Public execution of a woman in Afghanistan

News and video of a woman being publicly executed for alleged adultery in Afghanistan went viral for the past few days. Leaders, activists and the public all cried outrage towards the appaling act of violence. No one has the right to condemn, especially outside the court of law, what more the right to execute. Whether or not if the woman did commit adultery or not is not for debate here, but the way she was treated, executed demands conscience and mercy of all right-thinking people who all us are created in the image of God to condemn this violent act!

Justification for the execution?

Whether Islamic or the Law of Moses found in the Bible, both faiths have strict laws against adultery. Adultery is a sin, no more or less than the sin of deceit/ lies, greed...etc. The Law of Moses which both Islam and Christian faiths subscribe to requires the accused woman's partner in crime to appear and to be punished as well. What the executors done certainly weren't following the Law of Moses, so the execution has no justification at all as it is definitely un-islamic and un-christian! It is barbaric, inhumane, unmerciful!

Christian approach?

There is no better example and explaination than the Lord Jesus himself to deal with the issue of adultery. The Gospel of John in the Bible (NIV Version), Chapter 8:

" But went Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn, he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery. In the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground  with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "if any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."  Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?''. "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin".

~ Chapter 8, Gospel of John, Holy Bible

Therefore to all right-thinking people, it is not right to commit adultery (I'm not even sure if the poor woman who was executed was guilty of adultery or not), but whether she was guilty or not, we must all have a merciful heart like Jesus, what more we are all sinners and fall short the Glory of God. If Jesus did not condemn the adulterous woman in the Bible, what more are we as sinners to condemn others at present time?

Shame on those executors! May God have mercy on the woman's soul and may God have mercy on all us, who we should forgive and love each other just as Christ forgave and loves us dearly.

"Lord, teach us to be humble, teach us to merciful like you are and teach us to love one and another as you commanded us to. In the most precious, loving and almighty name Jesus, we pray. Amen"

Joshua

We shall overcome

— Jacob Sinnathamby


The Malaysian Insider
Jul 07, 2012

JULY 7 — How often have you heard this statement? Those who do evil and wicked things in Malaysia seem to prosper but the good-intentioned are jailed, demonised and subject to continuous harassment by the mainstream media and authorities.

Or this line? It is so unfair that the crooked politicians can get away with anything.

These statements are often then followed with a burst of anger and frustration, and a despairing rant about how little we can do to bring the wicked to justice and bring about change in Malaysia.

But there is no reason to despair. I am a Catholic and I also sometimes find myself wallowing in the cycle of “nothing can be done”.

But every time I read Psalm 37 I am brought back to the realisation that the corrupt, wicked, evil will face their day of reckoning.

I put down a few verses which points out that God will reverse things, rewarding the good and punishing the wicked here on earth.

“Do not be provoked by evildoers;

Do not envy those who do wrong.

Like grass they wither quickly

Like green plants they wilt away.

“Be still before the Lord;

Wait for God.

Do not be provoked by the prosperous nor by malicious schemers.”

“The wicked plot against the just;

And grind their teeth at them

But the Lord laughs at them

Knowing their day is coming.

“Those whose steps are guided by the Lord;

Whose way God approves,

May stumble, but will never fall,

For the Lord holds their hand.”

I am sharing some of these verses because there is a danger that sometimes we get too despondent surveying the political landscape and the wanton actions of those in power. We seem helpless to act against the power of incumbency and the use of the institutions of the state.

In those times, we must remember to trust in God’s promise: “I have seen ruthless scoundrels, strong as flourishing cedars. When I passed by again, they were gone.”

Quench your real "thirst"

It's been a while since I last posted something. Work has been keeping me occupied most of the time, but being working over-time or stressed about it does not help in finding true satisfaction and fulfilment in life. At the end of the day, a healthy relationship with God is all that matters in addition to healthy relationships with people around us.

I'll spare the audience of this blog  from Malaysia and its political situation at the moment, and share with all of you an article will touch each of our hearts and search for a true meaning in life.

