Thesun 2008-12-10 Page10 Get Sultans Consent First Raja Nazrin

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theSun

| WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 10 2008

news without borders Statements on Islamic issues:

Get Sultan’s consent first: Raja Nazrin IPOH: Raja Muda of Perak Raja Nazrin Shah has reminded the mentri besar, state executive councillors and state Islamic Religious Affairs Department (JAIP) director not to make any statement on Islamic issues without obtaining the consent of Sultan Azlan Shah. Raja Nazrin said yesterday any Islamic religious matter must first be referred to him as head of the Perak Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIAMP) and then presented to the Sultan for consent before any statement could be issued on the matter. The Raja Muda also reminded them to refer to MAIAMP any matter which came under the jurisdiction of the Perak Sultan, to be presented to the Sultan for consent before any public or media statement could be issued on the matter. Raja Nazrin also stressed that besides the fatwa (edicts) issued by the National Fatwa Council, the initial process of considering, deciding on and issuing any fatwa must also be referred to the Conference of Malay Rulers for consent. “What is happening now is that

there is another forum known as the Muzakarah Jawatankuasa Fatwa (Fatwa Consultative Committee), which had made an announcement on a fatwa without first referring it to the Conference of Rulers. “This situation, if not corrected, can cause confusion among Muslims,” he said at the 164th Conference of MAIAMP here. At the same time, Raja Nazrin said, it must also be reminded that the Islamic Development Department Malaysia (Jakim) did not have the legal power to give administrative directives to any state Islamic religious administration. “To maintain harmonious relations, it is important that the jurisdiction of the respective religious committees and departments, as well as the position, power, privileges and sovereignty of the Malay Rulers as provided for in the federal and state constitutions be understood and respected,” he said. Raja Nazrin also said mosques should be free of partisan politics that could divide the people. – Bernama

Newborn left in shrine ... Give up mother tongue in school: Khoo pg 12

A housewife who frequently offers prayers at a shrine in Taman Green in Penang got a shock yesterday when she found a newborn girl wrapped in three layers of cloth inside the covered shrine. The woman immediately called the authorities and the baby, with her umbilical cord still attached, was taken to the Penang Hospital. It is learnt that the newborn could have been premature due to her small size and was probably only a few hours old.

More youths are sniffing glue KUALA LUMPUR: More rural youths, especially those in Felda schemes, and the urban poor are turning to glue sniffing, alcohol consumption and smoking to cope with the daily pressures, according to an eminent addiction psychiatrist. The trend was worrying as it was very injurious to the health because this addiction, in the long run, would cause extensive damage to the brain, lungs and kidney, Prof Dr Mohamad Hussain Habil of University Malaya Medical Centre said. He said although heroin was still the number one scourge, nevertheless the trend of glue sniffing, alcohol consumption and smoking was on the rise. He told Bernama that studies had shown that these youngsters started their habit from as early as 10 years and it became pronounced when they reached their late teens.

He said it was very vital for parents to detect early symptoms as these addictions could be overcome with proper medication in the initial stages. Parents should look out for signs, such as sudden withdrawal from socialising, lonely behaviour, being violent for no apparent reason and playing truant. Mohamad said drugs such as vernicline or champiq were used to treat such patients. The drug helped to reduce the craving and, coupled with proper counselling and parental support, the addiction could be controlled, he said, adding the treatment last for about three months. Mohamad, who has also done studies on heroin addiction in the country, said glue sniffing, alcohol and smoking addictions would spread faster as these were cheaper alternatives and easily available in village sundry shops and stalls.

Perak DAP to recruit more non-Chinese by Humayun Kabir [email protected]

IPOH: Perak DAP plans to triple the number of branches in the state from 56 to 150 by 2010 by recruiting more non-Chinese as members. Its secretary, Nga Kor Ming, said yesterday DAP had previously concentrated on certain areas like Kinta Valley and Taiping but the party now intends to branch out into all nine districts in the state and increase membership from 5,000 to 20,000 by 2010. “We are going on a membership drive to recruit more non-Chinese into the party. At present we have three party branches of Malays in Taiping, Bruas and Manjung. These members are former Umno members who crossed over. “We have also formed three party branches consisting of orang asli in Sungai Siput and we hope to recruit more orang asli in other areas.” Nga said they also hoped to get male members to encourage their spouses, children and friends to join the party. He was speaking at a media conference at state party headquarters here after announcing the list of 35 candidates for the election of 15 party state committee members on Sunday. The committee members will then select the top state leaders among themselves. Seventeen of the 35 state candidates are incumbents including state chairman Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham, deputy state chairman M. Kulasegaran, state treasurer Chen Fook Chye, Nga and deputy secretary A. Sivasubramaniam . Party stalwart Lim Kit Siang is expected to open the Ordinary DAP Perak Convention to be held at Heritage Hotel on Sunday.

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