All four bodies of the missing victims have been recovered today after the boat of 18 students and an adviser teacher capsized in the middle of the sea.
My deepest sympathy to the victims of SMJK Chung Ling Penang and their family members.
Search and rescue team carrying the body of the fourth victim of the Dragon boat tragedy. - Bernama pic
PENANG, Jan 18 — The recovery efforts this afternoon of the bodies of two more students involved in yesterday’s boat mishap has taken the total death toll to six in the tragedy.
The bodies of Yong Xiang, 16, and Cheah Zi Jun, 17, were found close together at 4.15pm in the waters near Tanjung Marina pier, about one kilometre from the spot off Lebuh Macallum where the accident occurred, said a spokesman of the search-and-rescue (SAR) team.
The bodies of two other students, Brandon Yeoh, 17, and Goh Yi Zhang, 15, were found earlier today, in the waters near the Raja Tun Uda ferry terminal and Tanjung Marina pier, respectively.
Yesterday, the SAR team recovered the bodies of student Jason Ch’ng, 17, and teacher Chin Ai Fang, 28.
The Chung Ling High School teacher and the five students as well as 10 other students and two instructors were training for the Penang International Dragon Board Race scheduled for July in Teluk Bahang when their dragon boat capsized after being hit by a huge wave at 8.45am yesterday.
The mishap occurred about 100 metres offshore Lebuh Macallum, in an area often used by schools for their weekly boat rowing exercises.
The Chung Ling High School dragon boat team had been training for almost an hour since 8am when it was hit by the wave, the impact of which dashed the boat against a tugboat.
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who visited the families of the students, said the school should attend to all the queries of the families so that they understand what had actually happened.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon visited the scene of the accident with Balik Pulau state assemblyman Datuk Seri Hilmi Yahaya.
Dr Koh extended his condolences to the families of those who drowned in the mishap and asked the state government to look into the safety aspect before designating an area as the venue of the dragon boat race.
The Gerakan president, who is a former student of the school, said he would meet with the school board, administration and principal on the tragedy. — Bernama
Lawyer of third world mentality. Dont ask me, but i really have no idea how he can pass his law exams and be awarded Datukship. Pictures from Malaysia Freedom.
The lawyer of MACC insulted Karpal Singh today in a heated exchange. After failing to interrupt, Datuk Abdul Razak Musa was ordered to get back on his seat by Karpal.
Probably he had nothing else to say, so he began, " I can sit down but you cannot stand up". Knowing that Karpal is handicapped, he humiliated him in the court room. Instantly he was forced and pressured by Karpal and Gobind to apologise following his the offensive remarks against the disabled. That makes me wonder, is it not an insult to ALL the disabled communities in Malaysia, if a handicapped lawyer on a wheelchair can be humiliated even in the court? And what's more, the coroner refused to take further actions against Datuk Abdul Razak Musa simply because "he has already apologized"?
Now I know why Malaysian judiciary is so powerless.... that it can no longer function to protect its own people from getting hurt.... Malaysia Boleh.
Hisham, like most other high ranking ministers in Barisan Nasional, has never failed to make himself look like a fool in front of everyone.
When asked about the lagging response by PDRM, he defended them by saying that they were not being reluctant to act to fend off security threats. He claimed that the church attacks were under control. As if.
Not long after that, a 100 year old sikh temple was hit by stones. The law firm representing The Herald was broken in today. And, an attempt to vandalise The St Elizabeth Catholic Church in Kota Tinggi, Johor has caused the wall of the building to be splattered with red paint.
PDRM and the Home Ministry have been very defensive on these issues since the very beginning, saying that they are not to be blamed on for the attacks. And on the other hand, they are not acting to protect the victims. So far, none has been detained for the crime after 10 prayer grounds of other faiths have been arsoned and vandalized.
Who are to be blamed on? And the key point here is, WHO STARTED THE WHOLE DRAMA? The Christians? Muslims? I'll say none of them.
