests, arms dealers and fundamentalists.

Tens of thousands of Catholic faithful gathered for the service, many clutching candles in the imposing surrounds of the city's famous Colosseum, where thousands of Christians are believed to have been killed in Roman times.

Blasphemy cases rise in Egypt and Christians bear the brunt

In this Thursday, March 3, 2016 photo, Fadya Shehata Moussa, the mother mother of 17-year-old Bassem Amgad Hanna, one of four teens convicted for contempt of Islam, wipes away tears during an interview in Bani Mazar, Minya province, Egypt. The four teens and their supervisor, who was forced to leave the village with his family, were all convicted. Though all the defendants are under 18, three were sentenced to adult prison for five years and one to a juvenile detention facility for three years. The supervisor received a three year prison sentence. (AP Photo/Thomas Hartwell) 

NASSARIYA, Egypt (AP) — In the video, the Egyptian Christian teens laugh playfully as a couple of them kneel down, imitating Muslim prayers, then another slides his hand under one boy’s neck, imitating the trademark beheadings of the Islamic State group.

The boys were playing around, satirizing the extremist group, and their school supervisor just happened to be videoing them, their defenders say. The result has been catastrophic: they were sentenced to prison under Egypt’s blasphemy laws — they were mocking Muslim prayers, prosecutors said — and have fled into hiding, leaving behind shattered families.

Salleh: Mahathir wants revenge, not out to save Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad has no intentions of saving Malaysia and only wants to feed his political agenda in his current campaign against Prime Minister and Umno President Najib Razak, says Sabah Umno leader Salleh Said Keruak.

Salleh, in a blog article today, said that Mahathir’s method, conspiring with his former enemies to overthrow the democratically elected government, showed that the intention was not to save Malaysia, but to destroy it.

Parents angered by transfer of porn-sharing HM

PETALING JAYA: A headmaster who shared pornographic pictures and video clips in a WhatsApp chat group has been transferred to a rural school, a move that has angered many parents.

The parents are now questioning the Sabah Education Department’s decision to transfer the headmaster instead of taking sterner action against him.

Malaysian Founder 'Disgusted' at Successor

...28 years ago
HENRY KAMM, Special to the New York Times

Published: July 8, 1988

Hypocrite in disguise

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, July 7— At 85 years of age, Tunku Abdul Rahman, who presided 31 years ago over the founding of independent Malaysia and later called himself "the happiest Prime Minister in the world," pronounced himself a disappointed man today.

"Disappointed is not the word," he continued. "Disgusted?" he said questioningly, as though seeking his interviewer's approval for the harsh word.

Claiming ministries ‘don’t work’, BN MP demands special panel on Sabah problems

BN MP Datuk Seri Abdul Ghapur Salleh told the Dewan Rakyat that a special parliamentary committee needs to be established to ensure the plight of many Sabahans are looked into. ― Picture by Yusof Mat IsaKUALA LUMPUR, March 15 ― A Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmaker today called for the formation of a special parliamentary committee to study the various problems faced by his home state, saying he has lost confidence in the ministries responsible for handling the issues.

The lawmaker, Kalabakan MP Datuk Seri Abdul Ghapur Salleh, told the Dewan Rakyat that the committee needs to be established to ensure the plight of many Sabahans are looked into.

Veteran Fredoline Lojingki on Zahid

By Fredoline Edwin Lojingki

The Deputy Prime Minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also Home Minister, had recently made couples of revelations on security issues affecting our country especially here in Sabah.

Zahid had said that the police has gleaned information that the dreaded Philippines Sulu sultanate has appointed his representatives or cell leader in every constituencies in Sabah, and that this is a threat to our security.

Now, two things came into my mind as a veteran politician or watch (i am 75 years old now).

Lets Avert a Complete Rout of the Opposition in PRU 14

A few days ago, at a PSM Press Conference I opined that the Opposition should not take the peoples’ continued support for granted. I predicted that the BN will not only hold on to Putrajaya, but might also regain its 2/3 majority in the Dewan Rakyat. My reasons for fearing this include

-          The break-up of PAS and the real possibility of 3 corner contests in seats contested by Amanah.

-          The rushed decision to form Gerakan Harapan Baru. PKR has chosen Amanah over PAS  and this may lead to a diminution of PAS support for PKR in PRU14. This could prove costly to the PKR in seats with more than 30% Malay voters.

SAVING MALAYSIA?

Once again in Malaysia we have witnessed the announcement of that trite cliché:  “there are no permanent enemies in politics”. History has shown us that this is typically spouted by desperadoes and drama kings when opportunism raises its ugly head. The latest round in the Anti-Najib campaign has seen the unspeakable spectacle of former Mahafiraun being made the head of the “Save Malaysia” campaign.

The audacity of naivete

To even think that this declaration of intent by this strange collection of bedfellows can depose the evil regime is an exhibition of the utmost naivete and an exercise in futility. Do they really believe the structures set up by Mahathir to make the incumbents in UMNO impregnable will just give way, especially when the UMNO division chiefs are even more well-fed than before?

Lines finally drawn in fight for Malaysia

It took Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to force the issue for all Malaysians. He drew a line in the sand today, asking friends and foes to make up their minds once and for all.

Get on his side to "Save Malaysia" from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's government or be the enemy and part of the Najib Party – the ones defending the status quo as much as Dr Mahathir did when sacking Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim 18 years ago.