Joshua

Malaysia- Best Democracy in the World- Mobocracy

Best democracy in the world – mobocracy
By Mariam Mokhtar
May 25, 2012

Free Malaysia Today

The Malaysians who oppose clean, free and fair elections, otherwise known as Umno and their cronies, have claimed two casualties; democracy and the rule of law.

In place of democracy, we now have mobocracy. S Ambiga and her neighbours have been targeted. Now anything to do with Bersih and the opposition are subject to mob attacks. How soon before the same happens to ordinary citizens like you, should you disagree with Umno policy?

The harassment of Ambiga is a calculated distraction. For the past 54 years, Umno has broken every rule in the book to continue its stranglehold on the country.

Then, along comes Ambiga and Bersih to reproach the government for its shoddy election practices. Bersih stands in the way of the continued Umno domination of Malaysia and the face which one normally associates with Bersih, is Ambiga’s.

Umno wants us to focus on protecting Ambiga, so that we will forget about Umno and the Election Commission’s (EC) electoral fraud.

It has been suggested that race, religion and her gender were in some way connected with Ambiga’s harassment.

To make these links is to overlook decades of known atrocities committed by Umno to control the rakyat. We cannot ignore the wider picture in an effort to seek easy answers and scapegoats to explain these abhorrent actions.

The tragedy of May 13 was blamed on worsening Malay-Chinese relations, the Memali incident on a banned Islamic sect and the murder of Altantuya on a greedy vindictive woman. Scratch beneath the surface and a different picture emerges.

The men who are intimidating Ambiga do so under strict orders from the top. These men include the “butt regiment”, a group claiming to be army veterans and the elite “petty traders” whose chief leads the life of a Bollywood film star. Both are aided by their mercenaries, the Mat Rempits.

Umno and their cronies have been spoilt by their continual abuse of the constitution and other initiatives which were meant to help all sections of the rakyat, not just a select few.

Tough future

With a stronger opposition party, and with Bersih demanding free and fair elections, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is backed into a corner. It is no surprise that Bersih received a violent reception.

Malaysians face a tough future because extremist elements within the government do not wish to relinquish power. The extremists have a strong sense of entitlement because of their wrong and unshaken belief that they deserve it; but why should one’s race and religious inclination be the determining factors in education, financial aid and welfare programmes? Why should others be held hostage by the extremists? Why exclude legitimate Malaysians from sharing Malaysia’s wealth?

What did the police do to stop the petty stall holders who distributed free burgers outside Ambiga’ house?

The deputy chief of police, Khalid Abu Bakar, seems incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong, and condoned the actions of the petty trader’s group. He made a mockery of the rule of law. He does not deserve his badge of office.

If he was more responsible, he could have stopped the thugs from perpetrating their act of civil disobedience and there would have been none of the farcical selling of lots outside Ambiga’s residence and none of the “butt” displays from so-called veteran soldiers.

No servicemen would dishonour his old unit. The butt-exhibitionists brought the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s name into disrepute, because all soldiers swear allegiance to King and country. They also brought shame to the Malay community.

Khalid’s stupidity was nothing compared to the silence of the Malaysian leaders who were mute when it came to these personal attacks on individuals. Did we hear our PM condemn the harassment? Did the Home Minister, under whose purview the police come, rebuke the mob-rule? Their silence gave tacit support to anarchy.

These mobs want to hold all of Malaysia to ransom. They are now attacking any Bersih talk, and have targeted ceramahs by the opposition. Last night, a senior citizen suffered head injuries when a talk by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, was pelted with stones and eggs.

So who will accept responsibility should a death occur in these attacks? One man risks losing the sight in one eye because the police fired tear-gas canisters directly at the crowd during the Bersih 3.0 rally of April 28.

Umno lackeys

These Umno lackeys have defied the rule of law. They invade residential areas, invite Mat Rempits to intimidate the public by revving their engines and racing around dangerously; they deface public property just so Umno can continue to govern. Reasoning with them is like reasoning with a toddler in a temper tantrum.

The IGP has no grip on policing just as Najib has no clue on how to govern his “best democracy in the world”. Mat Rempits are encouraged to harass and intimidate the rakyat through their acts of civil disobedience.