The below are some reasonings I plundered from the reader's comments on The Malaysian Insider, which basically tell you that, from the legal battle between home ministry and the Herald, to the church attacks - they were all started, and probably planned by our beloved Barisan Nasional Government.
written by Dont Just Watch, January 14, 2010
ALLAH FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
INTRODUCTION - What did not happen
I will first start with what did not happen.
Christians did not wake up one day and say, “hmmm… instead of using the word ‘GOD’ lets replace it with ‘ALLAH’. We shall go to the court to declare it our right to use the word ‘ALLAH’”.
1. What actually happened
The Catholic newspaper, Herald, has been using the word Allah in their Bahasa Melayu edition for a long time. Suddendly, they are told, their publishing licence will not being renewed unless they stop using the word “Allah” and replace it with “Tuhan”.
2. Why go to the Court?
When the enforcement of the ban was taking place, what could the Herald do? They appealed to the Home Ministry to relax the ruling but this was rejected. There was no offer for inter-faith dialogues to be carried out.
The court was the last resort.
3. Why can’t Christians use “Tuhan” instead of “Allah”?
Actually, they can. They can also use various other names such as “The Almighty”, “The Creator”, “Lord God”, etc.
BUT unfortunately there are books including the Bahasa Melayu version of the Holy Bible which has already used the word “Allah” for years. Now the government has started confiscating these books.
Also Christians who use Bahasa Melayu have been accustomed to using the word Allah. It has never been an issue. So why should they suddenly change the way they pray?
4. We all know Allah refers to the Muslim God, Why the sudden need by Christians to also use Allah?
If you have never heard Christians call their God, “Allah”, chances are you never will. This practice of certain Christian groups referring to God as “Allah” is mainly in East Malaysia.
If yesterday I called God, “God”. Today I won’t call him “Allah”.
You won’t suddenly hear me acclaiming, “Oh my Allah”. I will still say, “Oh my God”.
Additionally, I don’t think Muslims will pick up a Bahasa Melayu version of the Herald. I am from West Malaysia and even I have not seen a Bahasa Melayu version of the Herald.
5. Malaysia is a peaceful multi-religious country. Why do the Christians suddenly bring up this sensitive issue and cause tension among the different religions?
Christians did not bring up this issue. This sensitive issue was started by the Home Ministry when they decided not to renew the Herald’s publishing licence.
Yes. Another church in Seremban was attacked by Molotov cocktails and the exterior of the building was burnt this morning. And the usually fast-acting FRU who was swift in evacuating peaceful demonstrations by force and interrupting Perak DUN assembly, did absolutely NOTHING to protect churches around the country.
To prove how retarded these people are, just read what our Deputy IGP said following the most recent attack. “What I know is that it did not happen. Where did you get this information from? That is what I want to know. You must double check,” Ismail said.
Well Sir, it really DID happen. (Image taken from Malaysiakini)
Our government and also IGP have been deliberately demonstrating leniency towards the raging demonstrators who went on the road to protest against the court's final verdict on Allah's case. Hishamuddin said it is people's right to "express their feelings". My memory is not really good, but I suspect Najib and Hishamuddin are more forgetful than the average Malaysians, including me myself. All of a sudden, the high ranking UMNO hate leaders have turned deaf and blind.
Remember the petrol hike, PPSMI and abolish-ISA peaceful demonstrations? Everyone of them ended up showered by water cannons and rained by thousands of tear gases. Demonstrators of all races were hit by the batons of Federal Reserve Units, kicked to the ground and arrested without charges.
And now? The terrorists who scorched the Malaysian churches are still out there. No arrest has been made even though 8 churches have been attacked to date. No actions taken to prevent further damage to the Christians in Malaysia and their churches are not secured from barbaric invasion. The reason being, as claimed by the IGP, they are short of police personnels. Probably our FRU's and police are now busy stalking Lim Guan Eng or Raja Petra who was said to be hiding somewhere in London.
