Electronic Telegraph (28.12.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (29.12.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The Malaysian High Court has sentenced three members of a Muslim cult to death for planning a "holy war" to topple Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Sixteen other members of the Al'Maunah group also found guilty of treason were given life sentences for their attempt to set up an Islamic state in Malaysia.
Announcing his decision Judge Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin said his judgement was made in the national interest.
"In passing this sentence I have taken into consideration both the public interest and the interests of the accused and have decided that public interest exceeds that of the accused. I found all of the accused to be involved in realising the mission of the Al'Maunah to topple the current government by force in the name of jihad," he said.
The martial arts cult taught members they were invulnerable to bullets. In July 2000, some cult members disguised themselves as soldiers and stole more than 100 weapons from two military armouries.
They then retreated to a jungle hideout where they broadcast calls over army radio for Mahathir to quit. The group surrendered after four days during which they murdered a policeman and a soldier they had held hostage.
Judge Zulkefli imposed the death sentence on the leader of the cult, Mohamed Amin Mohamed Razali, along with two of his followers, Zahit Muslim and Jamaludin Darus.
The formal charge against the group was of "waging war" against the king, but the court was told during the months of evidence that the group planned a "holy war" to oust Mahathir and set up an Islamic state.
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by Simon Cameron-Moore
Reuters (27.12.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (29.12.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - A fate of hanging or life imprisonment on Friday awaited 19 members of a Muslim sect convicted of armed rebellion for their role in a hare-brained scheme to create an Islamic state in multi-cultural Malaysia.
The men, all members of the Al-Ma'unah movement which grew out of martial arts cult, filed into the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, a day after being found guilty, for the judge to hear the last of the mitigation pleas before passing sentence.
Al-Ma'unah's 30-year-old leader Mohamed Amin Razali, a former army private, and 28 followers surrendered in July last year after a stand-off in the jungle of northern Malaysia, during which a soldier, a policeman and a sect member were killed.
The gang was tracked down after driving off with arms and ammunition from two army camps, where they had by-passed guards by posing as officers.
During the 125-day trial only one defense witness was called, but several of the accused turned on their leader, Amin, blaming him for tricking or coercing them into following his orders to wage a jihad, or holy war.
Amin was removed from court several times during the trial because of his disruptive behavior -- at one point he threw his shoe -- but has seldom spoken even to his defense counsel. Entering the court on Friday, Amin, arrived in the lead Landrover of a police convoy, and was brought in alone, flanked by policemen toting submachine guns.
Some of the other convicted men smiled and waved to relatives waiting in the rain outside the courthouse as they were brought handcuffed to the court.
Half of them have already made their pleas, apologizing to the king -- Malaysia's constitutional head -- and country and begging for mercy.
Almost a year ago 10 members of the cult were sentenced to 10 years in jail after charges against them were lowered to a lesser count of preparing to wage war.
Political resonance
Al-Ma'unah, which the authorities characterized as a deviant sect, saw its goal as fighting on behalf of suppressed Muslims, and its leaders mixed superstition, religion and martial arts mumbo-jumbo to convince their followers they would be invincible in battle.
But for all the slickness of the two arms heists, the group's previous actions amounted to taking a few potshots at a Hindu temple at Batu Caves, breweries on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, and a power company's electric tower.
Although the authorities know several other religious deviant groups are operating in the country, the Al-Ma'unah case is regarded as an isolated episode in Malaysia, which is seen as one of the most stable, peaceful states in Southeast Asia.
But High Court Judge Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin's choice of words in his judgement, focusing on Al-Ma'unah's objective of an Islamic state and its pursuit of an Islamic jihad, or holy war, had a resonance in Malaysia's mainstream political debate.
Prime Minister Mahathir multi-ethnic coalition has challenged the main opposition Parti Islam se-Malaysia to spell out its avowed goal of an Islamic state.
At the same time the police are holding several PAS party members in detention without trial on suspicion of belonging to a militant group.
