Paul

Today during Iftar and Tarawih, I met Paul, 16 years old secondary school student who fell in love with Islam after reading about Islam the Da Vinci code a year ago... Well not Da Vinci code itself, but stemmed from reading that book, he went on a path of discovery that lead him from a gospel to online materials about Islam...

Amazingly, he didn't speak to any Muslim before he reverted. He said shahadah without anyone around... alone yet so not alone at heart. And he did keep it as a secret initially, although later he told his mother whom understandably a bit less enthusiastic with the news.

But his mother's cool now, apparently...

I didn't get to speak to Paul much today, credit to my 'suspicions' and the fact that he was pretty much learning all the time between Iftar and Tarawih, from the Quran to various other discussions (that I managed to eavesdrop on)... He was excitable like any other typical teenagers, except the issue that he is excitable to...

Next time I see him, I'm determined to interview him.... Insha Allah...




It's amazing how Allah grant his hidayah to those he chose to give... subhanallah...

It's Confirmed - They are corrupt SoBs!

Secret UN report condemns US for Middle East failures

Envoy's damning verdict revealed as violence takes Gaza closer to civil war

Read Alvaro de Soto's end of mission report

Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem and Ian Williams in New York
Wednesday June 13, 2007
The Guardian

The highest ranking UN official in Israel has warned that American pressure has "pummelled into submission" the UN's role as an impartial Middle East negotiator in a damning confidential report.

The 53-page "End of Mission Report" by Alvaro de Soto, the UN's Middle East envoy, obtained by the Guardian, presents a devastating account of failed diplomacy and condemns the sweeping boycott of the Palestinian government. It is dated May 5 this year, just before Mr de Soto stepped down.

Article continues
The revelations from inside the UN come after another day of escalating violence in Gaza, when at least 26 Palestinians were killed after Hamas fighters launched a major assault. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, head of the rival Fatah group, warned he was facing an attempted coup.

Mr de Soto condemns Israel for setting unachievable preconditions for talks and the Palestinians for their violence. Western-led peace negotiations have become largely irrelevant, he says.

Mr de Soto is a Peruvian diplomat who worked for the UN for 25 years in El Salvador, Cyprus and Western Sahara. He says:

· The international boycott of the Palestinians, introduced after Hamas won elections last year, was "at best extremely short-sighted" and had "devastating consequences" for the Palestinian people

· Israel has adopted an "essentially rejectionist" stance towards the Palestinians

· The Quartet of Middle East negotiators - the US, the EU, Russia and the UN - has become a "side-show"

·The Palestinian record of stopping violence against Israel is "patchy at best, reprehensible at worst"

Mr de Soto acknowledges in the report that he is its sole author. It was meant only for senior UN officials, and its wording is far more critical than the public pronouncements of UN diplomats. Last night, Mr de Soto, who is in New York, told the Guardian: "It is a confidential document and not intended for publication."

In January last year, the Quartet called on the newly elected Hamas government to commit to non-violence, recognise Israel and accept previous agreements. When Hamas refused to sign up to the principles, the international community halted direct funding to the Palestinian government and Israel started to freeze the monthly tax revenues that it had agreed to pass to the Palestinians. Several hundred million dollars remain frozen.

Mr de Soto, who had opposed the boycott, said this position "effectively transformed the Quartet from a negotiation-promoting foursome guided by a common document [the road map for peace] into a body that was all-but imposing sanctions on a freely elected government of a people under occupation as well as setting unattainable preconditions for dialogue".

The EU said yesterday that there was an imminent risk of civil war if fighting went on, and UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon urged support for Mr Abbas's efforts "to restore law and order".

In the heaviest day of fighting in Gaza for months, Hamas appeared to make its first concerted effort to seize power in Gaza. There was a wave of co-ordinated attacks, which appeared to overwhelm the larger but less effective Fatah force. "Decisiveness will be in the field," said Islam Shahwan, a spokesman for the Hamas military wing.

Fatah's central committee called an emergency meeting in Ramallah, in the West Bank, and said it would suspend the activities of its ministers in the government. Fatah would pull out of the government if the fighting failed to stop, it said.

For the first time in several weeks, fighting spread to the West Bank when Fatah gunmen attacked a Hamas television studio in Ramallah and kidnapped a Hamas deputy cabinet minister from the city.

The day began with a rocket attack on the private house in Gaza of Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister and a Hamas leader. He was in the building but was not hurt. Fighting spread across Gaza City and within hours Hamas fighters issued warnings over loudspeakers calling on all Fatah security forces to pull out of their bases and return home. At about 2pm Hamas gunmen seized control of several small Fatah bases and one large base in northern Gaza, where there were heavy casualties when Hamas fighters fired mortars and rocket-propelled grenades at the compound.

Several Fatah officers complained that they had received no orders during the day. Mr Abbas tried calling for a truce, and later Fatah ordered its officers to fight back.

READ THE REPORT HERE (PDF FORMAT)

Russian new bomb - 4 times stronger than the American's MOAB

I would rather have the russians build this bomb than the americans... american unilateralism is a plaque that infested the world nowadays... no offense to americans, but your leader sucks!

