Right to greet all on Christmas Day, says assistant minister

Daud (front row, fourth right) taking a photo with Wilfred (front row, second right) and his family during Christmas open house.

KUCHING: Sending Christmas greetings to the Christian community is not wrong as long as it is not in conflict with Islamic law.

“We can still visit each other to enhance relationship among the multi-races,” said Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Islamic Affairs) Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman at the Christmas open house of PBB (Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu) Ranting Kampung Sagah secretary Wilfred Benjamin in Jalan Singai, Bau, on Thursday.

Non-Departing Foreigners Given ICs

Kota Kinabalu:    “Reading between the lines, the RCI Report infers that the 229,484 non-departing Indonesians between 1996 and 2000 were given ICs dubiously along with 11,741 Filipinos.   Although there were no figures given for Pakistanis, Indians and other nationalities, it would not be surprising if these non-departing foreigners were also issued ICs dubiously” said Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief, commenting on the missing Indonesians and Filipinos that came into Sabah officially but with no records of their departure.            

Pairin, stop procrastinating – Zainnal Ajamain

I made this statement in the recent talks held in Kota Kinabalu “during the recent PBS Congress, the Prime Minister already offered Tan Sri Joseph Pairin the means to get this done – but instead of start cracking to establish the necessary mechanism and getting the necessary powers and authority– PBS went to make a Police Report.  They are more interested to get cheap publicity, instead working to seek solutions – They are more interested to carry out a political event rather than making sure a solid process is established.  Tan Sri Pairin must remember, that offer was made NOT to the President of PBS – but to a Deputy Chief Minister of Sabah – because the problem of illegal immigrants is a Sabah problem NOT PBS problem.”

Johor Catholic priest detained, 30 hymn books with ‘Allah’ seized

Barely has the dust settled on the issue of the seized Bibles in Selangor, a Catholic priest in Muar, Johor, was detained for having 30 copies of a hymn book with the word Allah which were meant for his Orang Asli parishioners.

Father Cyril Mannayagam (pic), 44, said although the police later decided not to pursue the case against him, the hymn books, titled "Kepujian Kepada Tuhan Allah" (Praise be to God) were seized and had yet to be returned to him.

Kg. Kibbas Mark World Human Rights Day

Ranau:     A group of Sabahans took the opportunity to mark World Human Rights Day at Kg. Kibbas, an idyllic countryside village nestled between Kundasang and Ranau, not far from foothills of the majestic Mount Kinabalu, to highlight some basic human rights issues confronting Sabah.

If the settings were appropriate, it was more meaningful for Kg. Kibbas where the native villagers recounted how in 2012 they had carried out a protest with placards and banners demanding for clean treated water to be supplied to the village.   Eventually, the government relented and quickly installed pipe facilities for the water supply, perhaps due to the then pending GE-13 elections.