Police say the suspects aimed to wage a violent campaign to bring about an Islamic state in a country where the Chinese and Indian third of the population are non-Muslim, and religious and racial sensitivities are high.
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The Star (27.12.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (29.12.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The High Court Thursday found 19 members of the Al Ma'unah group including its leader, Mohamed Amin Mohamed Razali, guilty on the charge of waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in three places in Perak last year.
Sentencing is expected to be carried out once mitigation from the nine counsels have been completed.
The charge, under Section 121 of the Penal Code, carries the death sentence or life imprisonment if convicted.
Originally, 29 Al-Ma'unah members were charged with committing the offence but 10 of them pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of making preparations with the intention to wage war against the King and were each jailed 10 years.
However, the Federal Court reduced to seven years the jail terms of two of the 10 upon appeal.
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Malaysia to clamp down on Islamic militants: Mahathir
AFP (10.11.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (13.11.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The government will crack down on Islamic extremists because it does not want Malaysia's people to be oppressed like those in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Saturday.
Groups which deliberately influenced students to focus only on religious education and to be politically active at the expense of other knowledge were actually "betraying the Islamic teachings", he said.
The government would clamp down on those opposing the "true teachings of Islam", Mahathir was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.
"We will fight to the end these factions which oppose Islamic teachings because we don't want the people in our country to be oppressed like the people of Afghanistan."
Militants were "traitors" prepared to rob, kill, threaten places of worship of other religions and topple the government through violence and would not be treated lightly, he said at a Settlers Day ceremony at Dungun.
"These are the people who create chaos, resulting in government not being able to concentrate on development because it is spending time and money on curbing such activities."
Malaysia has linked members of a local militant group, alleged to have received military training in Afghanistan to try to topple the government, to the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) which wants more rigid Islamic governance.
Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said last month the leader of the Malaysian Mujahedin Group (KMM) was Nik Adli Nik Aziz, son of PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.
Mahathir was quoted by the Sun daily on Saturday as saying there were "certain parties" who wanted the country to be administered like Afghanistan.
"They want us to be like Afghanistan and if we do not do it, we are not Islamic enough and they reject Malaysia as an Islamic nation," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.
The premier said the government's conscience was clear that it was runnning the country in the correct Islamic way.
The government has in recent months arrested a total of 15 people believed to be involved in the KMM, which has been blamed for a spate of crimes including bombings of a church and a temple.
They were ordered to be held without trial for two years at the Kamunting detention camp in northern Perak state under the Internal Security Act (ISA), but police said Friday six had been released and placed under restricted residence.
The government has defended the use of detention without trial saying that underground movements trying to topple the government violently had been defeated by using the ISA and other laws.
Critics, however, accuse the government of simply using the ISA to crush political opposition, a charge it denies.
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Christian Solidarity Worldwide (07.11.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (08.11.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - For immediate release Christian churches in Malaysia have been under attack as extremist Islamic groups reacted to the U.S.-led military attacks on Afghanistan.
The latest of a series of arson attempts on Christian churches took place on October 27, when extremists set ablaze the Christ Community Centre Church in Subang Jaya.
A fortnight before this, extremists attempted to torch the Catholic Church of Christ the King in Sungai Petani, a city about 190 miles northwest of Kuala Lumpur in the northern state of Kedah, the home state of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
In a separate attack, Molotov cocktails were thrown at St Philip's Catholic Centre on October 14 in Segamat in the southern state of Johore. Fortunately, most of the Molotov cocktails failed to explode and only the door was damaged.
The Marthoma Christian Community Centre, also in Sungai Petani, was set ablaze by suspected Muslim extremists in July. Damage to the Center was estimated at 55,000 and police believe members of the Malaysian Mujahideen Group (Kumpulan Militan Malaysia), were responsible for the fire.
The KMM, whose members were reportedly trained in Afghanistan, have been accused of a series of crimes, including the bombing of a church and a Hindu temple.
The Christian community is concerned that these types of attacks could become more frequent if Islamic fundamentalism is allowed to grow unchecked.