Najib tells the whole world he practises moderation but he is a leader who is frustrated by the power-struggles within his party. His government is weak and inefficient. Voting them in at the 13th general election will be like voting for the lunatics to run the asylum.

Now, Malaysia is ruled by mobocracy or mob-rule. Najib has said that he will “defend Putrajaya at all costs, and with blood, sweat and tears”; perhaps the mob-rule will be used to fulfil this promise. If mob-rule dominates, emergency powers will be swept in and Umno can continue to govern. There would be no need for GE13.

The divisive tactics used against Ambiga are not new. They were used in Memali and the May 13, 1969 incident. The reason has always been the same: to divide and rule.

It is time Malaysians snapped out of their delusions and make a stand.

Mariam Mokhtar is a FMT columnist.

PTPTN, in its current form, is not sustainable.

As the 13th General Election looms in Malaysia (that must be held by April 2013), the federal opposition (Pakatan Rakyat/ People's Alliance) has promised to abolish the National Higher Education Corporation Fund (PTPTN) and provide free higher education if voted into power. The PTPTN is established in late 1990s to provide interest free loan to Malaysian students of the various instituition of higher learning in Malaysia which cover tuition fees and living expenses.

However, the ruling government (Barisan Nasional/ National Front) accused the policy by federal opposition will bankrupt the nation.

The PTPTN obtains it fund from Employee's Provident Fund (EPF- a social security fund for pensioners) and commercial banks and lend it to the students as interest free loans. However the government has to pay the interests to the commercial banks and EPF of the money it borrowed to fund PTPTN. This means the government is lending money to students and paying the interest on borrowed money. It is also obvious that the interest paid to the commercial banks (who are the owners of these commerical banks?) and EPF are public money (i.e. tax).

Nevertheless,the article "PTPTN, in its current form, in not sustainable" written by Feizrul will present a better picture on what I have to say.

Joshua

BERSIH 3.0- The Conspiracy (Part 3)

The cause and the spirit for clean and fair election in Malaysia must be respected and given a fair coverage in the media. If local media has no room for ordinary village and rural malaysians, then we will let the world know what is truly happening in Malaysia.

The rally is not called to overthrow the government through civil riot but to call for government to commit and reform for a clean and fair up-coming general election.

The demands of the BERSIH 3.0 as also in previous BERSIH 2.0 or BERSIH 1.0 rallies are plain simple:

1. Clean the electoral roll 2. Reform postal ballot
3. Use of indelible ink
4. Minimum 21 days campaign period
5. Free and fair access to media
6. Strengthen public institutions
7. Stop corruption
8. Stop dirty politics

On the recent BERSIH 3.0, additional demands have been put foward:

1. The Election Commission must resign, as it has failed in its responsibility and has lost the confidence of the public.
2. The electoral process must be cleaned before the 13th General Elections.
3. Invite international observers to observe the 13th General Elections.

Of all the demands, only one demand has been pledged by the Election Commission:

3. the use of indelible ink

BERSIH 3.0 (Part 2)

The mainstream media in Malaysia have been publishing and playing again, again and again over the few acts of provocateurs/ saboteurs of the nationwide's (and worldwide) rally calling for free and fair election in Malaysia "Bersih 3.0" on 28th April 2012. The provocateurs may only represent as much as 0.001% (Max.) of the rally participants.

The Malaysian authority even censored part of international media report on the rally broadcasted on Malaysian channels and have earned criticism and show-cause statement from media like the BBC and Al-Jazeera.

How about the rest of the 99.99% of the participants? Are they given a fair coverage of their views and aspirations? Are they also not the rightful citizen of the country? Must their views be deafen  and considered as traitor to the country and ungrateful people because they simply do not agree with the government over certain issues? Must the 99.99% be treated with razor-wires, batons, tear-gas and chemical-laced water ? is there fairness?

Have a glimpse of the rest of the 99.99% of the participants Bersih 3.0 (Clean 3.0) on 28th April 2012 calling for free and fair election?

May God Almighty clean the country from corrupt, tyrant and oppressive leaders.

Joshua