Hishamuddin was fast to deny any involvement in these attacks. He condoned the racist cow-head demonstration and he allowed street protests that eventually morphed into hate assaults. He permitted TV3, Utusan Malaysia to provoke angers among Muslims on the Allah issue, but he threatened internet users and the public not to relate the assailants to UMNO.
NO? Hah. I'll let Malaysians be the judge. These fools probably dont have mirrors at home.
Najib promised many things. Change, he said. He wanted to change Malaysia. Unity, by showing off his copy-cat-ed slogan 1Malaysia to the whole world, he claimed he could unite Malaysians. But ever since the son of Razak took over Abdullah's position last year, everything changed, from bad, to worse. Beng Hock was killed while being interrogated by MACC. Najib denied any participation in the freak accidents.
Soon, any news regarding Altantuya disappeared from all major newspapers and electronic media. Port Klang Free Zone scandal was buried, no high-ranking officers were involved in the multi-million ringgit corruptions, they reported. Before that, UMNO members went on the street with a cow head, stepping, and kicking on it because they knew it is the holy animal for the Hindus. Everyone else was blamed on except the culprit itself.
When the court first read its final verdict on the recent Allah's case, UMNO knew what it had to do. Seize the chance and creating turmoil among Malaysians. That's their ultimate aim. By allowing illegal gatherings and demonstrations, Hishamuddin showed how the Barisan Nasional government can accept humiliations towards other people's religions. And now, churches have been attacked.... explosives marred the buildings of the prayer grounds of the Christians........ The victims can only ask for help in their silent prayers, because they have no one to turn to for help...not even their own government can do a thing about it..
Violence involving both religious issues and religious organizations is gonna turn really really bad. When people fight,people cry. Religious problems will be further amplified by the current racial tension among Malaysians.
But from afar, Malaysians could hear someone clapping their hands and cheering for the never-ending racial politics in this country...... and 1Malaysia will forever remains a lie and the slogan will continue to fool Malaysians for another few decades..... just like its cousin, Malaysia Boleh.
MALAYSIANS MUST REMAIN STRONG AND UNITED. WE BELIEVE WE CAN RESIST BARISAN NASIONAL AND KICK RACISM OUT OF OUR BELOVED MALAYSIA.
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 — Police are urging for calm as they secure churches nationwide, after three were attacked with firebombs in separate pre-dawn incidents in the Klang Valley, which have been linked to protests against the recent “Allah” ruling.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan confirmed the attacks, saying the first attack was by motorcyclists who threw a helmet filled with flammable liquid at the Metro Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawati, causing a fire that burned books and chairs near here, at midnight. Its administrative office was gutted in the attack.
He confirmed that they have identified one suspect who was seen by a guard at the church, which is part of the Assemblies of God.
“This is not a well-planned, coordinated attack so people should not be scared,” he told reporters at Bukit Aman here.
The second attack was at about 4am at the Church of Assumption in Petaling Jaya, where a Molotov cocktail thrown by a motorcyclist failed to break and explode. There were several Catholics attending a prayer session at the time, police added.
The third incident took place at the Life Chapel Church in Section 17, Petaling Jaya at 9am, where two Molotov cocktails, also thrown by a motorcyclist, exploded to blacken the walls of the porch and upper-storey window of the two-storey church building.
Musa also confirmed that he has a received a phone call from an undisclosed church saying there have been threats against them.
The national police chief had directed his men to be alert nationwide and all patrol teams to monitor churches since 6pm yesterday.
“I advise all the churches to make police reports if they receive any threats or they can contact me directly at 019-282-3701,” Musa said.
Musa said that the motives of the attack are still unknown. Police forensic teams and fire investigators have swung into action searching for clues in the three attacks.
The top cop also warned the demonstrators that the police will take the necessary action and every means to ensure national security including using the Internal Security Act (ISA) to dampen rising tension in the country.
"I will do whatever is needed to ensure that the country is safe," he promised.
He reiterated that the demonstrations being planned after Friday prayers today were illegal as no permits have been issued.