Although, keeping this bomb as a non-existing entity would do the world much more good... I think...

Ramadhan Al-Mubarak

Ramadhan datang lagi... subhanallah, syahdunya mengenang suasana malam Ramadhan di kotaraya Cenderawasih... unggul lunak Imam Tahfiz membaca surah2 kitab al-furqan... berkumpulnya seluruh warga kariah, menghayati kerinduan kepada yg esa... dan langsai 8 rakaat; manusia berderum keluar... kanak2 riuh memekik selamat tinggal, meski esok bersua lagi (kebanyakannya insya Allah)... dan yg dewasa mengalas kaki dgn sepatu memecut laju meninggalkan halaman rumah Allah...

Dan tinggallah nukleus masjid yg setia mematuhi pergerakan imam...lebih sunyi, lebih khusyuk, lebih emosi tapi lebih tenang... solat, takbir tasbih dan tahmid... mensyukuri nikmat kurniaan Tuhan yg tiada sempadan... tiada terbalas... berhutang seumur hidup... dan doa imam yg diaminkan makmum mengiringi perjalanan pulang ke halaman sendiri...

wah alangkah indah malam ini... perjalanan pulang, tidak kira sendiri atau ditemani... sangat utuh dihati, ketenangan yg seolah-olah abadi... jauh dilubuk hati biarlah masa itu terhenti... terhenti di malam Ramadhan yg penuh barakah ini... malam Ramadhan yg disulami ketenangan naluri... malam yg penuh pengampunan, penuh keberkatan...

alangkah rindunya hati ini... mengenangkan ketenangan yg lama tidak berkunjung ke hati... entah mengapa jadi begini... rosak sangatkah hati ini?

Dan kurayu kehadratMu... datangkanlah lagi... amin...



Bristol, United Kingdom - 519 petang, 30 Syaaban 1428H

P/S - siapa tahu ini mungkin Ramadhan terakhir??

What's tis?!!!! Simply appalling!!!

Semua mesti jawab -- Najib minta kementerian perjelas laporan Ketua Audit Negara

Oleh NIZAM YATIM

SUBANG 9 Sept. - Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak meminta kementerian yang berkaitan menjawab semua soalan berkaitan salah urus dana awam seperti dilaporkan dalam Laporan Ketua Audit Negara 2006.

Timbalan Perdana Menteri berkata, penjelasan itu perlu bagi membolehkan orang ramai mengetahui sebab-sebab perkara itu berlaku terutama berhubung pembelian sesuatu barangan.

“Mereka boleh menjawab dan bagi saya kementerian-kementerian berkaitan perlu memberi jawapan terhadap persoalan yang ditimbulkan ini,” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian kepada pemberita ketika ditemui selepas menyampaikan hadiah kepada pemenang Kejohanan Golf Jemputan Business Times 2007 di sini hari ini.

Najib mengulas laporan Ketua Audit Negara mengenai aktiviti kementerian dan jabatan Kerajaan Persekutuan 2006 yang mendedahkan mengenai pembelian barangan dan peralatan yang harganya berlipat kali ganda daripada harga pasaran.

Laporan itu antara lain memberikan contoh Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara (IKBN) di bawah Kementerian Belia dan Sukan (KBS) yang membeli peralatan pada kadar harga yang terlalu tinggi.

Ia termasuk pembelian pemutar skru, pada RM224.94 satu set oleh IKBN berbanding harga pasaran hanya RM40.

Turut dipertikaikan ialah pembelian kamera digital pada harga RM8,254.29 seunit berbanding harga sebenar RM2,990.

Selain itu harga untuk jek satu tan dibeli pada harga RM5,741.69 seunit berbanding harga sebenarnya hanya RM50.

Masalah lain yang dinyatakan oleh laporan itu termasuk pertubuhan bukan kerajaan yang tidak layak menerima dana daripada kerajaan dan wang itu dibazirkan dengan membeli helikopter yang tidak dapat digunakan.

Selain itu, laporan tersebut turut menyentuh mengenai jumlah wang yang sepatutnya diterima oleh Kerajaan Persekutuan tetapi masih belum diterima seperti hasil cukai, hasil bukan cukai dan terimaan bukan hasil.

Ia termasuk daripada Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri (LHDN), Jabatan Kastam Diraja Malysia dan Polis Diraja Malaysia.

Mengenai laporan yang menyebut Ketua Setiausaha (KSU) KBS telah menandatangani 11 kontrak projek IKBN yang setiap satu bernilai antara RM7.99 juta dan RM74.2 juta, Najib berkata, KSU tidak mempunyai kuasa berbuat demikian.

“Ia hanya boleh dilakukan jika dibuat secara tender bernilai kurang RM5 juta.

“KSU tidak mempunyai kuasa untuk memberikan kontrak secara terus kerana ia hanya boleh dibuat melalui tender ataupun keputusan Kementerian Kewangan,” jelasnya.

