[SCMP] Malaysia’s biggest Islamist party, long a whipping post for the country’s liberals, is finding itself newly popular with former rivals and estranged allies as it emerges as a potential kingmaker in upcoming general elections.
Due to its hardline brand of Islam, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) has traditionally had an uneasy relationship with the country’s non-Moslem communities, such as the ethnic Chinese and Indians, but the deep influence it has enjoyed with the majority Malay community since it was founded in 1951 could make it a deciding force in the national polls, widely expected this year.
Rural Malay seats are likely to be the key battleground in those polls, in which two coalition parties ‐ the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) and the Pakatan Harapan (Hope Coalition) ‐ will be the main contenders.
Why Malaysia is fighting Singapore over a rock
Leaders of both coalitions are working behind the scenes to curry favour with the PAS, as the Islamist party gears up for a rally this weekend in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, in a show of strength to convince the public it is still an influential political player.
The PAS left the Hope Coalition in 2015 and became independent after a fellow coalition member, the secular Democratic Action Party, protested against its campaign to introduce a Moslem penal code called hudud. A big shot of the Democratic Action Party ‐ which is popular with ethnic Chinese voters ‐ recently signalled a willingness to mend ties with the PAS, while former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, long known for his criticisms of the PAS’ ultra-conservatism, has also appeared to change tack.
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[SCMP] Tens of thousands of Malaysians rallied in the capital on Saturday to support the adoption of a strict Islamic penal code, a proposal religious minorities fear could infringe their rights.
Prime Minister Najib Razak has thrown his weight behind the contentious bill, which seeks to incorporate parts of the Islamic penal code, or "hudud", into Malaysia’s existing Islamic legal system.
Najib, who is currently embroiled in a corruption scandal, is hoping to burnish his Islamic credentials in order to boost his chances in national elections that must be held by August 2018.
Critics of the bill warn that it could pave the way for full implementation of hudud, which prescribes punishments such as amputations and stoning, and disrupt the fabric of Malaysia’s multicultural and multi-religious society.
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[AA.TR] The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has finally ended the recruitment and use of children in the violent conflict plaguing southern Philippines, the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Saturday.
In a statement, UNICEF Philippines said MILF has committed “to end the recruitment and use of children within their ranks" under an action plan it signed with UN concerned agencies in 2009 and 2013.
Representative Lotta Sylwander said the militant group released children who were associated with the revolutionary group's armed wing -- the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces and Bangsamoro Islamic Women's Auxiliary Brigade.
The first batch of around 1,858 children, who were identified and validated formally or informally associated with the MILF's armed wing, were reportedly released by the BIAF on Saturday in Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, where the MILF’s central headquarters is said to be located.
According to the statement, the release of child combatants will be until March 2017 and this step was part of a series of ceremonies that will eventually disengage children from being so-called MILF’s "child warriors".
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[AA.TR] A North Korean man believed to be a prime suspect in the killing of Kim Jong-nam, leader Kim Pudge Jong-un ...the overweight, pouty-looking hereditary potentate of North Korea. Pudge appears to believe in his own divinity, but has yet to produce any loaves and fishes, so his subjects remain malnourished... ’s half-brother, was placed in durance vile ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... , Malaysian police announced Saturday.
The country's Inspector-General of Police, Khalid Abu Bakar said the 47-year-old suspect was detained Friday night, at the man's hiding place.
"The suspect went into hiding immediately after knowing that the police is hunting for four primary male suspects," he said in a statement on Saturday.
He was detained in a condominium near capital Kuala Lumpur.
Bakar said the suspect was identified as Ri Jong Chol, based on his passport details and was born on May 6, 1970 in North Korea.
Three more male suspects are being hunted by the Malaysian police to assist in the probe into the liquidation.
Kim Jong-nam died on Monday after having apparently been poisoned as he waited for a flight in Kuala Lumpur.
Three suspects -- two women with foreign documents and a Malaysian man -- were arrested in connection with the death.
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[SCMP] Malaysia’s biggest Islamist party, long a whipping post for the country’s liberals, is finding itself newly popular with former rivals and estranged allies as it emerges as a potential kingmaker in upcoming general elections.
North Korea
