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Idris, aides and plate numbers... Posted: 13 Feb 2014 11:03 PM PST Big money for special plate numbers. To get it, you must have the bucks to spend and willing to contest other bidders. But of course, when you are a VVIP, you will get the preference! However, why must we question it? They money is theirs! The only issue here is, perhaps, it involves politicians and when politicians and their close allies spent such amount of money on 'pool numbers', it reflects 'show off' and 'dictation'. In other words, those who drive with the numbers belong to one 'powerful force'. This is how crime watchdog group MyWatch perceived Melaka chief minister Idris Haron and his team. KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 — Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Idris Haron denied today his office had dipped into public funds to buy seven vanity car plates recently, including for his wife. Idris flayed crime watchdog group MyWatch for making the allegation, saying it should have verified the matter with the Road Transport Department (JPJ) before pointing its finger at him. "I ask them to check first… The government is not as stupid as they think, to use public money to buy plate numbers," Idris told The Malay Mail Online when contacted. However, he did not confirm nor deny the purchase, or whether the plates were personally bought by him, his wife, or other staff members of the Malacca Chief Minister's Office. MyWatch chief, R. Sanjeevan, had earlier today claimed to have received a document from an anonymous whistleblower that purportedly showed Idris' office had bought a series of single- and double-digit vehicle registration plates with the letters "MCM", believed to stand for "Malacca Chief Minister". When contacted, a senior official from the Malacca Road Transport Department (RTD)  who wished to remain anonymous, said that only the car plate number MCM1 was reserved for the use of Idris' office. A picture of a document, listing the results of a booking for the MCM registration plates that was included in Sanjeevan's media statement, showed one "Idris bin Haron" as the buyer of the MCM 11 plate, worth RM20,000. Another name that popped up on the list showed one "Fadilah binti Abdullah" as the buyer of the car plate, MCM10, worth RM15,510. Coincidentally, the name is also shared by Idris' wife of 20 years. Sanjeevan further alleged that the car plates MCM2, MCM3, MCM4,MCM5 and MCM7 had been bought by Idris' private secretary and political secretary. The name "Rosli bin Hasan" — which is also shared by Idris' private secretary — was listed as the buyer of the car plate MCM3, worth RM55,100. The document dated January 29 was signed by Mohd Fadhil Hassan, the former director of Malacca RTD. It reminded me of how former PAS-Perak mentri besar Nizar Jamaluddin twitted about Sultan Johor's purchase of WWW1 plate number about a year ago. In Melaka CM's case, the money spent did not come from the state goverment's purse, neither did it come from the rakyat. Like it or not, Idris must clarify. I don't blame MyWatch because they have the documents to support the allegation. It must have cost them at least RM100,000 (or more) for all the numbers. And I can't blame Idris either. He is the boss, and bosses are entitled to some privileges. However, I don't quite agree with the pool of  numbers used. People, especially rakyat of Melaka will have the impression that the CM and Gang are 'over formidable'! I am from Melaka too! On second thought, what the heck. Its their money...

No need to tell Muslims what is 'haram'! Posted: 13 Feb 2014 10:08 AM PST I am puzzled at the much publicised 'Valentine Day' barring for Muslims by some news portals and non-Muslim groups, as if they were contesting the Islamic law that V-Day must be avoided by its followers. Are they trying to tell Muslims what is 'halal' and 'haram'? I am equally annoyed by some insinuating reports that questioned the 'fatwa' by Jakim and Selangor Islamic authority that V-Day is not for Muslims to celebrate. Such big publicity or attention did not appear before the 'Allah' and 'hudud law' issues erupted. Ahead of Valentine's Day, the Selangor Islamic authorities are on a drive to remind Muslim youth about a religious edict, or Fatwa, forbidding them from celebrating it. State mufti chief assistant Mat Jais Kamos said the authorities did not want Muslim youth to get caught up in Valentine's Day. "The celebration emphasises the relationship between two individuals rather than the love between family members or married couples," the New Straits Times quoted him as saying as department officials distributed leaflets outside a Shah Alam secondary school to remind Muslims of the 2006 ruling issued by the state fatwa council. Students of SMK Seksyen 9 here were caught by surprise by the pink-coloured leaflets titled "Hukum Valentine's Day" (Valentine's Day guidelines). Why must we publicised it when Muslims are already aware of it? What's the motive? To get response from non-Muslim NGOs about the barring? And what kind of answer are they expecting - that Islam should permit its followers celebrate V-Day? Or they also have idea to tell Muslims that fasting or 'puasa' is a waste of time! They shouldn't have interviewed the students in the first place but their hope was to get a 'protest answer' from them, and it will be a 'victory' and a passport for them to look down at Islam! Its similar to ask them questions like 'do you agree that you have to pray 5 times a day, that you must fast and pay tithe'? This is not the first time the Islamic authorities in the country had embarked on a campaign against Muslims celebrating Valentine's Day. Last year, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department  (Jakim), with about 250 volunteers from various non-governmental organisations (NGO), launched a "Mind the Valentine's Day Trap" campaign in Kuala Lumpur. Its director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha said it was aimed at exposing the volunteers to the need to be people-oriented when combating social ills. The department said it was launching the campaign following a decree from the Fatwa Committee of the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs in 2005 that celebrating Valentine's Day was forbidden in Islam as it could lead to moral decadence. What does 'This is not the first time...' means? That all this while Jakim made mistakes by forbidding Muslims to celebrate Valentine? It was very, very implicating! I am not sure what drove them to produce such reports. When one starts to ask Muslims about what have been declared as 'haram' by the religion, means you are questioning the legitimacy of the religion and mocking at it! Ahead of the Valentine's Day, religious authorities at the Malaysian state of Selangor have surprised high school students by distributing pink-colored leaflets with the guidelines of the day deemed by many scholars as haram or banned. "I think most of us have been taught in class about why celebrating Valentine's Day is considered haram," Mohd Ibrahim Faiq Hussein, 17, told New Straits Times on Thursday, February 13. "Seeing them (the officials) talking to students about it was unexpected." Please stop all this provocations! Muslims never questioned the non-Muslims why must they worship a tree, the sun or the moon or eating pork. Should they ask these questions, I am sure they will be accused of making fun of other religions, right? And if you had noticed, no provocative reports were made over Thaipusam, CNY or Christmas. So, better keep our faith to ourselves! RELATED NEWS: Muslim scholars in the Indonesian province of Aceh have taken a strict position against celebrating the Valentine's Day, describing the occasion as a threat to Islamic values and Shari`ah. "It is haram for Muslims to observe Valentine's Day because it does not accord with Islamic Shari`ah" Tgk Feisal, general secretary of the Aceh Ulema Association (HUDA), told The Jakarta Globe on Monday, February 6. Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14, by many people throughout the world.

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