1. Malaysia Insider (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com)
Hasan Ali: Christians going undercover to convert Muslims, 28 January 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 — Former Selangor Islamic affairs executive councillor Datuk Hasan Ali claimed today Christian ministers have resorted to handing out electronic gadgets and wearing kopiah (skullcaps) to mosques in their efforts to convert Muslims.
The Gombak Setia assemblyman, who was sacked from PAS and the state government earlier this month, told an anti-apostasy rally in Kepala Batas, Penang that Muslims in the country were vulnerable to these methods due to their lack of faith.
He said that when he was Selangor executive councillor, he received at least 60 reports of apostasy including how Muslims were enticed with money and given gifts of laptop computers, cameras, cars, monthly food provisions and gadgets like solar-powered bibles.
“There were reports of foreign Christian ministers wearing Muslim skullcaps and attending prayers at a certain mosque in Petaling Jaya to establish a communal relationship with Muslims before converting them.
“I was told these international Christian groups have unlimited funds,” he told a crowd of about 2,000, a tenth of Himpunan Sejuta Umat’s (Himpun) targeted 20,000 attendess.
The coalition of Muslim NGOs has organised several such gatherings in response to the “challenge of Christianisation”.
Himpun was mooted following last year’s controversial August 3 raid by Selangor Islamic authorities on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) in Petaling Jaya, where it was alleged that Christians were converting Muslims.
Hasan had backed the raid and said there “could be hundreds, maybe even thousands” of cases of Muslims being converted by Christians.
Last November, the former Selangor PAS chief told the Selangor Legislative Assembly that evangelical Christians are using high-tech devices such as solar-powered talking bibles to proselytise Muslims in the state.
Hasan was axed by PAS after urging opposition supporters to avoid the rally on January 9 in support of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the day his sodomy trial verdict was handed down by the High Court here.
He had also repeatedly criticised PAS as having deviated from championing Islam.
2. Malaysiakini(http://www.malaysiakini.com)
Anti-apostasy rally in Penang draws 2,000, 28 January 2012
by Susan Loone
The Himpun rally organised by a group of Muslim NGOs kicked off in Kepala Batas today with religious musical performances, building the momentum for the expected fiery speeches by several controversial leaders.
The performances were delivered in a number of languages - Malay, English and a bit of Tamil and Thai as well.
By 10.30am, about 2,000 people have gathered at Dewan Budi Penyayang community hall for the three-hour event - men on the right and women on the left of the stage.
The mood was festive as there were several stalls selling food and drinks and Muslim paraphernalia outside the hall, where many youths were drawn to a career-and-book exhibition.
The rally is supposed to attract 20,000 people from all over Penang and Kedah, however only a fraction has turned up so far.
Several speakers including former Penang PAS Youth chief Hafiz Noordin (seated left in photo), Teras president Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid, Islamic Propagation and Outreach Society leader Kamaruddin Abdullah and Himpun deputy organiser Abdullah Zaid enthralled the crowd with their rousing speeches.
The summary of all the speeches boiled down to the concern of the Muslims towards threats of apostasy, the weakness of the community’s faith and efforts to defend Islam.
Hasan Ali, the former Selangor executive councillor who was recently sacked from PAS, was the last speaker at the event.
He made a fuss about the number of participants reported by Malaysiakini for today's event, saying the audience numbered at least 3,000, with several Umno assemblypersons including state opposition leader Azhar Ibrahim (centre in photo) among the crowd.
He chastised the media for often giving the wrong impression about the number of participants at the Himpun rallies, saying that the one held in Shah Alam was attended by at least 25,000 people and not 5,000 as reported.
It is learnt that PAS has advised its members not to attend the event as rival party Umno is behind it, he added.
“Who are the Umno leaders on stage here? I find it strange as they have been calling for the whole world to turn up at the recent High Court decision on opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy II trial in Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
“Where is the logic in this?” he stormed, raising his voice.
Hasan (left) then launched into a lamentation of why he was sacked from PAS, saying it was because of his hardline approach to defend Islam and the Muslim community.
