Blasphemy cases rise in Egypt and Christians bear the brunt

In this Thursday, March 3, 2016 photo, Fadya Shehata Moussa, the mother mother of 17-year-old Bassem Amgad Hanna, one of four teens convicted for contempt of Islam, wipes away tears during an interview in Bani Mazar, Minya province, Egypt. The four teens and their supervisor, who was forced to leave the village with his family, were all convicted. Though all the defendants are under 18, three were sentenced to adult prison for five years and one to a juvenile detention facility for three years. The supervisor received a three year prison sentence. (AP Photo/Thomas Hartwell) 

NASSARIYA, Egypt (AP) — In the video, the Egyptian Christian teens laugh playfully as a couple of them kneel down, imitating Muslim prayers, then another slides his hand under one boy’s neck, imitating the trademark beheadings of the Islamic State group.

The boys were playing around, satirizing the extremist group, and their school supervisor just happened to be videoing them, their defenders say. The result has been catastrophic: they were sentenced to prison under Egypt’s blasphemy laws — they were mocking Muslim prayers, prosecutors said — and have fled into hiding, leaving behind shattered families.

Salleh: Mahathir wants revenge, not out to save Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad has no intentions of saving Malaysia and only wants to feed his political agenda in his current campaign against Prime Minister and Umno President Najib Razak, says Sabah Umno leader Salleh Said Keruak.

Salleh, in a blog article today, said that Mahathir’s method, conspiring with his former enemies to overthrow the democratically elected government, showed that the intention was not to save Malaysia, but to destroy it.

Parents angered by transfer of porn-sharing HM

PETALING JAYA: A headmaster who shared pornographic pictures and video clips in a WhatsApp chat group has been transferred to a rural school, a move that has angered many parents.

The parents are now questioning the Sabah Education Department’s decision to transfer the headmaster instead of taking sterner action against him.

Malaysian Founder 'Disgusted' at Successor

...28 years ago
HENRY KAMM, Special to the New York Times

Published: July 8, 1988

Hypocrite in disguise

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, July 7— At 85 years of age, Tunku Abdul Rahman, who presided 31 years ago over the founding of independent Malaysia and later called himself "the happiest Prime Minister in the world," pronounced himself a disappointed man today.

"Disappointed is not the word," he continued. "Disgusted?" he said questioningly, as though seeking his interviewer's approval for the harsh word.

Claiming ministries ‘don’t work’, BN MP demands special panel on Sabah problems

BN MP Datuk Seri Abdul Ghapur Salleh told the Dewan Rakyat that a special parliamentary committee needs to be established to ensure the plight of many Sabahans are looked into. ― Picture by Yusof Mat IsaKUALA LUMPUR, March 15 ― A Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmaker today called for the formation of a special parliamentary committee to study the various problems faced by his home state, saying he has lost confidence in the ministries responsible for handling the issues.

The lawmaker, Kalabakan MP Datuk Seri Abdul Ghapur Salleh, told the Dewan Rakyat that the committee needs to be established to ensure the plight of many Sabahans are looked into.