"I have told all of my officers to monitor all the mosques in the country, especially those that will have the demonstrations," he said.
He said that every individual, including those writing blogs including updates in the social networking website Facebook, will be investigated for sedition if they flamed sentiments and encouraged people to break the law.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein also condemned the attacks.
"I am assuring not only minorities but all Malaysians that they are safe. The issue of race and religion is always sensitive and it is not something new to Malaysia.
"We saw the signs, signals, warning after the court made its decision. We have been monitoring the situation," he said.
He added that the government has always and will engage with religious leaders in the country which is in line with the prime minister's vision of 1 Malaysia.
Hishamuddin again denied he and the PM had condoned the planned demonstrations.
"We never said that the demonstration could go on, do not put words in my mouth," he said. Hishammuddin and Najib, who are cousins, have said over the past few days that Muslim groups have a right to express their feelings about the “Allah” ruling but they should not break the law.
Hishammauddin also laughed off allegations made by Pakatan Rakyat that the Umno-led government should take responsibility for the spate of church attacks.
"If they want to blame us for the attacks, then the Pakatan Selangor government should take responsibility (because all the attacks happened in the state)," he said.
The Speaker, Sivakumar being dragged out of the Hall by police, while PR members tried in vain to protect him.
Death of the Malaysian Constitution
Barisan Nasional will do just about ANYTHING, be it lawful or not, and often not, to achieve what they want. Going against democracy is their BIGGEST mistake.
Barisan MURDERED Democracy
Revive Democracy in Malaysia, Reject Barisan Nasional.
Run, run away, far from pain and misery. Fly, fly away, towards hopes and the future. It is the "yuan" that had brought us together as a family, and it is our own destiny that bring us further towards our dreams.Please remember that if we were once Bio One, then we will always be Bio One. The spirit and the legend of our class will forever stay in our minds; it will glow eternally in our hearts.
二零一零年一月十八日 下午五时五十六分
INTRODUCTION - What did not happen
I will first start with what did not happen.
Christians did not wake up one day and say, “hmmm… instead of using the word ‘GOD’ lets replace it with ‘ALLAH’. We shall go to the court to declare it our right to use the word ‘ALLAH’”.
1. What actually happened
The Catholic newspaper, Herald, has been using the word Allah in their Bahasa Melayu edition for a long time. Suddendly, they are told, their publishing licence will not being renewed unless they stop using the word “Allah” and replace it with “Tuhan”.
2. Why go to the Court?
When the enforcement of the ban was taking place, what could the Herald do? They appealed to the Home Ministry to relax the ruling but this was rejected. There was no offer for inter-faith dialogues to be carried out.
The court was the last resort.
3. Why can’t Christians use “Tuhan” instead of “Allah”?
Actually, they can. They can also use various other names such as “The Almighty”, “The Creator”, “Lord God”, etc.
BUT unfortunately there are books including the Bahasa Melayu version of the Holy Bible which has already used the word “Allah” for years. Now the government has started confiscating these books.
Also Christians who use Bahasa Melayu have been accustomed to using the word Allah. It has never been an issue. So why should they suddenly change the way they pray?
4. We all know Allah refers to the Muslim God, Why the sudden need by Christians to also use Allah?
If you have never heard Christians call their God, “Allah”, chances are you never will. This practice of certain Christian groups referring to God as “Allah” is mainly in East Malaysia.
If yesterday I called God, “God”. Today I won’t call him “Allah”.
You won’t suddenly hear me acclaiming, “Oh my Allah”. I will still say, “Oh my God”.
Additionally, I don’t think Muslims will pick up a Bahasa Melayu version of the Herald. I am from West Malaysia and even I have not seen a Bahasa Melayu version of the Herald.
5. Malaysia is a peaceful multi-religious country. Why do the Christians suddenly bring up this sensitive issue and cause tension among the different religions?
Christians did not bring up this issue. This sensitive issue was started by the Home Ministry when they decided not to renew the Herald’s publishing licence.