“I was sacked not because I was corrupt or involved in criminal breach of trust, neither was I sexually involved in gay activities or have committed any crime that is against the law,” he complained.
The nationwide Himpun rally - first held in Selangor in October last year - is to protest against the alleged threat of apostasy and Christianisation among the Muslim community, which the leaders claim are currently running rampant in the country.
The Penang state government has distanced itself from the event, saying that it neither endorses the rally nor would participate in it.
Hasan: Apostasy cases are rampant
Meanwhile, Hasan mocked PAS for continuously denying that apostasy cases are rampant in the country.
He added that before he was sacked from his state exco position, he had set up a ‘Unit Selamatkan Akidah (USA)’ or faith rescue unit which has registered about 60 cases of apostasy.
He related stories about how individuals or couples who were Christianised had been lured by money, including given gifts of laptops, cameras, cars, monthly food provisions and gadgets like solar-powered Bibles to help them in their faith.
“I was told these international Christian groups have unlimited funds,” he told the attentive crowd.
“There had also been reports that these foreign Christian ministers have resorted to acting, by wearing Muslim skullcaps and attending prayers at a certain mosque in Petaling Jaya to establish a communal relationship with Muslims before converting them,” he claimed.
At the end of his 45-minute speech, Hasan said Muslims in the country were vulnerable, due to their lack of and weakened faith which leads to the worsening apostasy situation among the community, urging them to return to the true teachings of Islam.
He then ended his session by praying along with the audience, who were seen clasping their hands in serious prayer, with some becoming emotional, and wiping tears from their eyes.
3. Malaysiakini (http://www.malaysiakini.com)
(1) Orang Asli make historic protest at Johor assembly, 16 December 2011
Several hundred Orang Seletar made a historic protest outside the Johor state assembly in Kota Iskandar, Johor, yesterday to voice their anger over the transfer of their ancestral land to developers of the Iskandar Malaysia project along the Johor Straits.
(2) Orang Asli in Johor fume over destruction of graves, 28 January2012
Orang Asli from the Seletar tribe around Johor Baru are crying foul over the destruction of their ancestral graves.
In a statement today, Jaringan Orang Asli Seletar Laut representative Eddy Salim said two excavators had encroached into their ancestral graveyard near Kampung Orang Asli Sungai Temon and Kampung Bakar Batu to conduct earthworks for the Iskandar development plan.
“Upon being confronted by the Orang Asli, the contractor’s personnel failed to show any working permits but claimed all necessary approvals have been obtained from the authorities,” he said.
The Orang Asli lodged a police report over the incident on the same day and the work has been temporarily suspended.
“However, damage has already been done and it is irreversible. A long strip of forested land more than 200m long has been bulldozed by the excavators. At least 10 Orang Seletar graves were razed,” said Salim.
Following the incident, a dialogue was held with the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa), Iskandar Development Authority (Irda), the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) and local village heads.
They were informed that the Kampung Sungai Temun land area had been alienated to Johor state-owned Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor (KPRJ) in 1999.
In the dark over land alienation
“This is the first time ever we have been told about such a fact - that our land, including the community hall where the dialogue was conducted, has long been the property of a company.
“The Orang Asli community feels angry and helpless, when our ancestral lands are being grabbed away from us and yet the government has not come to our rescue. Worse, the situation has often come about that the companies involved are controlled by or linked to the government.”
He added that the destruction of mangroves has also threatened their livelihood, as many of the villagers dependent on fishing.
However, Salim thanked Suhakam, represented by Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah, for its support.
“He sent a brief and clear message that the Orang Asli have rights over their native customary land, and this is an undisputable fact and it has been affirmed many times by the courts,” he said.
Salim condemned the ongoing development projects around their village without taking account of their interests.
“If development projects such as Danga Bay and Iskandar Malaysia are to bring progress to the people, how could they have harmed our rights and livelihood?”
In December last year, some 500 Orang Seletar had protested outside the Johor state assembly in Kota Iskandar after their land was handed over to developers for the Iskandar development plan.
The villagers, also known as Orang Laut, are the original settlers of the south Johor region, living along the straits as well as along the Johor River and Pulai River.
（End）