Many militant Islamic groups are linking up with separatists in the south of the country. It is believed that militant Islam in Malaysia is influenced by extremist groups in surrounding nations such as Indonesia's Laskar Jihad.
Fears of growing Islamic extremism are shared by neighbouring countries like Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. Using religion to ignite hatred, the growing Islamic militants could potentially destabilise the whole region.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has previously warned of a network of extremists in the region that is bent on establishing a union of Islamic governments in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic federation consisting of Malays, Chinese, Indians and indigenous tribes. Around 58 percent of the population of 22 million are Muslim and Christians comprise about eight percent.
Islam is the state religion with all Malays legally considered Muslim. The Federal government follows a policy of religious tolerance, but in practice, other faiths are increasingly discriminated against at state level following the rise of Islamism in Malaysia. Legal restrictions exist prohibiting propagation of other faiths among the Muslim community whereas Muslim missionaries receive state support to spread Islam.
The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism has highlighted the discrimination non-Muslim faiths face, such as difficulties in obtaining permission to build places of worship, restrictions on sharing their faiths and unequal access to media outlets.
At the same time Islamists continue to lobby the government to adopt stricter punishments for apostasy and to implement Sharia Law throughout the country.
Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said: "We utterly condemn these attacks on the Christian community and call on the Government to give much better protection to minority faiths including Christians.
"Christians in Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia are increasingly under threat from militant Islamic extremists and we call on all their governments to protect not only the lives of their subjects of a minority faith, but also their freedom to worship."
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The Star (04.11.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (06.11.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik said the fundamental rights and freedom of Malaysians remains the same despite the recent statement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad that Malaysia is an Islamic country.
He said Malaysians were still free to practice their respective religion and culture as before.
Likening the country to a rose, Dr Ling said the various races of the country had different names for it.
"The Malays call it bunga mawar, the Chinese mei kwei, and the Indians roja, but everyone knows what it is,'' he said when closing a seminar at the Selesa Hill Homes and Golf Resort here yesterday.
Dr Ling however, said nobody knows about the PAS' concept of an Islamic country.
He said the self-styled Islamic party did not dare to put down in black and white what it meant by an Islamic country because it knows the people would reject it.
"They are afraid the people will reject it,'' he said.
He said PAS was an extremist party and it wanted to run the country similar to how the Talibans ran Afghanistan.
He said it was undeniable that most members of the KMM extremist group were PAS members or supporters.
Dr Ling also said the Government had been proven right once again by not repealing the Internal Security Act (ISA).
He said it was unfortunate it took a terrorist attack on America to make people realise the importance of such laws.
"They criticised us but now countries like the US, Britain and France have similar laws (like the ISA)," he said.
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AFP (25.10.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (30.10.2001) - Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Judgement in the trial of 19 members of an Islamic cult charged with treason in Malaysia has been set for December 27, the official Bernama news agency reported Thursday.
High Court judge Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin fixed the date after final submissions by prosecutors and lawyers for members of the Al-Ma'unah cult, who face a possible death penalty if convicted.
The formal charge is "waging war" against the king, but the court heard after the trial began on September 11 last year that the cult planned a "holy war" to oust Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Ten cult members earlier pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of preparing to wage war and were jailed for 10 years' each. Sentences on two were reduced to seven years on appeal.
The martial arts cult, which taught members they were invulnerable to bullets, sparked the country's biggest security alert for decades in July 2000 when they disguised themselves as soldiers and stole more than 100 weapons from two military armouries.
The cultists then retreated to a jungle hideout where they broadcast calls over army radio for Mahathir to quit. They surrendered following a four-day standoff with some 2,000 troops after murdering a policeman and a soldier whom they had held hostage.
The alleged cult leader, Mohamed Amin Mohamed Razali, 29, was ordered exempt from attending the trial last month because of his disruptive behaviour.
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Arsonists last Saturday tried to burn down the Catholic Church of Christ the King in Sungai Petani, in the northern state of Kedah, the Malaysian Prime Minister's home state.