Source: Utusan Malaysia Online, 10 September 2007

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As a concerned citizen, I am obviously appalled by such atrocious misconception of the value of money. Put someone who can differentiate between a 50 cent coin and an RM50 note in charge, will ya?! What a sucker punch to the people. I don't think those IKBN examples are the only "monetary mis-evaluation" that occurred. In any case, those corrupt jerks must be ousted! Simple as that, no fuss, no muss.

I am no expert in economy but I have my fare share of knowledge from reading and what not. I think state(s) with continuous deficit in the balance should have the head(s) removed. Whilst short term deficit is understandable, long term huge deficit can't possibly be healthy for a state's economy. I am referring to one state in particular. You know who you are.

Cuti bersalin 5 tahun -- Kerajaan lanjut pelepasan tanpa gaji kakitangan awam jaga anak

Oleh Zabry Mohamad

KUALA LUMPUR 3 Sept. – Kerajaan bersetuju melanjutkan cuti bersalin tanpa gaji bagi kakitangan sektor awam daripada 90 hari sekarang kepada had maksimum lima tahun berkuat kuasa serta-merta.

Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak ketika mengumumkan peraturan baru itu berkata, keputusan tersebut dibuat sejajar dengan hasrat kerajaan supaya anak-anak menerima pendidikan awal yang sempurna.

Keputusan yang dibuat Kabinet dalam mesyuarat mingguan Rabu lalu akan memberi kemudahan tambahan kepada seramai 563,000 wanita yang bekerja dalam sektor awam daripada keseluruhan 1.3 juta kakitangan kerajaan.

Menurut statistik Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat, sebanyak 10 peratus atau 24,300 daripada 243,000 kakitangan sektor awam berusia antara 18 hingga 39 tahun melahirkan anak setiap tahun.

Menurut Najib, dengan kelonggaran cuti bersalin itu, kakitangan wanita sektor awam boleh menyediakan suasana pembesaran yang lebih baik kepada anak masing-masing terutama dari aspek kesihatan dan psikologi.

‘‘Kanak-kanak yang mendapat didikan, kawalan, tunjuk ajar serta kasih sayang yang baik dan sempurna akan menjadi manusia yang lebih berguna kepada negara pada masa depan,’’ kata Timbalan Perdana Menteri pada sidang akhbar selepas merasmikan Persidangan Perkhidmatan Awam Ke-12 di sini hari ini.

Persidangan selama dua hari itu yang berlangsung di Kampus Utama Institut Tadbiran Awam Negara (Intan) di Bukit Kiara di sini dianjurkan bersama Intan, Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) serta Persatuan Perkhidmatan Tadbir dan Diplomatik (PPTD).

Lebih 600 orang menyertai persidangan itu termasuk dari Australia, Brunei, Filipina, Singapura dan Tanzania.

Najib memberitahu, cuti bersalin tersebut boleh dipecah-pecahkan kepada beberapa kali dengan jumlah keseluruhan cuti bersalin tanpa gaji tidak melebihi lima tahun.

Pada awal Ogos lalu, beberapa pihak mencadangkan JPA mengkaji kemungkinan memberi kelonggaran kepada kakitangan wanita untuk berhenti sementara daripada pekerjaan bagi melahirkan anak dan kembali bekerja setelah anak mereka membesar.

Menurut Najib, keputusan melonggarkan cuti bersalin itu juga dibuat kerana ramai wanita mahu menjaga kepentingan keluarga dan pada masa yang sama ingin terus berkhidmat dalam sektor kerajaan.

Beliau memberitahu, terpulang kepada kakitangan awam terbabit untuk menentukan jumlah hari cuti bersalin tanpa gaji yang mahu mereka ambil sama ada secara terkumpul atau sedikit demi sedikit.

‘‘Sebagai contoh, selepas cuti bersalin wajib selama 60 hari bagi anak pertama, mereka boleh sambung cuti selama satu hingga dua tahun.

“Begitu juga bagi anak kedua, tempoh cuti yang sama boleh diambil asalkan jumlah cuti terkumpul tidak lebih lima tahun.

‘‘Ini kerana selepas lima tahun, seseorang pekerja boleh hilang daya saing dan seterusnya mengganggu perancangan sumber manusia sesebuah jabatan,’’ jelasnya.

Menurut Timbalan Perdana Menteri, sekembalinya bertugas, kakitangan wanita yang mengambil cuti bersalin berhak menerima kenaikan gaji bersyarat sebanyak tiga kali.

‘‘Katakan setiap tahun dia terima kenaikan gaji RM50, maka bila dia kembali bekerja, dia dapat tambahan RM150 daripada gaji asal sebelum dia mengambil cuti panjang,’’ katanya.

Taken from Utusan Malaysia Online, 22 Syaaban 1428

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WELL DONE!!! I loud this decision as a step forward not only in childcare, but also in developing human capital that Pak Lah talked so much about... This might also be one of the solutions for the social problems bugging our community at the moment... Regardless of the underlying political agenda (like some people have attributed this to), this is, in my opinion, by far the boldest and most important decision this year... even bigger than WPI or the other regional stuffs.