Raja Petra vows to die in silence if re-arrested

Rebel blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin has vowed to die in silence as a sign of protest if he is re-arrested on what many believe are politically motivated grounds. His pledge came as a court was due to rule whether he is to return to prison under Malaysia's Internal Security Act (ISA),

Raja Petra, who has risen to prominence as a pro-opposition blogger, was arrested on 12 September after accusations lodged by several religious groups who claim that he offended Islam in an article published on 8 August.

He was released on 7 November last year but the government has appealed the court decision and a verdict is expected on Tuesday (today –ed.).

“I shall no longer open my mouth or utter one word during my detention. I shall maintain the silence of a mute person. I shall not sign any documents of the so many documents that they make you sign when under detention," he said.

"My signature is not going to be placed on a single shred of paper,” he wrote in his blog, ‘Malaysia Today’ acknowledging that the move could have dire consequences.

”I shall refuse all medical treatment and visits to the hospital. I shall refuse to accept any food and water supplied by the authorities.

"I shall refuse to leave my cell or to meet any of the prison authorities. In short, I shall shut myself out from the world and keep to my own world of my eight feet square cell.

“This action will mean I shall survive at the most seven to eight days,” he added.

Raja Petra blamed deputy prime minister Najib Razak for his arrest and for what he calls his political persecution.

Najib has been among Raja Petra’s main targets in his blog.

In his most controversial article “Let’s Send Altantuya’s Murderers to Hell”, published on 25 April, Raja Petra said that Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, were involved in the killing of Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Translator and former model, the Mongolia-born Shaariibuu, 28, was shot twice in the head, and her body was blown up with explosives, in a jungle outside Kuala Lumpur in October, 2006.

“I am totally sure that Najib (Razak) is involved. And at the very least, he should be investigated,” Raja Petra told Adnkronos International (AKI).

““I am aware that I have raised the stakes with this article and I am prepared to go all the way,” he added.

Najib has denied any involvement in the case and has sworn at a mosque that he never met Shaariibuu. He has also denied any involvement in the arrest of Raja Petra.

The ISA was inherited by Malaysia after it gained independence from Britain in 1957. In essence, it allows for the arrest of any person without the need for trial in certain circumstances. – AKI via DSAI

Muslim nations can overcome 'negative image'

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the biggest threat faced by Muslim countries today is that they are often associated with terrorism and deviationist movements.

He said this was made worse by the fact that anti-Islamic countries and the superpowers painted a negative image of Muslim countries.

"The Muslim community has always been linked with terrorism, more so after the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

"No matter what Muslims do, they've always had a battered image," he said when closing the Sarawak Islamic Congress here last night.

Najib said the image problem was compounded when many Muslim communities in the world were labelled poor and backward.

He said Muslim countries had become weak and were not as united as before, particularly since many of them had become victims of war, such as the Palestinians in Gaza.

The deputy prime minister outlined four factors which could help Muslims handle challenges.

First, he said, was human capital development through education and knowledge.

"Muslim countries must have a generation that is intelligent and wise, just as it is mentioned in the Quran. Only then will they be able to build a great civilisation."

The second, he said, was the fighting spirit among the younger generation. He called on Islamic leaders to come forward and lead the way for the young.

"The third is that Muslims do not realise their full economic potential. They must pursue this aggressively and be competitive, especially in trade and industry."

The fourth factor, he said, was that Muslims must improve their work ethics and life practices in accordance with the values of honesty and integrity as espoused by Islam. – text: NST

'Leaders must formulate goals, objectives well'

Leaders of the public sector must identify well-formulated goals or objectives and constantly articulate them repeatedly to get everyone to work in the same direction.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said when making recommendations, they must stick to the ones with the biggest payoffs.

"Firstly, when thinking of solutions, think of the elevator speech -- the solution should be so crisp and clear that you can explain it to someone in a 30-second elevator ride.

"Secondly, leaders must be able to energise people to get things accomplished and allow them to solve the most vexing problems."

Najib said the coming decades were periods to lay the foundation for substantial growth and change.
He said this in a speech, read by International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, at the closing of the "Public Sector Young Executive Conference" at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre yesterday.

The two-day conference was opened by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Tuesday.

Najib said qualitative case analysis as well as rigorous studies were beginning to provide leaders with knowledge to allow them to bring forth and effectively address key issues. [like this Perakmen: a fait accompli -ed.]

He said it was his observation that the leadership in the public sector was now facing an array of daunting challenges, including inverse global competition, changing demographics, issues of integrity and accountability, political aberrations and those relating to risky human behaviours.

"While we are slowly working from differences to similarities, the challenges are not minimised but, in fact, becoming more complex."

Therefore, Najib said, the leadership in the public sector must be about handling information and knowledge to achieve competitive advantage and effectiveness.

He added that the skill to envision various alternatives, expected or otherwise, was not a luxury anymore.

"The idiom of thinking outside the box should become a matter of habit to facilitate creativity which will help towards realising wisdom.

"We have to be both smart and wise to display a successful public sector leadership to face the challenges of a globalised world." -- text: NST