The church was locked, and the vandals only succeeded in burning some furniture which was near the windows. Workers who arrived Saturday morning saw the church filled with smoke and the doors burned.
On Sunday morning, in the southern state of Johore, Molotov cocktails were thrown at the door of St. Philip's Catholic Church in Segamat. The door was burned, but not the tabernacle, where another Molotov cocktail failed to explode.
Malaysia has 22 million people, most of them Muslim. Catholics number about 712,000, Church data show.
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Christian Community Center Burned in Malaysia
by Jeff Taylor
Compass (23.08.2001) / HRWF International Secretariat (23.08.2001)- Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - A Christian community center in Malaysia was set ablaze on July 21 by suspected Muslim extremists. The building was unoccupied during the alleged arson attack, reported local fire and rescue officials.
The early Saturday morning fire gutted the Marthoma Christian Community Center in Sungei Patani, a city located about 190 miles northwest of Kuala Lumpur in Kedah state on peninsular Malaysia. Damage to the center was estimated at 300,000 ringgits ($79,000).
Community center vice-president K.J. Abraham said the church had filed police reports on July 19 and 20 after building caretakers noticed that two windows had been broken and homemade petrol bombs were found near the premises. It was believed at that time to be the work of vandals.
However, police told church authorities that they believe members of the Malaysian Militant Group (KMM, or Kumpulan Militan Malaysia) are responsible for the fire. The KMM, an extremist Muslim jihad group whose members were reportedly trained in Afghanistan, have been accused of numerous armed robberies, an attack on a police station, the murder of a prominent politician, and fire bombings of a another church and a Hindu temple.
Since May, police have detained 16 suspected KMM members. Some have been held under Malaysia's Internal Security Act, which permits detention for 60 days before charges must be filed. Others have been charged, and at least one was placed under "restricted residence," according to an August 17 report in the "New Straits Times."
The "New Straits Times" reported on August 22 that Taufik Abdul Halim, a Malaysian being held in Jakarta, Indonesia, for his alleged involvement in the bombing of two churches and a shopping mall in the Indonesian capital, admitted he was a KMM member.
The Marthoma Christian Community Center was primarily used for community gatherings and Christian services. Since the fire, the congregation has been forced to meet in homes for Sunday morning services. Church members are reported to be "discouraged and demoralized" by the destruction of their building.
While church leaders have deemed the attack on the center an isolated event, some expressed fears that these types of attacks could become more frequent if Islamic fundamentalism, such as that practiced by the KMM, is allowed to grow unchecked.
Christians comprise about seven percent of Malaysia's 21 million people.
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Malaysian state taken to court over church site
Reuters (10.04.2001)/ HRWF International Secretariat (23.04.2001)- Website: http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Malaysia's Roman Catholics have asked a court to review the latest in a series of reversed decisions by a state government which have stalled efforts to build a church.
The Selangor state government has changed its mind three times in ten years over proposals for a church to be built in the state capital Shah Alam, a 45-minute drive from Kuala Lumpur.
Last year Selangor's new chief minister declared Shah Alam a Malay city. About 70 percent of the city's 400,000 people are Malay Muslims.
In December, Selangor asked the building committee of the Shah Alam Catholic Church to consider a new site in an industrial park two kilometres from the location it had already approved.
The proposed site lacks infrastructure, which would only be in place in three to four years, church building committee chairman J.V. Rao told Reuters, while the church has already spent more than 50,000 ringgit ($13,158) to prepare the current site.
Rao said the church requested a judicial challenge of the decision on behalf of the 3,000 to 5,000 catholics in the area "hoping that it will at least make (the government) respond."
Malaysia's official religion is Islam but non-Muslims -- mostly Buddhists, Christians and Hindus -- worship quite freely in this country of 22 million people.
But concern has been growing in recent years about erosion of the freedom of religion guaranteed in the constitution.
About 55 percent of the population are ethnic Malay, 30 percent Chinese and 10 percent Indian.
The Shah Alam High Court is scheduled to hear the church's request for a review on July 26.
